9-0 Application to Strike

September 21st, 2021

Excerpt:

APPLICATION TO STRIKE PETITIONER’S BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF SUMMARY RELIEF

AND NOW, comes Respondent, Department of Human Services, by and through counsel, and for the following reasons respectfully requests that the Brief in Support of Summary Relief filed by Petitioner be stricken from the record.
1. On May 20, 2020, Petitioner filed a Petition for Review in this Court’s original jurisdiction.
2. Soon thereafter, Petitioner filed an Application for Summary Relief.
3. Initially, the Court ordered Petitioner’s brief in support to be filed on or before July 17, 2020.
4. The Court granted Respondent’s initial request to extend the time to respond to both pleadings and Petitioner’s brief was ordered to be filed by August 17, 2020.

5. The Court also granted Petitioner’s request to extend the time to file a brief in support of summary relief and requested that their brief be filed no later than September 7, 2020 with Respondent’s brief due thirty-days thereafter.
6. Briefs filed in Commonwealth Court, whether in its original or appellate jurisdiction, must conform, as each case will permit, to the requirements set forth in Chapter 21 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure or risk being suppressed. See Pa.R.A.P. 2101.
7. While many of the identified requirements in Chapter 21 are for briefs submitted in cases involving an appeal, Rule 2135(a)(1) makes no such distinction.
8. In particular, Rule 2135(a)(1) states that the principal or initial brief of any party shall not exceed 14,000 words. See Pa.R.A.P. 2135(a)(1).
9. Further, the rule requires a party to file a certificate of compliance with the word count limit if the principal brief is longer than 30 pages. See id.
10. On September 4, 2020, Petitioner filed its brief in support of their application for summary relief.
11. The substantive portions of the brief are 90-pages in length and the brief fails to include a certificate of compliance with the word count limit as provided for in Appellate Rule 2135(d).
12. Undersigned counsel reached out to Petitioner’s counsel on September 8, 2020 concerning the length of the brief, but Petitioner’s counsel asserted that Appellate Rule 2135(a)(1) was not applicable to a brief filed in a matter before the Court in its original jurisdiction.

13. Respondent’s brief in opposition to the application for summary relief is due on or before October 2, 2020.
14. Respondent respectfully requests that this Court strike Petitioner’s brief in support of their application for summary relief as it fails to comply with Appellate Rule 2135.
15. A brief in support of this application shall only be filed if requested by the Court as all applicable details have been included within this application.
WHEREFORE, Respondent respectfully requests that this Honorable Court strike Petitioner’s Brief in Support of their Application for Summary Relief as it fails to comply with Chapter 21 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Respectfully submitted,

JOSH SHAPIRO

Attorney General

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