Va. Sup. Ct. R. 5:21

(a) Appeals from the State Corporation Commission. —

(1) Applicability. Paragraph (a) of this Rule applies to all appeals from the State

Corporation Com mission and supersedes all other Rules except as otherwise specified

herein.

(2) Party to the Commission Proceeding. For the purposes of paragraph (a), the

Commission, the Atto rney General, the applicant or petitioner, and every person who

made an appeara nce in person or by counsel in a capacity other than as a witness at any

hearing in any proceeding before the Commiss ion are the parties to such proceeding. Any

party who is aggrieved by any final order, judgment, or finding of the Commission, or

part thereof, is entitled to an appeal to this Court upon perfecting the appeal as provided

by paragraph (a). Upon the request of any party, the clerk of the Commission must

prepare and certify a list of all parties (including their addresses and the names and

addresses of their counsel) to a proceeding before the Commission. Service upon a party

represented by counsel must be ma de upon his counsel.

(3) Notice of Appeal. No appeal from an order of the Commission will be

allowed unless the aggrieved party files a no tice of appeal in the office of the clerk of the

Commission within 30 days after entry of the order appealed from. A copy of the notice

of appeal must be mailed or delivered to each party to the Commission proceeding,

including the Attorney General of Virginia, and an acceptance of such service or a

certificate showing the date of delivery or mailing must be appended the reto. All appeals

from the same order will be deemed to be a consolidated case for the purpose of oral

argument in this Court unless this Court orders a severance for convenience of hearing.

(4) Record. The clerk of the Commission must prepare and certify the record as

soon as possible after a notice of appeal is filed and must, as soon as it has been certified

by him, transmit the record to the clerk of this Court within 4 months after entry of the

order appealed from. In the event of multiple appeals in the same case or in cases tried

together below, only one rec ord need be prepared and transmitted.

(5) Contents of Record. The record on appeal from the Commission consists of

all notices of appeal, any application or petition, all orders entered in the case by the

Commission, the opinions, the transcript of any te stimony received, and all exhibits

accepted or rejected, together with such oth er material as may be certified by the clerk of

the Commission to be a part of the record. The record must conform as nearly as

practicable to the requirements of Rule 5:10.

(6) Petition for Appeal.

(i) Only a party who has filed a notice of appeal in co mpliance with paragraph

(a)(3) of this Rule may file a petition for appeal. A party filing a notice of appeal may

file a petition for appeal, accompanied by the prescribed filing fee, in the office of the

clerk of this Court, as provided for in Rule 5:1B, within 120 days after entry of the

final order, judgment or finding by the Commission and, prior to the filing of the

petition must send a copy to every other party to the Commis sion proceeding.

(ii) Except as provided herein, the provisions of Rule 5:17 do not apply to a

petition filed pursuant to this subparagraph. The petiti on for appeal must identify the

order appealed from and the date of the order, contain assignments of er ror, and

include the certificate required by Rule 5:17(i) (w hen filed through VACES, a

petition for appeal need not contain a separate certificate as lo ng as the information

contained in subsection (i) is provided through the electronic filing process).

(iii) Oral argument on the petition will not be allowed nor will a brief in

opposition be received. If the petition prays for a suspension of the effective date of

the order appealed from, it must contain an assignment of error regarding the

effective date of the order appealed from and such statements of the facts and

argument as may be necessary for an understanding of this assignment of error. In

that event, a brief in opposition will be received. The brief in opposition must be

filed, as provided for in Rule 5:1B, within 15 days of the filing of the petition for

appeal, may be no longer than 10 pages or 1,750 words, and may only address the

assignment of error regarding the effective date of the order appealed from. Oral

argument on the assignment of erro r regarding the effective date of the order

appealed from may be granted.

(7) Assignments of Error. The assignments of error must be listed under a

heading entitled “Assignments of Error.” The assignments of error must clearly and

concisely and without ex traneous argument identify the specific errors in the rulings

below upon which the party intends to rely. A clear and exact reference to the pages of

the transcript, written statement of facts, or record where the alleged error has been

preserved must be i ncluded with each assignment of error. Only errors so assigned will

be noticed by this Court and no error not so assigned will be considered as grounds for

reversal of the decision below. No ruling by the Commission will be considered as a basis

for revers al unless an objection was stated with reasonable certainty at the time of the

ruling, except for good cause shown or to enable this Court to attain the ends of justice.

An assignment of error which merely states that the judgment is contrary to the law an d

the evidence is not sufficient.

(8) Award of Appeal. When the notice(s) of appeal, the record, and the petition(s)

for appeal have been filed in the manner provided herein and within the time provided

herein and by law, the clerk of this Court must fort hwith enter an order docketing the

appeal, requiring such bond as the clerk ma y deem proper. The clerk's action is subject to

review by this Court.

(9) Notice of Participation in an Appeal. Within 21 days after an appeal from a

Commission order has been d ocketed as provided in subparagraph (8), any party to the

Commission proceedin g who did not file a notice of appeal may file a notice of

participation with the clerk of this Court. The notice must identify whether the party

seeks to be an appellant or appe llee. If there is more than one appellant, the notice of

participation as an appellant must identify the specific appellant(s) with which the

participating appellant will align. Participating parties must follow the briefing schedule

and requirements of su bparagraph 10, except that a participating party may not raise any

additional assignments of error or cross-error. The notice of participation as appellant or

appellee must be mailed or delivered to every other party to the Commission proceeding.

