On November 20, 2023, the Delaware Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board (a five-member panel appointed by the Governor) denied the unemployment claim appeal of Thomas Davis because it was untimely.
Decisions of the Board are appealable into the Superior Court of Delaware, and on December, 4, 2023, Davis filed an appeal in the Superior Court within the prescribed time to do so.
Davis submitted an opening brief to the Superior Court on February 28, 2024, but it did not contain any argument concerning the Board’s denial Decision from November 20, 2023.
On March 18, 2024, the Court issued a letter to Davis requesting that he re-submit his opening brief to specifically address the November 20, 2023 Board Decision. The Court did not receive a response from Davis as of April 29, 2024.
The Superior Court relied on Superior Court Rule 107(f) to dismiss Davis’s appeal due to Davis’s failure to cure the deficiencies in his opening brief. The Court commented further “that ‘there is no different set of rules for pro se plaintiffs, and the trial court should not sacrifice the orderly and efficient administration of justice to accommodate an unrepresented plaintiff.’”
Furthermore, the Court held that, concerning appeals to the Delaware Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, “‘the time for filing an appeal is an express statutory condition of jurisdiction that is both mandatory and dispositive.’”
In cases where the appeal delay was caused by administrative error by the Department of Labor, there could be relief found; however, without such administrative error, when deputy decisions become final, there is a statute based jurisdictional bar to further review.
Ultimately, the Court held that the Board “has broad discretion to consider any appeal” and that its denial of the Davis appeal to the Board was not an abuse of the Board’s discretion.
If you have any questions regarding this decision, especially the timing of unemployment claim appeals, please contact any attorney in our liability department.
Thomas Davis. State of Delaware Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board; C.A. No.: N23A-11-049 JRJ (Del. Super. Ct. April 29, 2024)
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