When must a party respond to a motion in the court of appeals?

Identify the actual served motion and its requested relief.

Establish service method and actual delivery facts.

Read any shorter or longer time and notice of earlier action.

Distinguish a procedural motion under Rule 27(b) from the ordinary response procedure.

1. Identify the exact required act and controlling procedure.
2. Establish service method and actual delivery facts.
3. Apply any Rule 26(c) addition after base-period expiry.
4. Read actual orders and complete the required filing and service.

Establish actual service and delivery facts. FRAP 26(c) adds three days after the base period otherwise expires under Rule 26(a), unless the paper was served electronically or delivered on the date stated in proof of service. Count the added days and apply final-day rollover. This isolated preset does not collect these facts or calculate the addition.

FRAP 26(a)(6) includes the listed federal holidays and days declared holidays by the President or Congress. For periods after an event, it also includes holidays declared by the state of the district court that rendered the challenged judgment or order, or the circuit clerk’s principal office. Establish the actual applicable calendar. The national preset does not infer additional state holidays, actual inaccessibility or granted relief.

The isolated ten-day response preset omits the possible Rule 26(c) addition and does not read actual shortened time or earlier procedural disposition. No computed date or paid record is published.

Shortened or extended time

Rule 27(a)(3)(A) expressly allows the court to shorten or extend the response period. Read actual directions.

Earlier action on specified motions

A motion authorized by Rules 8, 9, 18 or 41 may be granted before the ten-day period only with reasonable notice that the court intends to act sooner.

Procedural disposition

Rule 27(b) permits action on a procedural motion at any time without awaiting a response. A later opposition is not itself a reconsideration request; a separate requested-relief motion must be filed.

Affirmative relief in response

Rule 27(a)(3)(B) permits a response to include a motion for affirmative relief. Title it to alert the court; response and reply timing for that new motion follows the specified Rule 27 provisions.

Content and service

Rule 27(a)(2) governs response contents. Rule 25 also requires separate service unless service by the clerk is required.

• This guide does not read local instructions, infer service or delivery, select appendix contents or establish a granted extension.
• A rule-based date does not establish accepted filing, separate service or entitlement to relief.

• Identify motion service, method and actual delivery.
• Read the requested relief and actual court directions.
• Review possible Rule 26(c) days and earlier disposition.
• Prepare the response under Rule 27(a)(2).
• File with the circuit clerk and complete required service.
• Electronic court-of-appeals filing ends at midnight in the circuit clerk’s principal-office time zone under FRAP 26(a)(4)(B), unless a different applicable time controls. Ordinary paper filing requires clerk receipt by scheduled closure. Rule 25(a)(2)(A)(ii) has a separate timely mailing or qualifying dispatch exception for briefs and appendices; it does not automatically cover motions or replies. Read actual local instructions, permitted channels, service proof and inaccessibility.