Appellate Practice

Ray Quinney & Nebeker offers an experienced team of appellate attorneys who practice extensively in the Utah Supreme Court, the Utah Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and who appear in other federal and state appellate courts across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Our practitioners bring a wealth of knowledge regarding the appellate process, founded not only on their experience as appellate advocates but also on their collective experience as law clerks – having worked for various judges on the Utah Supreme Court, the Utah Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, as well as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Second Circuit, and Fifth Circuit. Our practitioners likewise serve on task forces and advisory committees relating to the appellate process, including the Utah Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Our practitioners leverage their appellate experience alongside the firm’s subject matter expertise. When working with our appellate attorneys, a client has access to attorneys who know and understand the appellate process, as well as an array of attorneys leading the field with respect to the subject matter at issue, such as antitrust, banking, commercial issues, employment, family law, healthcare, intellectual property, personal injury, products liability, securities, trusts and estates, real estate, and regulatory matters. That combination of talent and understanding enables a client to enter an appellate proceeding with a clear strategic advantage.

Whether involved in the litigation from its inception or hired solely for purposes of a litigation or appellate matter, our appellate team offers the benefit of experience and insight in a variety of contexts. Our practitioners specialize in researching and writing arguments with an eye toward a successful outcome on appeal, and in that vein, provide guidance, consultation, or representation with respect to:

• Pretrial motions: motions to dismiss, motions in limine, and motions for summary judgment
• Jurisdictional questions
• Constitutional or statutory matters
• Justiciability questions (mootness or standing)
• Trial objections
• Jury instructions
• Posttrial motions
• Certification of appealable issues absent final judgment
• Petitions for interlocutory appeal
• Petitions for extraordinary relief
• Appeal of a final judgment
• Amicus briefs
• Moot arguments for attorneys preparing to present oral argument

RECENT MATTERS:
UTAH SUPREME COURT and UTAH COURT OF APPEALS

• August Educ. Group LLC v. Howell Mgmt. Servs. LLC, No. 20200713
• Buck v. Utah State Tax Comm’n, 2022 UT 11, — P.3d —
• Legal Tender Servs. PLLC v. Bank of Am. Fork, 2022 UT App 26, — P.3d —
• Bourgeois v. Resource Mgmt., Inc., No. 20200883-SC
• Hills v. Nelson, 2022 UT 6, — P.3d —
• Raser Techs Inc. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., 2022 UT App 20, — P.3d —
• Boynton v. Kennecott Utah Copper, LLC, 2021 UT 67, —P.3d —
• In re Est. of Heater, 2021 UT 66, 498 P.3d 883
• Cougar Canyon Loan LLC v. Walker, 2020 UT App 176, — P.3d —
• UDAK Props. LLC v. Spanish Fork, UT Realty LLC, 2020 UT App 164, — P.3d —
• UDAK Props. LLC v. Canyon Creek Commercial Ctr. LLC, 2020 UT App 163, — P.3d —
• Utah Dep’t of Transp. v. Target Corp., 2020 UT 10, — P.3d —
• C.R. England v. Swift Transportation Co., 2019 UT 8, 437 P.3d 343
• Count My Vote, Inc. v. Cox, 2019 UT 60, 452 P.3d 1109
• Raser Techs., Inc. v. Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC, 2019 UT 44, 449 P.3d 150
• Biesele v. Mattena, 2019 UT 30, 449 P.3d 1
• Raass Bros. Inc. v. Raass, 2019 UT App 183, 454 P.3d 83
• Levitt v. Iasis Healthcare Holdings Inc., 2019 UT App 68, 442 P.3d 1211
• Salt Lake Tribune v. State Records Comm’n, 2019 UT 68, — P.3d —
• Oldroyd v. Oldroyd, 2019 UT App 155, — P.3d —
• GeoMetWatch Corp. v. Utah State Univ. Research Found., 2018 UT 50, 428 P.3d 1064
• Utah Dep’t of Transportation v. Target Corp., 2018 UT App 24, 414 P.3d 1080
• Matter of Evan O. Koller Revocable Living Tr., 2018 UT App 26, 414 P.3d 1099
• Matter of Koller, 2018 UT App 27, 424 P.3d 926
• Triple J Parking Inc. v. SCSB LLC, 2018 UT App 162, 436 P.3d 185
• Krahenbuhl v. The Cottle Firm, 2018 UT App 138, 427 P.3d 1216
• Goeckeritz v. Newspaper Agency Co., Case No. 20170625-CA (order of affirmance)
• Phillips v. Dep’t of Commerce, Div. of Sec., 2017 UT App 84, 397 P.3d 863
• Liley v. Cedar Springs Ranch Inc., 2017 UT App 166, 405 P.3d 817
• Mower v. Simpson, 2017 UT App 23, 392 P.3d 861

