RULE 35.1 SUMMARY DISPOSITION
Effective Date: 3/1/2019
Obsolete Date: 3/1/2022
(a) Affirmance by Summary Opinion. The court may issue a summary affirmance in any case in which the court determines after argument, unless waived, that no reversible error of law appears and if:
(1) the appeal is frivolous and completely without merit;
(2) the judgment of the district court is supported by findings meeting the required standard of proof;
(3) the verdict or the judgment is supported by substantial evidence;
(4) the district court did not abuse its discretion;
(5) the order of an administrative agency is supported by a preponderance of the evidence;
(6) the summary judgment, directed verdict, or judgment on the pleadings is supported by the record; or,
(7) a previous controlling appellate decision is dispositive of the appeal.
The court may affirm by an opinion citing this rule and indicating which one or more of the above criteria apply and, for Rule 35.1(a)(7), citing any previous controlling appellate decision. The opinion may be in the following form: "Affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a) (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7)."
(b) Reversal by Summary Opinion. In any case in which the court determines after argument, unless waived, that a previous controlling appellate decision is dispositive of the appeal, the court may reverse by an opinion citing this rule and the controlling appellate decision.
Rule 35.1, N.D.R.App.P. , was adopted effective March 1, 1986; and amended, effective March 1, 1998; March 1, 2003; May 10, 2017; March 1, 2018; March 1, 2019; March 1, 2022.
Subdivision (a) was amended, effective March 1, 2018, to restate the requirements for summary affirmance.
Paragraph (a)(2) was amended, effective March 1, 2019, to allow the court to affirm the judgment of the district court based on findings of fact that meet the required standard of proof.
Paragraph (a)(3) was amended, effective March 1, 2003, to allow the court to affirm the judgment of a district court, as well as the verdict of a jury, supported by substantial evidence.
Paragraph (a)(8) was added, effective March 1, 2022, to allow the court to affirm the judgment of the district court, as well as the verdict of a jury, if the appellant’s brief does not contain the minimum requirements listed in N.D.R.App.P. 28.
Subdivision (c) was deleted, effective May 10, 2017, to reflect the new practice of publishing summary decisions in the regular manner rather than a list or table as was the prior practice.
SOURCES: Supreme Court Conference Minutes of September 10, 1985; Joint Procedure Committee Minutes of January 28, 2021, pages 17-19; April 27, 2018, pages 10-11; September 27-28, 2001, pages 12-13; January 30, 1997, page 13; November 29, 1984, pages 9-11.
STATUTES AFFECTED:
CONSIDERED: N.D.C.C. § 27-02-23; N. D. Const. Art. VI, § 5.
CROSS REFERENCES: N.D.R.App.P. 27 (Motions); N.D.R.App.P. 28 (Briefs); N.D.R.App.P. 35 (Scope of Review).