(A) Time for Filing and Service. (1) Appellant's Brief. (a) Filing. The appellant must file a brief with the Court of Appeals within(i) 28 days after the claim of appeal is filed, the order granting leave is certified, the transcript is filed with the trial court, or a settled statement of facts and certifying order is filed with the trial court or tribunal, whichever is later, in a child custody case, adult or minor guardianship case under the Estates and Protected Individuals Code or under the Mental Health Code, involuntary mental health treatment cases under the Mental Health Code, or an interlocutory criminal appeal. This time may be extended only by the Court of Appeals on motion; or(ii) the time provided by MCR 7.208(B)(5)(a), 7.208(B)(6), or 7.211(C)(1), in a case in which one of those rules applies; or(iii) 56 days after the claim of appeal is filed, the order granting leave is certified, the transcript is filed with the trial court or tribunal, or a settled statement of facts and certifying order is filed with the trial court or tribunal, whichever is later, in all other cases. In a criminal case in which substitute counsel is appointed for the defendant, the time runs from the date substitute counsel is appointed, the transcript is filed, or a settled statement of facts and certifying order is filed, whichever is later. The parties may extend the time within which the brief must be filed for 28 days by signed stipulation filed with the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals may extend the time on motion.(b) Service. The appellant must serve the brief on all other parties to the appeal and file proof of that service with the brief.(2) Appellee's Brief. (a) Filing. The appellee may file a brief with the Court of Appeals within (i) 21 days after the appellant's brief is served on the appellee, in an interlocutory criminal appeal, adult or minor guardianship case under the Estates and Protected Individuals Code or under the Mental Health Code, involuntary mental health treatment cases under the Mental Health Code, or a child custody case. This time may be extended only by the Court of Appeals on motion;(ii) 35 days after the appellant's brief is served on the appellee, in all other cases. The parties may extend this time for 28 days by signed stipulation filed with the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals may extend the time on motion.(b) Service. An appellee's brief must be served on all other parties to the appeal and proof of that service must be filed with the brief.(3) Earlier Filing. The time for filing a brief may be shortened by order of the Court of Appeals on motion showing good cause.(4) Late Filing. Any party failing to timely file a brief under this rule forfeits the right to oral argument.(5) Motions. The filing of a motion does not stay the time for filing a brief.(B) Length and Form of Briefs. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this rule or by court order, briefs are limited to no more than 16,000 words. A self-represented party who does not have access to a wordprocessing system may file a typewritten or legibly handwritten brief of not more than 50 pages.(2) The only elements of a brief included in the word or page limit are those elements listed in subrules (C)(6)-(8). Footnotes and text contained in embedded graphics are also included in the word or page limit.(3) A brief filed under the word limitation of this subrule must include a statement after the signature block stating the number of countable words. The filer may rely on the word count of the word-processing system used to prepare the brief.(4) A motion for leave to file a brief in excess of the word or page limitations must be filed by the due date of the brief and must accompany the proposed brief. Such motions are disfavored and will be granted only for extraordinary and compelling reasons. If the motion is denied, the movant must file a conforming brief within 21 days after the date of the order deciding the motion.(5) Briefs must have at least one-inch page margins, 12-point font, and 1.5-linespaced text, except quotations and footnotes may be single-spaced. If a selfrepresented party is filing a typewritten brief under the page limitation exception contained in subrule (B)(1), the brief must have page margins of at least one-inch, 12-point font, and double-spaced text, except quotations, headings, and footnotes may be single-spaced.(C) Appellant's Brief; Contents. The appellant's brief must contain, in the following order:(1) A title page, stating the full title of the case and in capital letters or boldface type "ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED" or "ORAL ARGUMENT NOT REQUESTED." If the appeal involves a ruling that a provision of the Michigan Constitution, a Michigan Statute, a rule or regulation included in the Michigan Administrative Code, or any other action of the legislative or executive branch of state government is invalid, the title page must include the following in capital letters or boldface type: "THE APPEAL INVOLVES A RULING THAT A PROVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION, A STATUTE, RULE OR REGULATION, OR OTHER STATE GOVERNMENTAL ACTION IS INVALID"
(2) A table of contents, listing the subject headings of the brief, including the principal points of argument, in the order of presentation, with the numbers of the pages where they appear in the brief;(3) An index of authorities, listing in alphabetical order all case authorities cited, with the complete citations including the years of decision, and all other authorities cited, with the numbers of the pages where they appear in the brief.(4) A statement of the basis of jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals.(a) The statement concerning appellate jurisdiction must identify the statute, court rule, or court decision believed to confer jurisdiction on the Court of Appeals and the following information:(i) the date of signing the judgment or order, or the date of data entry of the judgment or order in the issuing tribunal's register of actions, as applicable to confer jurisdiction on the Court of Appeals under MCR 7.204 or MCR 7.205.(ii) the filing date of any motion claimed to toll the time within which to appeal, the disposition of such a motion, and the date of entry of the order disposing of it;(iii) in cases where appellate counsel is appointed, the date the request for appointment of appellate counsel was filed;(iv) in cases where appellate counsel is retained or the party is proceeding in propria persona, the filing date of the claim of appeal or the date of the order granting leave to appeal or leave to proceed under MCR 7.206.(b) If the order sought to be reviewed adjudicates fewer than all the claims, or the rights and liabilities of fewer than all the parties, the statement must provide enough information to enable the court to determine whether there is jurisdiction.(5) A statement of questions involved, stating concisely and without repetition the questions involved in the appeal. Each question must be expressed and numbered separately and be followed by the trial court's answer to it or the statement that the trial court failed to answer it and the appellant's answer to it. When possible, each answer must be given as "Yes" or "No"(6) A statement of facts that must be a clear, concise, and chronological narrative. All material facts, both favorable and unfavorable, must be fairly stated without argument or bias. The statement must contain, with specific page references to the transcript, the pleadings, or other document or paper filed with the trial court, (a) the nature of the action;(b) the character of pleadings and proceedings;(c) the substance of proof in sufficient detail to make it intelligible, indicating the facts that are in controversy and those that are not;(d) the dates of important instruments and events;(e) the rulings and orders of the trial court;(f) the verdict and judgment; and(g) any other matters necessary to an understanding of the controversy and the questions involved;(7) The arguments, each portion of which must be prefaced by the principal point stated in capital letters or boldface type. As to each issue, the argument must include a statement of the applicable standard or standards of review and supporting authorities, and must comply with the provisions of MCR 7.215(C) regarding citation of unpublished Court of Appeals opinions. Facts stated must be supported by specific page references to the transcript, the pleadings, or other document or paper filed with the trial court. Page references to the transcript, the pleadings, or other document or paper filed with the trial court must also be given to show whether the issue was preserved for appeal by appropriate objection or by other means. If determination of the issues presented requires the study of a constitution, statute, ordinance, administrative rule, court rule, rule of evidence, judgment, order, written instrument, or document, or relevant part thereof, this material must be reproduced in the brief or in an addendum to the brief. If an argument is presented concerning the sentence imposed in a criminal case, the appellant's attorney must send a copy of the presentence report to the court at the time the brief is filed;(8) The relief, stating in a distinct, concluding section the order or judgment requested;(10) A separately filed appendix, only as provided in section (J) of this rule.(D) Appellee's Brief; Contents. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subrule, the appellee's brief must conform to subrule (C).(2) The appellee must state whether the jurisdictional summary and the standard or standards of review stated in the appellant's brief are complete and correct. If they are not, the appellee must provide a complete jurisdictional summary and a counterstatement of the standard or standards of review, and supporting authorities.(3) Unless under the headings "Statement of Questions Involved" and "Statement of Facts" the appellee accepts the appellant's statements, the appellee must include: (a) a counter-statement of questions involved, stating the appellee's version of the questions involved; and(b) a counter-statement of facts, pointing out the inaccuracies and deficiencies in the appellant's statement of facts without repeating that statement and with specific page references to the transcript, the pleadings, or other document or paper filed with the trial court, to support the appellee's assertions.(E) Briefs in Cross-Appeals. The filing and service of briefs by a cross-appellant and a cross-appellee are governed by subrules (A)-(D).(F) Supplemental Authority. Without leave of the court, a party may file a one-page communication, titled "supplemental authority," to call the court's attention to new authority released after the party filed its brief. Such a communication, (1) may not raise new issues;(2) may only discuss how the new authority applies to the case, and may not repeat arguments or authorities contained in the party's brief;(3) may not cite unpublished opinions.(G) Reply Briefs. Within 21 days after service of an appellee's or cross-appellee's brief, appellant or cross-appellant may file a reply brief confined to rebuttal of the arguments in the appellee's or cross-appellee's brief. Reply briefs are limited to no more than 3,200 words, but are otherwise governed by subrule (B). A self-represented party who does not have access to a word-processing system may file a typewritten or legibly handwritten reply brief of not more than 10 pages.(H) Amicus Curiae. (1) An amicus curiae brief may be filed only on motion granted by the Court of Appeals. The motion must be filed within 21 days after the appellee's brief is filed. If the motion is granted, the order will state the date by which the brief must be filed.(2) The brief is limited to the issues raised by the parties. An amicus curiae may not participate in oral argument except by court order.(3) Except for briefs presented on behalf of amicus curiae listed in MCR 7.312(H)(2), a brief filed under this rule must indicate whether counsel for a party authored the brief in whole or in part and whether such counsel or a party made a monetary contribution intended to fund the preparation or submission of the brief, and must identify every person other than the amicus curiae, its members, or its counsel, who made such a monetary contribution. The disclosure must be made in the first footnote on the first page of text.