§ 2-103. General formatting and service rules

This rule governs the standard form for all documents filed in the appellate courts and sets forth service requirements for motions and briefs. Form and formatting requirements for bills of exceptions are found in § 2-105.01. Except as otherwise required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and except for any Nebraska Supreme Court forms promulgated or last amended prior to the effective date of this rule, the following rules apply:

(A) Motions, petitions, briefs, and other documents, except bills of exceptions. The standard form for all documents, including motions, petitions, and briefs shall be as follows:

(1) All documents shall be on a page size measuring 8 ½ by 11 inches, in portrait mode. Electronically filed documents shall be in a converted PDF (fully text searchable), rather than only a scanned image PDF format. All electronically filed documents shall be easily readable. Documents that are not easily readable may be stricken by the appellate court.

(2) Documents permitted to be filed in paper form shall follow the same formatting set forth in this rule.

(3) Text shall be aligned to the left side and not justified. Margins shall be set to 1.5 inches on all sides, and lines shall be spaced at 1.15 or 1.2. Extra line spacing is allowed before headings and between paragraphs. Footnotes are not permitted.

(4) Preferred fonts shall be Century or Century Schoolbook. Other allowed fonts are Times New Roman, Baskerville Old Face, Book Antiqua, or Palatino, and shall be set no less than 12 nor more than 13 point. Type shall not be underscored, but may be

italicized

or

boldfaced

for emphasis.

(5) Except as specifically allowed below in (a) through (g), hyperlinking in appellate court documents is prohibited. Hyperlinking is allowed and encouraged as follows:

(a) The use of internal hyperlinks and bookmarks;

(b) To the official Transcript filed in the appellate court;

(c) To the official Bill of Exceptions of the trial court or lower appellate court;

talicized

or

boldfaced

for emphasis.

(5) Except as specifically allowed below in (a) through (g), hyperlinking in appellate court documents is prohibited. Hyperlinking is allowed and encouraged as follows:

(a) The use of internal hyperlinks and bookmarks;

(b) To the official Transcript filed in the appellate court;

(c) To the official Bill of Exceptions of the trial court or lower appellate court;

(d) To the official Nebraska Reports or Nebraska Appellate Reports. The user shall hyperlink to the official Nebraska Judicial Branch website for Nebraska Reports or Nebraska Appellate Reports (

https://www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/

);

(e) To the official Nebraska Laws, Bills, and legislative history. The user shall hyperlink to the official Nebraska Legislative website for Nebraska Laws, Bills, and legislative history (

https://nebraskalegislature.gov/

);

(f) To the official rules of the Nebraska Supreme Court. The user shall hyperlink to the official Nebraska Judicial Branch website for court rules (

https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/supreme-court-rules

).

(g) Hyperlinking shall not detract from the content.

(6) For additional formatting specific to briefs filed in a case or with a motion, see

subsection (C)

below.

(B) General Filing and Service of Motions and Briefs.

(1) The motion and proof of service shall be filed with the appellate court and a copy shall be served upon the opposing party or the attorney of record. Service and proof of service shall be made as provided in

Neb. Ct. R. Pldg. §§ 6-1105(b)

and

6-1106(c)

, and

Neb. Ct. R. § 2-205

.

(2) Service of a copy of the brief shall be made either on the opposing party or the attorney of record for the party and upon all other parties participating in the appeal. Service and proof of service shall be made as provided in

Neb. Ct. R. Pldg. §§ 6-1105(b)

and

6-1106(c)

, and

Neb. Ct. R. § 2-205

.

be made as provided in

Neb. Ct. R. Pldg. §§ 6-1105(b)

and

6-1106(c)

, and

Neb. Ct. R. § 2-205

.

(2) Service of a copy of the brief shall be made either on the opposing party or the attorney of record for the party and upon all other parties participating in the appeal. Service and proof of service shall be made as provided in

Neb. Ct. R. Pldg. §§ 6-1105(b)

and

6-1106(c)

, and

Neb. Ct. R. § 2-205

.

(3) Service requirements for other filings are found in the specific rule section governing such filings.

(C) Briefs. The standard form for all briefs shall be as set forth in

subsection (A)

above with the following additions:

(1) Cover. The cover on all briefs shall show the appellate court case number; the case caption listing the plaintiff first (regardless of who is appellant); the county from which the case was brought; the name of the trial judge; the name, address, city, state, zip code, telephone number, email address, and Nebraska attorney identification number of the attorney filing the brief (the name of the law firm, if any, may also appear); and the name of the party for whom the brief is filed. If a party or parties represent themselves, it shall contain the above information except for the attorney and firm information. The cover of the brief shall serve as the title page, and no additional title page may be contained within the brief.

(2) Page numbering for briefs. Page numbering shall begin with the cover page as page one. Numbering shall be displayed in the bottom margin on every page except the cover page.

(3) Word and page limitations for briefs.

bove information except for the attorney and firm information. The cover of the brief shall serve as the title page, and no additional title page may be contained within the brief.

(2) Page numbering for briefs. Page numbering shall begin with the cover page as page one. Numbering shall be displayed in the bottom margin on every page except the cover page.

(3) Word and page limitations for briefs.

(a) Briefs may not exceed the following word limitations: original submission, 15,000 words. For appellant, this includes a combined total of appellant’s brief, reply brief, and answer brief to cross-appeal. For appellees and cross-appellants, this includes a combined total of appellee’s brief, brief on cross-appeal, and reply brief to answer brief on cross-appeal. If the appellee asserts a cross-appeal as provided in

§ 2-109(D)

, the word count limits per party shall be increased to 18,000.

(b) For briefs in support for motions for rehearing, other briefs in support of motions, and briefs of amicus curiae, 3,800 words.

(c) All portions of the brief, including the cover page, table of contents, and table of authorities, as well as signature blocks, count toward the maximum word count.

(4) Certificate. The final page of all briefs shall include a certificate that the brief complies with the word count as required by this rule. The person preparing the certificate may rely on the word count of the word-processing software used to prepare the brief. The certificate must state the name and version of the word processing software used to prepare the brief, state that the brief complies with the typeface requirements of this rule, and state the total number of words in the brief. The certificate shall not count toward word limits.

rson preparing the certificate may rely on the word count of the word-processing software used to prepare the brief. The certificate must state the name and version of the word processing software used to prepare the brief, state that the brief complies with the typeface requirements of this rule, and state the total number of words in the brief. The certificate shall not count toward word limits.

(5) Paper filed briefs may only be filed when the self-represented party is not a registered user of the court-authorized service provider. Paper briefs shall be bound by a single paper clip or binder clip in the upper left-hand corner only and shall not be stapled. Paper briefs shall comply with all formatting requirements of § 2-103(A) unless typewritten. If typewritten, paper briefs shall not exceed 50 pages total on original submission, and 15 pages on briefs in support of a motion for rehearing. Typewritten briefs shall be in nothing smaller than 12-point type and lines shall be double spaced, and pages shall be sequentially numbered as provided in

§ 2-103(C)(2)

above. Service and proof of service of paper filed briefs shall be as provided in

§ 2-103(B)(2)

.

(6) All briefs, together with proof of service, shall be filed with the appellate court on or before the date the brief is due.

(7) General rules for preparation and content of briefs are found at

§ 2-109(C) and (D)

.

Rule 3(B) amended February 22, 2001. Renumbered and codified as § 2-103, effective July 18, 2008; § 2-103 amended June 9, 2021, effective January 1, 2022; § 2-103 amended November 17, 2021, effective January 1, 2022.