The Oklahoma Bar Journal February 2023

Rule 1.19 is also a new rule adopted by the court on June 24, 2019, and addresses the use of credit cards, debit cards and other electronic payments to the appellate court clerk. 22 Before the adoption of this rule, the Supreme Court clerk’s office did not accept credit or debit cards for payment of any type of filing fee or cost.

abbreviated account of the ruling of the court conducted without legal formalities. 29 The court concluded by giving lawyers and parties notice that summary orders will no longer be recognized as a final, appealable order: “The use of the Summary Order form has long created problems and confusion for the appellate courts and a hardship on the parties attempting to appeal from a final order. … Prospectively, we will not recognize a filed Summary Order as a final judgment under 12 O.S. 2011 § 696.3. ” 30 The court subsequently amended Rule 1.21(a) to make clear what is not considered an appealable order: An appeal from the district court may be commenced by filing a petition in error with the Clerk of the Supreme Court within thirty days from the date the judgment, decree, or appealable order prepared in conformance with 12 O.S. § 696.3 was filed with the clerk of the district court. 31

order attached to the petition in error did not contain the full caption of the case, the full names of the parties or counsel appearing or the full name of the assigned judge. Although the court over ruled Mother’s motion to dismiss the appeal to allow Father an opportunity to secure a statutorily compliant final journal entry of judgment, the court made clear its disdain for summary orders: with a formal, typed Journal Entry of Judgment. This creates uncertainty for litigants and the appellate courts about the final ity of the Summary Order, and the computation of appeal time. Sometimes Summary Orders may include language indicat ing a subsequent order should follow and other times they do not. The Summary Orders typically do not contain evidence of service on the parties. The title of the document “Summary Order” denotes that this is an Many times, Summary Orders are illegible and may be followed

The following shall not constitute a judgment, decree or appealable order: minute orders or minute entries; docket entries or docket minutes; a verdict; an informal statement of the proceedings and relief awarded, including, but not limited to, summary orders or summary minutes, or a letter or other writ ing to a party or parties indicat ing the ruling or instructions for preparing the judgment, decree or appealable order. 32 33 Following the amendment to Rule 1.21(a), the court in Laubach v. Laubach 34 put what appears to be the final nail in the coffin for “minutes” and “minute orders” – at least with regard to whether such entries are appealable. After Mother and Father divorced, Mother sought approval from the trial court to move across the state with the couple’s children. Father objected, and among numer ous orders issued by the trial court in the case was a “minute” dated and filed in the case on April 17, 2018. Father attached the minute

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL