Failure of Main Text to Deliver the Substance of an Appellate Brief Heading Waives Argument Says Ninth Circuit

Per the Ninth Circuit in Affordable Housing Development Corp. v. City of Fresno, --- F.3d ----, 2006 WL 51198 (9th Cir. Jan. 11, 2006):

AHDC appeals the grant of summary judgment to the citizens. . . . The caption for this section of AHDC's brief refers to AHDC suing the citizens for “making threats” and “conspiring.” The brief, however, goes on to make no mention of any evidence of threats or of conspiracy. A caption is not an argument. These issues were abandoned as to all citizen defendants except Compton. Fed. R.App. Proc. 28(a)(4) [; Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 634 (9th Cir.1988).