Every party who has not filed a notice of appeal or notice of participation, or having

filed a notice of ap peal does not file a petition as provided herein, will not be a party to

the appeal and no further papers need be served on such party. Notwithstanding the

foregoing provision, a necessary party who does not file a notice of appeal, petition or

notice of participation is deemed an appellee. The Commission need not file a notice of

participation and will be deemed an appellee.

(10) Further Proceedings. Further proceedings in this Court must conform to

Rules 5:23 through 5:38 provided tha t (i) the time within which the appellee may file

with the clerk of this Court a designation of the additional parts of the record that the

appellee wishes included in the append ix (Rule 5:32(b)) is extended to 30 days after the

date of the certificate of the clerk of this Court, pursuant to Rule 5:23, has been awarded;

and (ii) the time within which the opening brief of the appellant(s) must be filed in the

office of the clerk of this Court is extended to 50 days after such date.

(11) Withdrawal or Settlement of Pending App eal. A party who filed a notice of

and petition for appeal may withdraw his appeal. Notice of withdrawal or settlement must

conform to Rule 5:38. Settlement or withdrawal of an appeal terminates that appellant’s

appeal and any participat ing party aligned with that appellant is deemed to have

withdrawn its participation in the settled or withdrawn appeal.

(b) Appeals from the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Boar d or a Three-Judge Circuit

Court Determination.

(1) Applicability. Paragraph (b) of this Rule applies to appeals from the Virginia

State Bar Disciplinary Board, pursuant to Part 6, § IV, Paragraph 13-26 of the Rules of

the Supreme Court of Virginia, and t o appeals from the decisions of a three-judge circuit

court pursua nt to Code § 54.1-3935. As used in this paragraph, “Respondent” is defined

as the attorney who is appealing the decision of the disciplinary proceeding.

(2) Perfecting the Appeal.

(i) Provisions for Appe als from the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board. No

appeal will be allowed under this paragraph unless the Respondent files a notice of

appeal and assignments of error with th e clerk of the Disciplinary System within 30

days after the Memorandum Order is served on the attorney by certified mail, return

receipt requested, at the attorney’s last address on record for membership purposes

with the Virginia State Bar. At the same time the Respondent files a notice of appeal

and assignments of error, a copy of the notice of appeal and assignments of error must

be sent to the counsel for the Bar and the Attorney General of Virginia. The

Respondent is responsible for filing a transcript in compliance with Rule 5:11. The

date of the Memorandum Order is the date from which the time limits contained in

Rule 5:11 will run. This action within the time prescribed is mandatory. Upon timely

compliance with these rules, the Clerk of the Supreme C ourt will docket the appeal as

provided in Rule 5:23.

(ii) Provisions for App eals from a Three-Judge Circuit Court. No appeal will

be allowed under this paragraph unless the Respondent files a notice of appeal and

assignments of error with the clerk of th e three-judge circuit court within 30 days after

the entry of the final judgme nt and, at the same time, serves a copy of the notice of

appeal and assignments of error on counsel for the Bar and the Attorney General of

Virginia by any method authorized unde r Rule 1:12. The Respondent is responsible

for filing a transcript in complian ce with Rule 5:11. The date of the judgment is the

date from which the time limits contained in Rule 5:11 will run. This action within the

time prescribed is mandatory. Upon timely compliance with these rules, the Clerk of

the Supreme Court will docket the appeal as provided in Rule 5:23.

(3) Record on Appeal. The clerk of the Disciplinary System or the clerk of the

three-judge circuit court must compile and transmit the record as set out in Rules 5:10,

5:11, and 5:13. The clerk m ust immediately notify by certified mail the Respondent, and

the Respondent’s counsel, if any, and the Attorney General of the date the record is filed

with the clerk of this Court. At the time the record is filed, the clerk must also notify the

clerk of this Court and the Responde nt whether the Attorney General or Bar Counsel will

represent the interests of the Commonwealth as appellee.

(4) Time for Filing Briefs and Appendix. The parties must designate the contents

of the appendix pursuant to the require ments of Rule 5:32 and the Respondent is

responsible for filing the appendix pursuant to that Rule. The Respondent must file the

opening brief in the office of the clerk of this Court within 40 days after the date the

record is filed. The opening brief mus t contain assignments of error and references to the

pages of the appendix, transcript, written statement, or record where each assignment of

error was preserved. The brief of the appellee must be filed i n the office of the clerk of

this Court within 25 days after the filing of the Respondent’s opening brief. The

Respondent may file a reply brief within 14 days after the filing of the appellee’s brief.

All briefs and the appendix must conform to the provis ions of Rules 5:26 through 5:32.

(5) Stay Pending Appeal. The Respondent may file a motion with the clerk of this

Court requesting a stay pending appeal of an order suspending or revoking the

Respondent’s license. The Respondent must file four copies of t he motion for stay along

with a copy of the order im posing the suspension or revocation and a copy of the

Respondent’s notice of appeal, which must contain the date stamp of the clerk showing

the date the notice of appeal was filed. Any order of Admonition or Public Reprimand is

automatically stayed prior t o or during the pendency of an appeal of the order.

(6) Procedure on Appeal. Except as provided in this paragraph, further

proceedings will be as provided in this Court’s procedure following the perfecti on of an

appeal set out in Rules 5:23, 5:25, and Rul es 5:33 through 5:38.

(c) Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission Proceedings. —

Procedure in the Supreme Court following proceedings before the Judicial Inquiry and

Review Commission will be as ordered or directed by the Court.