Gaunt & Pathetic

Much has been written already about Judge Posner's latest slam (in this opinion from Wednesday). So rather than pile, on, here's the key quote, and you can guess what happens next:

The defendants’ appeal brief is a gaunt, pathetic document (there is no reply brief). Minus formal matter, it is only eight and a half pages long. Brevity is the soul of wit, and all that, but still: the first seven and a half pages are simply a recitation of the history of the Georgia lawsuit, the settlement negotiations, and the present suit, along with questionable and irrelevant facts; and the tiny argument section of the brief—118 words, including citations—states merely, without detail or elaboration, that the defendants do not possess the settlement funds and therefore can’t restore them.

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Further appellate tidbits:

• "Longtime writer and appellate lawyer works to resolve cases already up on appeal." That's the caption for today's DJ profile of Orange County appellate specialist (and blogger) Donna Bader. She estimates that only about 40% of appeals sent to mediation settle.

• Also, you'd ordinarily think that when a party is entitled to fees for trial court work, that entitlement to fees carries through on appeal. But apparently that's not always so; see Attorney Fee Award in Patent Case Doesn't Extend to Appeal in today's Recorder.