Motions

Filing Motions

Throughout the life of an appeal, a party or litigant may file a motion with the court requesting the court take some action on the case.  Filers should review Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 27 and Federal Circuit Rule 27 for formatting requirements and rules for governing specific types of motions.  Once filed, the Clerk’s Office will review the motion for compliance with the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Federal Circuit Rules.

If the motion is compliant and either (1) a procedural motion or (2) an unopposed nonprocedural motion delegated to the Clerk of Court for action, the Clerk’s Office will act on the motion.  All other motions will be referred to either a judge or a panel of judges for resolution.

If the document is non-compliant, the Clerk’s Office will issue a notice of non-compliance directing the filer party to correct the area of non-compliance as provided under Federal Circuit Rule 25(c)(4).  See Clerk’s Office’s Revised Document Compliance Review Procedure (pdf).

Parties should promptly contact the Clerk’s Office for clarification if they do not understand the nature of the requested correction.

Electronically Filed Motions

When electronically filing a motion, filers should review the Events and Reliefs list (pdf) to determine the best relief to use when submitting the motion.  Selecting the appropriate relief helps expedite the processing of your motion.