Help with civil family law appeal

[Dball]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? AZ
I filed a motion to modify child support. In November 2008, the court ruled on this. My ex, filed an appeal. She did this Pro Per with her Daddy helping her.
She just filed her opening brief and it is so poorly done, it is comical. She did not order the court transcripts and didnt even make a small attempt at perfecting the brief.
She has made it clear that she is doing this to run up legal fees for me and knows that I have to pay to file a response.
My attorney looked over the brief and gave me an estimate of $1500!! That seems excessive to respond to nonsense.
Is there a way i can do this myself? Does $1500 sound like a reasonable estimate to file a response? I realize I can ask for the legal fees back, but even if the court awards them to me, I doubt i will ever see them.

 

[mistoffolees]

General rule: If you have to ask the question, you don't want to do it yourself.


However, if you insist on doing it yourself, things to consider
How much money is at stake? What is she asking the court to do? If she is simply asking an appeals court to send it back to the trial court, then you'll get another shot at it in front of the trial court if you mess it up at appeals. If she's asking for a $10 per month reduction, then $1,500 is wasted money. If, OTOH, she's asking for something major, you have to weigh what it would cost you if you lose vs what it would cost to respond.

$1,500 seems a bit high for a simple response. I'm assuming that the attorney is figuring on court time in that estimate. If so, that's probably about right for responding to a nonsense claim - by the time he appears in court, a couple of hours are shot. Add that to the paperwork and it adds up. You might ask the attorney if there's a chance that you can simply file paperwork asking the judge to deny her request for appeal and if successful, that might reduce the cost a lot.

 

[Dball]

General rule: If you have to ask the question, you don't want to do it yourself.


However, if you insist on doing it yourself, things to consider
How much money is at stake? What is she asking the court to do? If she is simply asking an appeals court to send it back to the trial court, then you'll get another shot at it in front of the trial court if you mess it up at appeals. If she's asking for a $10 per month reduction, then $1,500 is wasted money. If, OTOH, she's asking for something major, you have to weigh what it would cost you if you lose vs what it would cost to respond.

$1,500 seems a bit high for a simple response. I'm assuming that the attorney is figuring on court time in that estimate. If so, that's probably about right for responding to a nonsense claim - by the time he appears in court, a couple of hours are shot. Add that to the paperwork and it adds up. You might ask the attorney if there's a chance that you can simply file paperwork asking the judge to deny her request for appeal and if successful, that might reduce the cost a lot.

Thanks for the reply.
It is not clear in her opening brief what she is asking for. That is how poorly it is done. She is all over the place citing rulings that were made in several appearances over the last 6 years, not focusing on the most recent ruling. She has taken me back for contempt on two occasions for not paying community debt, and the judge did not find me in contempt in either ruling. She addresses that as a mistake of the court and part of her appeal. Her opening brief is basically a few paragraphs about how the courts have not ruled correctly in their decisions over the past 6 years.
My attorney stated that he will file a motion to strike based on the fact that the rules of the appeal have not been followed. His fee, he explained, is to research and outline each of the rules that were not followed in her appeal brief. I am not an attorney, but even I know that her opening brief is a complete joke and an abuse of the system.
I do not believe that there will be any trial time in this case. I think it is just the formaility of filing the motion and having the court throw it out. That is why i am questioning the fee amount.
I guess my question is, are his fees reasonable or should I seek the advice of another attorney and see if I can get a lower fee.

 

[Ronin]

I realize I can ask for the legal fees back...

You can ask, but appeals courts very rarely award attorney fees to anyone.

A response does not HAVE to be filed. On appeal to a state court of appeals the presumption is the trial court was correct. So the burden is not on the Appellee (you) to prove the court was right, but on the Appellant (her) to prove the court was absolutely wrong, and it had no legal basis for its rulings. Beyond the fact this is a pro se appeal, if she has not filed findings and transcripts, the appeal is pretty much dead in the water. Whether or not to file a response depends upon the perceived strength of the appeal, a cost benefit analysis, and ones own tolerance for risk.

However, if this is appealing a magistrates rulings, that is another matter entirely.

The attorneys fees are reasonable, because no sensible attorney is going to file a response to an appeal without doing some homework on the case, and all in all it is several billable hours of work to get even the simplest response prepared and filed.

 

[Dball]

You can ask, but appeals courts very rarely award attorney fees to anyone.

A response does not HAVE to be filed. On appeal to a state court of appeals the presumption is the trial court was correct. So the burden is not on the Appellee (you) to prove the court was right, but on the Appellant (her) to prove the court was absolutely wrong, and it had no legal basis for its rulings. Beyond the fact this is a pro se appeal, if she has not filed findings and transcripts, the appeal is pretty much dead in the water. Whether or not to file a response depends upon the perceived strength of the appeal, a cost benefit analysis, and ones own tolerance for risk.

However, if this is appealing a magistrates rulings, that is another matter entirely.

The attorneys fees are reasonable, because no sensible attorney is going to file a response to an appeal without doing some homework on the case, and all in all it is several billable hours of work to get even the simplest response prepared and filed.

So, does anyone have an idea of what will happen if I do not do anything? What if let the date to file come and go?
Does the Court of Appeals review her opening brief?
Without her ordering and citing the transcript of the hearing, will the court even consider it?

 

[Just Blue]

So, does anyone have an idea of what will happen if I do not do anything? What if let the date to file come and go?
Does the Court of Appeals review her opening brief?
Without her ordering and citing the transcript of the hearing, will the court even consider it?

NEVER! EVER ! Ignore a court case!! Personally I would allow the attorney to do his job and request Attorney fees be paid.

 

[mistoffolees]

NEVER! EVER ! Ignore a court case!! Personally I would allow the attorney to do his job and request Attorney fees be paid.

I agree completely. When a person is in a position of needing to ask even very basic questions, they're not able to handle a case on their own - especially at the appeals level. IMHO.