(a)When transcripts are necessary. In preparing the notice of appeal, the petitioner is responsible for making the initial determination as to whether a written transcript of a proceeding in the lower tribunal will assist in deciding the issues presented on appeal. Because the parties are encouraged to agree on the contents of the appendix pursuant to Rule 7(e), the petitioner is encouraged to confer with the other parties to the case as to whether transcripts are necessary.(b)Requesting transcripts-preliminaty matters. Before a transcript of proceedings may be requested for purposes of an appeal, the requesting party must obtain-from each court reporter who will be involved in preparing any portion of the transcript-an estimate of the length of the transcript, and must make appropriate financial arrangements with each court reporter either by: (1) immediate payment in full or by another payment arrangement that is acceptable to the court reporter pursuant to subsection (e) of this Rule; or (2) filing, in appropriate cases, an affidavit of indigency or order appointing counsel in the circuit clerk's office, in which case payment for the transcript will be made by the Supreme Court.(c)Transcript requests by the petitioner. The petitioner's transcript request is made by filing a notice of appeal and appellate transcript request form as required by Rule 5 and in the format provided in Appendix A of these Rules. If a petitioner fails to properly request a transcript within the time specified, fails to make satisfactory financial arrangements with the court reporter, or fails to specify in adequate detail those proceedings to be transcribed, the Intermediate Court or the Supreme Court may deny motions for an extension of the appeal period or subject the appeal to dismissal by the Court for failure to perfect.(d)Transcript requests by the respondent. If the respondent, upon review of the petitioner's notice of appeal, is of the opinion that the transcripts listed by the petitioner, if any, are not adequate to permit fair consideration of the assignments of error presented, the respondent shall, within fourteen days after service of the notice of appeal, request that additional transcripts be prepared by completing and filing an appellate transcript request contained in Appendix A of these Rules. The respondent's transcript request shall be served upon opposing counsel, on each court reporter from whom a transcript is requested, and be filed with the Clerk. As appropriate to the circumstances, the Intermediate Court or the Supreme Court will issue an amended scheduling order. The respondent may provide a statement of costs to the Intermediate Court or the Supreme Court if transcripts produced under this subsection are included in a supplemental appendix under Rule 7.(e)Payment for transcripts. In cases where transcripts are not paid for by the Supreme Court, the court reporter may, for good cause shown by the requesting party, defer payment at the time the transcript is requested. If payment is deferred in whole or in part, the requesting party must make full payment upon receipt of the court reporter's invoice. If payment is not received by the court reporter within a reasonable amount of time, the Intermediate Court or the Supreme Court may deny motions for extension of the appeal period or dismiss the appeal for failure to perfect. When a transcript has been properly requested, but the appeal is later dismissed or withdrawn, the requesting party is nevertheless obligated to pay the court reporter for the cost of the transcript prepared prior to the court reporter's receipt of notification from the requesting party that the appeal has been dismissed or withdrawn. If a party has made an informal request for a transcript but fails to properly complete and file a notice of appeal containing the appropriate transcript request, the court reporter is not obligated to perform any work to complete the transcript unless otherwise provided by order.(f)Duties of the court reporter. Unless otherwise provided in a scheduling order or other order issued by the Intermediate Court or the Supreme Court, a completed transcript is due forty-five days from the court reporter's receipt of the appellate transcript request; provided, however, that transcripts in abuse and neglect appeals under Rule 11 are not prepared for purposes of appeal unless specifically approved in advance by the Supreme Court. The court reporter shall promptly notify the Deputy Clerk of any problem with the appellate transcript request or the financial arrangements. Upon completion of the transcript, the court reporter must promptly provide a copy to the requesting party, file the original transcript in the circuit clerk's office, and provide a completed certification setting forth the date the transcript was filed to the Clerk. Additional duties and responsibilities applicable to court reporters are set forth in the Official Manual for West Virginia Court Reporters.(g)Extensions of time to complete transcripts. The Clerk may grant an extension of time for the court reporter to complete a transcript. All requests for extensions of time must be specific and in writing.Amended June 15, 2022, effective 7/1/2022.