Method of appeal: Agreed statement of the case

This rule provides the second option for appeal to the Appellate Division. It has no equivalent under the Mass.R.A.P. It may be used instead of the other two or if the expedited appeal is tried but fails. It allows the appellant, with the agreement of the appellee and approval of the court, to frame the issues for appeal in a relatively brief form. It can be in the appellee's interest to agree to an accurate statement of the issues and cooperate with this method of appeal because of the cost that will be incurred if appeal on the full record becomes necessary. Once the agreed statement is timely filed and served, court approval is presumed unless an order of disapproval is entered by the court within fifteen days of the filing. If the court conditions its approval on changes, the appellant can terminate the process and proceed under Rule 8C or either party can request a hearing to resolve the matter and achieve an agreed statement in final form. It should be noted that notice from the clerk of approval or disapproval of the agreed statement includes approval resulting from inaction by the trial judge. That is, if fifteen days passes from the filing of the agreed statement and the judge does not enter an order disapproving the statement, the clerk must send notice of approval to the parties. This notice triggers the next step, the filing of briefs in the trial court. The clerk must transmit the case to the Appellate Division at the expiration of sixty days from approval of the agreed statement. This allows sufficient time for filing of briefs. If they are not filed, the case must be transmitted anyway. Note that when a party fails to file and serve a brief and the case is transmitted to the Appellate Division, the consequences of the failure are governed by Rule 19 . No appendix to the appellant's brief is required. The agreed statement itself fulfills that function. When an agreed statement is "conditionally approved" by the court, the rule permits the court to schedule and hear argument as to the additions, deletions or changes involved, on its own timetable. If an acceptable agreement can be formulated and approved by the court, briefs can be filed and the matter transmitted to the Appellate Division. If an agreed statement cannot be formulated, the court will disapprove and the procedure is terminated, leaving the appellant with the Rule 8C avenue of appeal.