Short answer. Once the Court of Appeals gives your petition for review due course, it may set the case for oral argument or order memoranda within fifteen days from notice. Under Rule 42, Section 9, the case is deemed submitted for decision only once the last required pleading or memorandum is filed.
What the law says
If the petition is given due course, the Court of Appeals may set the case for oral argument or require the parties to submit memoranda within a period of fifteen days from notice.
Rule 42, Section 9 — Submission for decision. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The case shall be deemed submitted for decision upon the filing of the last pleading or memorandum required by these Rules or by the court itself.
Rule 42, Section 9 — Submission for decision. Read the full provision →
Due course opens a fifteen-day window
Giving a petition for review due course does not put the case straight into the court's decision queue. Section 9 gives the Court of Appeals two options once due course is granted: it may set the case for oral argument or require the parties to submit memoranda within a period of fifteen days from notice. Which path it takes is discretionary, and the fifteen-day period runs from the notice giving due course, not from any earlier stage of the petition.
What 'submitted for decision' actually means
The rule fixes a precise trigger for when the clock on deciding the case starts. The case is submitted for decision upon the filing of the last pleading or memorandum required by these Rules or by the court itself. That could be the petitioner's or respondent's memorandum, or whatever final paper the court specifically calls for — the label does not matter, only that it is the last one required.
Why the exact moment matters
Because appellate courts operate under internal timelines that run from submission, pinpointing this moment lets parties gauge how the case is progressing and confirm that every paper the court asked for has actually been filed. A party who assumes the case is 'basically done' after briefs alone, without checking whether the court ordered a memorandum, may be surprised that submission has not yet occurred, and that the appellate court's own internal clock for deciding the case has not even started running yet.
Practical takeaway for petitioners
If the Court of Appeals gives your Rule 42 petition due course, track its order closely: does it call for oral argument, or does it direct memoranda within fifteen days? File whatever is required promptly, since the case cannot be deemed submitted — and the decision clock cannot start — until that last required filing is in. Missing that filing, or assuming the case is already submitted without checking the court's specific order, can quietly delay a decision you are otherwise waiting on.
Related provisions
- Rule 42, Section 9 — Submission for decision
- Rule 42, Section 8 — Perfection of appeal; effect thereof