In re T.A.

Intermediate Court of Appeals of the State of Hawai‘i · 2025 · Family Law

Family LawAppellate Procedureappealdismissalfailure to file briefstatement of jurisdictionopening briefdefault

Facts

Mother filed a notice of appeal on March 31, 2025, and also filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, which the court stated appeared unnecessary under HRAP Rule 24(b). Although Mother had been represented by court-appointed counsel in the family court proceeding, the Family Court granted counsel's motion to withdraw on April 23, 2025, and counsel later moved to clarify that she did not represent Mother on appeal. Mother's statement of jurisdiction and abbreviated opening brief were due on May 12, 2025, and June 5, 2025, respectively, but she filed neither document and did not seek an extension. Mother was conventionally served with multiple documents, including a June 17, 2025 notice of default warning that the appeal could be dismissed under HRAP Rules 12.1(e) and 30, yet she took no further action.

Issue

Whether the appeal should be dismissed when the appellant failed to file the required statement of jurisdiction and abbreviated opening brief, failed to request an extension, received notice of default and possible dismissal, and took no further action. The court also had to determine the disposition of the pending motions in light of that dismissal.

Rule

An appeal may be dismissed under HRAP Rules 12.1(e) and 30 when the appellant fails to timely file required appellate documents, is notified of the default and possible dismissal, and does not seek relief or otherwise take further action to prosecute the appeal.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

Nina Flores, acting without a lawyer, filed a family-law appeal in Honolulu. Her statement of jurisdiction and opening brief were both overdue, the appellate clerk served her at her address of record with a default notice warning that the appeal could be dismissed and that she could seek relief from default, and she then filed nothing else.

What is the most likely disposition of Nina's appeal?

Explanation. Under the majority opinion, dismissal is appropriate when an appellant fails to timely file required appellate documents, receives notice of the default and possible dismissal, and does not request relief or otherwise take further action. Nina matches all of those conditions, so dismissal is the likely result. (Derived from In re T.A. (n.d.).)