Rule Text
(a) After the timely filing of a notice of appeal, if the appellant fails to take the further steps required to secure review of the appeal within the periods of time allowed or as extended, the clerk shall place the case on a dismissal docket. The clerk shall notify all parties that the appeal will be dismissed unless the appellant remedies the default before a specified date. The date shall not be less than 15 days from the date of the notice. If the default is not remedied by that date, an order of dismissal shall be entered.
(b) If the party who is aggrieved by an agency decision fails to file the first brief as required under Rule 84.05, that party shall be given notice as otherwise required in this Rule 84.08. If the party fails to remedy the default, any party aggrieved by the circuit court decision may file a motion in the appellate court requesting that the judgment of the circuit court be vacated.
Amendment history: (Adopted June 13, 1979, eff. Jan. 1, 1980. Amended March 29, 1983, eff. Jan. 1, 1984; June 23, 1987, eff. Jan. 1, 1988; June 21, 2005, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; June 25, 2010, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; May 19, 2016, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.)
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
If you file an appeal but then miss deadlines for the next steps, like filing paperwork or briefs, the court clerk will not just let the case sit. Instead, the clerk puts your case on a "dismissal docket," which is basically a list of appeals that are at risk of being thrown out. The clerk then sends notice to everyone involved, telling you that your appeal will be dismissed unless you fix the problem by a certain date. You get at least 15 days' notice, so there's some time to catch up before the case gets tossed.
If you don't fix the issue by the deadline, the court will dismiss your appeal. This means you lose your chance to have the higher court review your case, and the lower court's decision stands.
There's a special version of this rule for cases appealing an agency decision, like a ruling from a state board or department. If the person appealing that kind of decision doesn't file their first brief on time, they get the same kind of warning and deadline. But if they still don't fix it, the other side (the party who was happy with the circuit court's ruling) can ask the appeals court to cancel, or "vacate," that circuit court judgment. In other words, missing the deadline in these cases can backfire on the appellant in a bigger way, since it opens the door for the other side to undo the ruling that was in their favor.