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS – TENTH CIRCUIT

• Wasatch Transp., Inc. v. Forest River Inc., 53 F.4th 577 (10th Cir. 2022)
• Banner Bank v. Smith, 30 F.4th 1232 (10th Cir. 2022)
• GeoMetWatch Corp. v. Behunin, — F.4th — (10th Cir. 2022)
• Alfwear, Inc. v. Mast-Jaegermeister US, Inc., No. 21-4123
• Li v. Lewis, No. 20-4089, 2021 WL 4592270 (10th Cir. 2021)
• Petersen v. Raymond Corp., 994 F.3d 1224 (10th Cir. 2021)
• Moon v. Tall Tree Administrators, — F. App’x —, 2020 WL 2535692 (10th Cir. 2020)
• Cai v. Huntsman Corp., — F. App’x. —, 2020 WL 1909066 (10th Cir. 2020)
• Campbell Invs., LLC v. Dickey’s Barbecue Rests., Inc., 784 F. App’x 627 (10th Cir. 2019)
• In re Robertson, 774 F. App’x 453 (10th Cir. 2019)
• Advanced Recovery Sys. v. Am. Agencies, 923 F.3d 819 (10th Cir. 2019)
• In re EuroGas, Inc., 755 F. App’x 825 (10th Cir. 2019)
• Harper v. C.R. England, Inc., 746 F. App’x 712 (10th Cir. 2018)
• Hankishiyev v. ARUP Labs., 732 F. App’x 673 (10th Cir. 2018)
• Rowe v. DPI Specialty Foods, Inc., 727 F. App’x 488 (10th Cir. 2018)
• Donner v. Nicklaus, 700 F. App’x 877 (10th Cir. 2017)
• Villecco v. Vail Resorts, Inc., 707 F. App’x 531 (10th Cir. 2017)
• VR Acquisitions, LLC v. Wasatch Cty., 853 F.3d 1142 (10th Cir. 2017)
• Branham v. Delta Airlines, 678 F. App’x 702 (10th Cir. 2017)

RQN APPELLATE RESOURCES

• Gerrymandering, Abortion, and Much More: Cases and Issues in the Pipeline at the Utah Supreme Court (Utah Bar Journal, Volume 37 No. 1, Jan/Feb 2024)
• “Looking Back and Forging Ahead: The Utah Supreme Court,” CLE hosted by the Appellate Practice Section of the Utah State Bar, Dec 2023
• “Appellate Practice 101,” CLE hosted by the Appellate Court Pilot Pro Bono Program, Nov 2023
• “Appeals Are Always an Uphill Battle How Steep is the Slope?” CLE hosted by The Litigation & Appellate Practice Sections of the Utah State Bar, Jan 2023.
• Abortion, Actual Innocence, and Much More: Cases and Issues in the Pipeline at the Utah Supreme Court (Utah Bar Journal, Volume 36 No. 1, Jan/Feb 2023)
• “Looking Back and Forging Ahead: the Utah Supreme Court and Utah Court of Appeals,” CLE hosted by the Litigation Section and Appellate Section of the Utah State Bar, Dec, 2022
• A Practitioner’s Guide to the Utah Court of Appeals Part 2: Jurisdiction, Procedure, and Outcome (Utah Bar Journal, Volume 35 No. 5, Sept/Oct 2022) 
• A Practitioner’s Guide to the Utah Court of Appeals Part 1: Jurisdiction, Procedure, and Outcome (Utah Bar Journal, Volume 34 No. 4, July/Aug 2022) 
• Understanding the Utah Supreme Court’s Docket: A Practitioner’s Guide (Utah Bar Journal, Volume 35 No. 1, Jan/Feb 2022) 

RQN APPELLATE FILINGS — EXAMPLES

UTAH SUPREME COURT

• Petitioner’s Brief
• Petitioner’s Reply Brief
• Petition for Rehearing
• Appellant Brief
• Appellant Reply Brief 
• Appellant Supplemental Brief 
• Response to Petition for Cert

UTAH COURT OF APPEALS

• Appellant Brief 
• Appellant Reply Brief 
• Appellee Response to Petition for Rehearing 

TENTH CIRCUIT

• Appellee Brief 
• Appellant Brief 
• Appellant Reply Brief