(I) Nonconforming Briefs. If, on its own initiative or on a party's motion, the court concludes that a brief does not substantially comply with the requirements in this rule, the court may order the party who filed the brief to file a supplemental brief within a specified time correcting the deficiencies, or it may strike the nonconforming brief.(J) Appendix. (1) Requirements. Except as provided in subrules (1)(a)-(f) of this rule, the appellant must file an individual or joint appendix with the appellant's brief. An appellee may file an appendix with the appellee's brief if the appellant's appendix does not contain all the information set forth in subrule (3) of this rule. The appellee's appendix should not contain any of the documents contained in the appellant's appendix except when including additional pages to provide a more complete context, but should only contain additional information described in subrule (3) that is relevant and necessary to the determination of the issues on appeal. To avoid duplication in cases with more than one appellant or appellee, the parties are encouraged to submit a joint appendix under subsection (4) rather than separate appendixes. An appendix is not required in appeals from: (a) Criminal proceedings.(b) Child protective proceedings.(c) Delinquency proceedings under chapter XIIA of the Probate Code.(d) Adoption proceedings under chapter X.(e) Involuntary mental health treatment proceedings under the Mental Health Code.(f) The Michigan Public Service Commission where the record is available on the commission's e-docket, or the Michigan Tax Tribunal where the record is available on the tribunal's tax docket lookup page. In those cases, the parties' briefs must cite the document number and relevant pages in the electronic record.(2) Form. The appendix must include a cover page or pages with the case caption that sets forth the parties' names and their designations (e.g., plaintiff-appellant), along with the appellate court and trial court or tribunal docket numbers. The cover page(s) must also state whether the appendix is an "Appellant's Appendix," "Appellee's Appendix," or "Joint Appendix." Following the cover page(s), the appendix must include a table of contents that identifies each document with reasonable specificity and indicates both the appendix number or letter and the page number on which the first page of the document appears in the appendix. An appendix must be numbered sequentially in a prominent location at the bottoms of the pages. When the appendix is composed of multiple volumes, pagination must continue from one volume to the next. For multiple appendix volumes, each volume must include a cover page and table of contents, and the first volume must contain a complete table of contents referencing all volumes of the appendix. (a) For an appendix filed in paper form, one signed copy that is separately bound from the brief must be filed. Each separate document in the appendix must be preceded by a title page that identifies the appendix number or letter and the title of the document. The binding method should allow the easy dismantling of the appendix for scanning.(b) For an appendix filed electronically:(i) The appendix must be separate from the electronically-filed brief and should be transmitted as a single PDF document unless the file size is too large to do so, in which case the appendix should be divided into separate volumes.(ii) The appendix must be text searchable and include bookmarks for each document in the appendix and for important information or sections within the documents.(iii) The table of contents should, if possible without unduly burdening the filer, link to the documents contained in the appendix or in that volume of the appendix.(3) Content. The appendix must include copies of the following documents if they exist:(a) The trial court or tribunal judgment or order(s) appealed from, including any written opinion, memorandum, findings of fact and conclusions of law stated on the record, in conjunction with the judgment or order(s) appealed from.(b) The trial court or tribunal register of actions.(c) The relevant pages of any transcripts cited in support of the argument. When appropriate, pages that precede or follow the cited page should be included to provide context to the citation. Submitting entire transcripts is discouraged unless necessary for the understanding of an argument. If a complete trial, deposition, or administrative transcript is filed, an index to such transcript must be included if one was provided by the court reporter. Transcripts must contain only a single transcript page per document page, not multiple pages combined on a single document page.(d) When a jury instruction is challenged, the language of the instruction, any portion of the transcript containing a discussion of the instruction, and any relevant request for the instruction.(e) Any other exhibit, pleading, or evidence that was submitted to the trial court and that is relevant and necessary for the Court to consider in deciding the appeal. Briefs submitted in the trial court are not required to be included in the appendix unless they pertain to a contested preservation issue.(4) Joint Appendix. (a) The parties may stipulate to using a joint appendix, so designated, containing the matters that are deemed necessary to fairly decide the questions involved. A joint appendix must meet the requirements of subrules (J)(2)and (3) and must be included with the initial appellant's brief or, for a joint appendix of multiple appellees, with the first appellee's brief to be filed.(b) The stipulation to use a joint appendix may specify that any party may file, as a supplemental appendix, additional portions of the record not covered by the joint appendix.Rule 7.212 updated March 23, 2016, effective 5/1/2016; last amended effective 6/21/2017; amended effective 5/1/2018; amended effective 9/1/2018; amended April 3, 2019, effective 5/1/2019.