Key legal question
Whether the unsigned appeal brief satisfied the formal requirements for a federal appeal.
Extracted holding
No. The filing lacked the required signature and the appellant did not cure the defect within the set deadline.
Extracted reasoning
Under Art. 42 para. 1 and 5 BGG, an appeal must be signed and defects must be remedied when the court sets a time limit. The appellant failed to file a signed version by 17 December 2012.