Title: Brill v. Division of Child Support Services/Lang

State: delaware

Issuer: Delaware Supreme Court

Document:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
CARSON BRILL,1 
 
Respondent Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
DIVISION OF CHILD SUPPORT 
SERVICES/BIONCA LANG, 
 
Petitioner Below, 
Appellee. 
§ 
§  No. 286, 2023 
§ 
§  Court Below—Family Court 
§  of the State of Delaware 
§   
§  File No. CS08-02892 
§  Petition No. 22-00746 
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted: August 29, 2023 
 
 
 
 
Decided: 
September 8, 2023 
 
Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; LEGROW and GRIFFITHS, Justices. 
 
ORDER 
 
After consideration of the notice to show cause and the response, it appears to 
the Court that: 
(1) 
On August 15, 2023, the respondent below-appellant, Carson Brill, 
filed this appeal from a Family Court Commissioner’s order, dated July 18, 2023, 
finding him in contempt of court for failing to pay his child support obligations and 
committing him to Level III probation.  The Senior Court Clerk issued a notice 
directing Brill to show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed for this Court’s 
 
1 The Court previously assigned pseudonyms to the parties under Supreme Court Rule 7(d).  
2 
 
lack of jurisdiction to consider an appeal directly from a Family Court 
Commissioner’s order.   
(2) 
In his response to the notice to show cause, Brill recites equitable 
principles.  He does not address this Court’s lack of jurisdiction to entertain an appeal 
from a Family Court Commissioner’s order. 
(3) 
Under 10 Del. C. § 915(d) and Family Court Civil Rules 53.1(a), a 
party’s right to appeal from a Commissioner’s order is to a judge of the Family 
Court.2  This Court lacks jurisdiction to consider an appeal directly from a Family 
Court Commissioner’s order.3  Accordingly, this appeal must be dismissed. 
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, under Supreme Court Rule 29(b), 
that this appeal is DISMISSED.   
BY THE COURT: 
/s/ N. Christopher Griffiths 
Justice 
 
2 10 Del. C. § 915(d)(1), (2) (governing appeals from final and interim orders issued by 
commissioners); Fam. Ct. Civ. R. 53.1(a) (“An interim or final order of a commissioner may be 
appealed to a judge of the [Family] Court....”). 
3 See, e.g., Waples v. Div. of Child Support Servs., 2005 WL 1653768, at *1 (Del. June 23, 2005) 
(dismissing appeal from Family Court Commissioner’s order civilly committing appellant for 
contempt of court).