Failure to comply with 5A:20(e) = "affirmed without opinion"

In a short published opinion, the Virginia Court of Appeals held that a party's failure to comply with Rule 5A:20(e) resulted in waiver. Accordingly, the court affirmed the trial court decision "without opinion as to whether error exists in the record."

Specifically, in Parks v. Parks, a wife appealed a trial court's equitable distribution order, claiming three errors. However, none of these errors were accompanied by legal authority to support them, in violation of Rule 5A:20(e)'s requirement that an opening brief include "[t]he principles of law, the argument, and the authorities relating to each question presented." Citing the Supreme Court of Virginia's decision in Jay v. Commonwealth, 275 Va. 510, 659 S.E.2d 311 (2008), the court stated that waiver could only occur if the failure to comply with the Rule was "significant." In this case, the court held that the "wife's failure to comply with Rule 5A:20(e) as to each question presented [is] significant."

Note: Interestingly, the opinion lists the husband as the only pro se party in the case.