Many are under the mistaken impression that, just as in the Appellate Division 2d Department (AD2), attorneys have 10 days from the date of filing of the Respondent’s Brief in the Appellate Division 1st Department (AD1) to file their Reply Brief in further support of their appeal. The reality is that AD1 operates in accordance with the term Calendar which they publish annually. Accordingly, it is typically the case that the Reply Brief deadline is nine days after the filing of the Respondent’s Brief in a given term.
As a result, attorneys who seek to file the Reply Brief on the 10th day (or later) will find that AD1 rejects the filing as late. Of course, by the time of this discovery, it is also typically too late to stipulate to push the appeal to the following Term (which would de facto extend the Reply Brief deadline). It is often too late because such stipulations must typically be filed no later than one day following the Respondent’s Brief filing.
An attorney who finds himself in this pickle is left with no choice other than to seek interim relief from AD1. They are to file the Summary Statement on Application for Expedited Service and/or Interim Relief form together with an Affirmation in Support demonstrating the need to bounce a particular appeal to the subsequent term. If the Court grants the application, as a result of the term adjournment, the Appellant will have obtained the necessary time to file within the Reply Brief deadline of that new term.