(A) Brief of the appellant. The appellant shall include in its brief, under the headings and in the order indicated, all of the following: (1) A table of contents, with page references.(2) A table of cases alphabetically arranged, statutes, and other authorities cited, with references to the pages of the brief where cited.(3) A statement of the assignments of error presented for review, with reference to the place in the record where each error is reflected.(4) A statement of the issues presented for review, with references to the assignments of error to which each issue relates.(5) A statement of the case briefly describing the nature of the case, the course of proceedings, and the disposition in the court below.(6) A statement of facts relevant to the assignments of error presented for review, with appropriate references to the record in accordance with division (D) of this rule.(7) An argument containing the contentions of the appellant with respect to each assignment of error presented for review and the reasons in support of the contentions, with citations to the authorities, statutes, and parts of the record on which appellant relies. The argument may be preceded by a summary.(8) A conclusion briefly stating the precise relief sought.(B) Brief of the appellee. The brief of the appellee shall conform to the requirements of divisions (A)(1) to (A)(8) of this rule, except that a statement of the case or of the facts relevant to the assignments of error need not be made unless the appellee is dissatisfied with the statement of the appellant.(C) Reply brief. The appellant may file a brief in reply to the brief of the appellee, and, if the appellee has cross-appealed, the appellee may file a brief in reply to the response of the appellant to the assignments of errors presented by the cross-appeal. No further briefs may be filed except with leave of court.(D) References in briefs to the record. References in the briefs to parts of the record shall be to the pages of the parts of the record involved; e.g., Answer p. 7, Motion for Judgment p. 2, Transcript p. 231. Intelligible abbreviations may be used. If reference is made to evidence, the admissibility of which is in controversy, reference shall be made to the pages of the transcript at which the evidence was identified, offered, and received or rejected.(E) Unnecessary attachments of legal authorities disfavored. Parties are discouraged from attaching to briefs any legal authority generally accessible through online legal research databases. If determination of the assignments of error presented requires the consideration of legal authority not generally accessible through online legal research databases but available through another online resource, the citation in the brief to the authority should include the internet URL address where the authority is accessible. If determination of the assignments of error presented requires the consideration of legal authority not accessible through any online resource, the relevant parts shall be reproduced in the brief or in an addendum at the end or may be supplied to the court in pamphlet form.Effective:7/1/1971; amended effective 7/1/1972;7/1/1992;7/1/2012;7/1/2013.Staff Notes (July 1, 2013 Amendments)
Effective July 1, 2012, App. R. 16(E) was amended to make clear that parties need not attach to briefs any authority easily available on the Internet. Since adoption of the amendment, the Supreme Court Rules for the Reporting of Opinions have been amended to delete Rule 7(C) as referenced in App. R. 16(E). Therefore, the current amendment deletes the superfluous language in the rule.