Order
Supreme Court No. 20030329
Proposed Amendments to North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure 62, and North Dakota Rules of Appellate Procedure 8
On November 8, 2003, Philip Morris USA filed a Petition(.pdf document) and recommended amendments to N.D.R.Civ.P. 62 and N.D.R.App.P. 8, requesting the amount of any supersedeas bond to not exceed twenty-five million dollars. On November 12, 2003, the Court referred the matter to the Joint Procedure Committee for its review and report. On July 9, 2004, the Joint Procedure Committee filed its Report and recommendations with the Court. Notice was provided under Section 7, N.D.R.Proc.R., and a hearing was held on the proposed amendments on October 4, 2004, at 2:45 p.m. Any written comments received were also submitted to the Court.
ORDERED, because our experience with North Dakota jury verdicts and appeal bonds does not warrant the proposed amendments, and the trial court judges have the discretion to set the bond, which, if unreasonable, can be reviewed by this Court under its supervisory jurisdiction, we decline to adopt the proposed amendments.
Dated at Bismarck, North Dakota, November 17, 2004.
Gerald W. VandeWalle, Chief Justice
William A. Neumann, Justice
Dale V. Sandstrom, Justice
Mary Muehlen Maring, Justice
Carol Ronning Kapsner, Justice
ATTEST:
Penny Miller
Clerk
North Dakota Supreme Court