Appellate Law

Issue, Though Preserved Below, Not Subject to Appellate Review When First Raised in Oral Argument

Ordinarily, an appellate court will not consider an argument that a party presents to the court for the first time at oral argument, even though the party preserved the argument in the lower court.  "Issues not clearly raised in the briefs are considered abandoned."  Edwards v. Niagara Credit Solutions, Inc., No. 08-17006 (11th Cir. Oct. 14, 2009).

The Court in Edwards affirmed a summary judgment for the plaintiff on a different ground from the one on which the district court relied.  In doing so, the Court repeated the well-settled rule that an appellate court may affirm a summary judgment "on any legal ground, regardless of the grounds . . . relied upon by the district court."

Full post as published by Alabama Appellate Watch on October 19, 2009 (boomark / email).