Vt. R. App. P. 30

As amended through October 8, 2024

Rule 30 - Printed Case

(a)Required Printed Case.

(1)Contents. The appellant must prepare and file a printed case containing extracts from the record that are necessary to present fully the questions raised, including:

(1)When Required. The appellant must file a printed case in all appeals except:

(A) A printed case is not required in small claims appeals or appeals from the Human Services Board and Employment Security Board.

(B) The Court may waive the requirement on its own initiative or on a party's motion.

(2)Contents. A required printed case must contain extracts from the record that are necessary to present fully the questions raised, including:

(A) the relevant record of actions in the proceedings below;

(B) the relevant parts of the pleadings, charge, findings, or opinion;

(C) the judgment, order, or decision in question; and

(D) other parts of the record to which the parties wish to direct the Court's attention.

(b)Supplemental Printed Case. The appellee may assemble a supplemental printed case. The appellee must file any supplemental printed case when the appellee's principal brief is filed.

(c)Optional Printed Case. When a printed case is not required under (a), any party may file an optional printed case containing extracts from the record to which the party wishes to direct the Court's attention.

(d)Format.

(1) The pages of the printed case must be numbered sequentially so that the electronic and paper page references are consistent. This may be done either by designating the cover page as page one or by using separate sectional pagination and adjusting the PDF settings so that the page search function recognizes the numbering scheme.

(2) The sections of the printed case must be reproduced in the following order:

(A) a table of contents - listing the parts of the record included, with references to the page of the printed case and the page of the appeal volume, if one exists for the case, at which each part begins;

(B) the decision appealed from;

(C) the record of actions; and

(D) the remaining parts of the record in chronological order.

(3) Only materials that are part of the record below may be included in the printed case. The Court and the parties may rely on parts of the record that are not included in the

(e)Costs of Production. Mindful that the entire record is always available to the Court, the parties must not include unnecessary material in the required printed case or supplemental printed case. The cost of producing a required paper printed case is a taxable cost. If any party unnecessarily produces a printed case or causes unnecessary parts of the record to be included in the required printed case, the Court may impose the cost of producing those parts on that party.

Vt. R. App. P. 30

Amended Oct. 21, 1983, eff. 1/1/1984; 1/9/1985, eff. 3/15/1985; 10/19/1999, eff. 12/31/1999; 3/22/2011, eff. 3/23/2011; 8/30/2011, eff. 10/31/2011; 3/14/2012, eff. 5/14/2012; 6/11/2013, eff. 7/1/2013; 6/11/2013, eff. 9/3/2013; amended Dec. 10, 2019, eff. 3/2/2020; amended July 13, 2021, eff. 8/17/2021;amended October 10, 2023 eff. 1/1/2024.

Reporter's Notes-2024 Amendment

Rule 30 is amended to require a printed case even where there is an appeal volume. Traditionally, the appellate rules required the appellant to submit a printed case to the Supreme Court so that the Court had easy access to the relevant materials from the trial court or administrative record. In 2021, with the implementation of an electronic case management system at the Supreme Court, all cases records from the superior courts became electronic, and the case-management system allowed production of an appeal volume containing all the documents that are part of the electronic case file from the superior court. Rule 30 was amended at that time to make the printed case optional for cases that contain an appeal volume because the Court and the parties were able to access the documents from the proceedings below. The name printed case continue to be used even though the document is electronic and there is no longer a requirement to file a paper copy with the Court.

The Court's experience from working with the appeal volume for two years is that it can be inefficient and difficult to find relevant information, particularly when there are numerous documents. Some appeal volumes contain thousands of pages, often not relevant to the issues on appeal, making it difficult to locate or read the most pertinent information.

Rule 30(a)(1) is amended to require a printed case for most appeals. The appellant must compile a printed case with an index of its contents. Rule 30(d)(2)(A) is amended to require the index to the printed case to contain the page in the appeal volume where the document is located in addition to the page in the printed case. Under existing (a)(2), the printed case contains, at a minimum, the record of actions from the trial court, the decision on appeal, and other parts of the record relevant to the party's argument. Having a printed case will allow the Court to access the most relevant information more easily. It is not necessary for parties to include all the information from the record below as an appeal volume will continue to be produced so that the Court and the parties will have access to all parts of the record, even if not contained in the printed case. The printed case should contain the documents relevant to the appeal.

The existing limited exceptions to the printed case requirement are retained for appeals from small claims, the Human Services Board, and Employment Security Board. These types of cases tend to have self-represented appellants and the record is generally small. In addition, under Rule 30(a)(1)(B), the printed case may be waived on the Court's initiative or pursuant to a motion.

The requirement to file a printed case will apply to pending cases where the time for filing a printed case has not yet passed.

Reporter's Notes-2021 Amendment

Rule 30 is revised to update its requirements consistent with current practice and the implementation of an electronic case management system and electronic filing.

The new case management system, Odyssey, and electronic filing through File and Serve are in effect in all Vermont Superior Courts. For cases that are initiated in Odyssey and those that are fully converted, the electronic case record is the official record and the Supreme Court has ready access to that electronic record. When an appeal is transmitted to the Court, the Court produces an Appeal Volume, containing all of the PDF documents that are contained in the electronic case file. The parties and the Court are able to readily access and cite to documents from the Appeal Volume. Therefore, in these cases, a printed case is not required.

Rule 30(a) is amended to specify when a printed case is still required. This includes appeals from executive-branch administrative agencies. Rule 30(a)(1)(B) allows the Court to waive a required printed case on its own initiative or on a party's motion. The contents of a required printed case remain unchanged. Subdivisions (b) and (c) specify when a supplemental or optional printed case may be filed. While superior courts are transitioning from paper files to electronic files, there may be cases with partial electronic and paper records. In those cases, not all documents will be in the Appeal Volume. The parties are encouraged to file an optional printed case to draw the Court's attention to documents not in the electronic case record.

Rule 30(d) incorporates the format requirements of former (a)(2).

Former Rule 30(a)(3) requiring the filing of multiple copies is deleted. The Court will have access to the electronic printed case or Appeal Volume.

Former subdivisions (b), (c), (e), and (f) are deleted. Their provisions are either no longer applicable with electronic case records or are incorporated elsewhere in Rule 30. Former subdivision (d) regarding the cost of production is relettered (e). It is amended to specify that only the cost of producing a required printed case can be recovered as a taxable cost on appeal.

Reporter's Notes-2020 Amendment

Rule 30 is amended in anticipation of the new case management system, which will be rolled out in phases throughout the state, and the concurrent use of both electronic filing and electronic case files. See Reporter's Notes to Rule 3. The 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing will be used for this new system. The rule is amended to reflect that for a time there will be appeals from cases filed under both the 2010 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing and the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing.

Rule 30(a) is amended to clarify that no printed case is required when there is an electronic case file under either the 2010 or 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing. In cases with no electronic case file, a printed case remains a requirement.

Rule 30(b) is amended to clarify that the reference is to the 2010 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing. The correct manner for referencing the record when there is an electronic case file is deleted because it is included in Rule 28(d). A final sentence is added to Rule 30(b) to state that no printed case may be filed for cases filed under the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing. In those cases, an electronic record will be created from the case management system and must be referenced directly by the parties.

Rule 30(c) is amended to delete the reference to the 2010 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing.