Freeland v. Div. of Emp't Sec.
Decision Date | 07 June 2022 |
Docket Number | WD84955 |
Parties | SAMANTHA J. FREELAND, Appellant, v. DIVISION OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, Respondent. |
Court | Court of Appeal of Missouri (US) |
Appeal from Labor and Industrial Relations Commission
Before: Gary D. Witt, Presiding Judge, Anthony Rex Gabbert Judge, W. Douglas Thomson, Judge
Samantha Freeland[1] ("Appellant") appeals the decision of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission denying her unemployment benefits. She presents one point on appeal[2]arguing that she left her employment for good cause. The appeal is dismissed.
"Rule 84.04 sets forth the minimum requirements for appellate briefing." Murphree v. Lakeshore Estates, LLC 636 S.W.3d 622, 623 (Mo. App. E.D. 2021). "Compliance with those requirements is mandatory." Id. "An appellant must adhere to the rules of appellate procedure in order for this Court to review the appeal." Id at 623-24. "Failure to comply with the rules of appellate procedure is a proper ground for dismissing an appeal." Id. at 624 (internal quotation marks omitted).
"It is with great hesitation that we dismiss an appellant's brief for failure to comply with Rule 84.04." Id. "Our preference is to decide an appeal on the merits where disposition is not hampered by rule violations and the argument is readily understandable." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). "However, when the deficiencies affect our ability to understand and adequately address the claims of error, the brief preserves nothing for review." Id.
"Rule 84.04 is not merely a rule of technicalities." Id. "Instead, it serves several necessary functions." Id. "Importantly, compliance with Rule 84.04 ensures that the opposing party is adequately informed of the precise matters in contention and informs this Court of the issues for review." Id. "This permits this Court to conduct a meaningful review of the issues before it and ensures that opposing positions will have adequate representation, which is essential to our adversary system." Id.
"Perhaps more importantly, an appellant's compliance with Rule 84.04 is necessary to ensure that this Court retains its role as a neutral arbiter." Id. "Deficient briefing runs the risk of forcing this Court to assume the role of advocate by requiring us to sift through the legal record, reconstruct the statement of facts, and craft a legal argument on the appellant's behalf." Id. "This requires this Court to speculate as to the facts and arguments that may have been asserted." Id. "If this Court cannot reach the merits without supplementing the appellant's legal arguments, then nothing has been preserved for review." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).
Rule 84.04(c) provides that the Appellant's facts section states in its entirety:
(All errors are replicated from the original). The statement of facts is not a "fair and concise statement of the facts relevant to the questions presented for determination without argument." Id. It also does not contain citations to the legal record.
Rule 84.04(d) states that the point relied "shall (A) Identify the trial court ruling or action that the appellant challenges; (B) State concisely the legal reasons for the appellant's claim of reversible error; and (C) Explain in summary fashion why, in the context of the case, those legal reasons support the claim of reversible error." The point is to be substantially in the following form: "The trial court erred in [identify the challenged ruling or action], because [state the legal reasons for the claim of reversible error], in that [explain why the legal reasons, in the context of the case, support the claim of reversible error]." Appellant's point relied on states in its entirety:
The LIRC erred in determining that Gaines left Bandana's voluntarily without GOOD CAUSE.
It does not follow the form set forth in the rule. Moreover, it does not state the legal reasons for claimed error or why they support the claim of reversible error.
Rule 84.04(e) provides that "[f]or each claim of error, the argument shall also include a concise statement describing whether the error was preserved for appellate review; if so, how it was preserved; and the applicable standard of review." Further, "[a]ll factual assertions in the argument shall have specific page references to the relevant portion of the record on appeal…." Appellant's argument section states in its entirety:
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