Title: Clark v. Cook

State: delaware

Issuer: Delaware Supreme Court

Document:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
PHOEBE CLARK,1 
 
Petitioner Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
BELLA COOK, 
 
Respondent Below, 
Appellee. 
§ 
§  No. 6, 2023 
§ 
§  Court Below—Family Court 
§  of the State of Delaware 
§   
§  File No. CS17-02841 
§  Petition No. 22-24835 
§ 
§ 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted: January 17, 2023 
 
 
 
 
   Decided: February 7, 2023 
 
Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; VALIHURA and VAUGHN, Justices. 
 
ORDER 
 
After consideration of the notice to show cause and the response, it appears to 
the Court that: 
(1) 
On January 6, 2023, the petitioner below-appellant, Phoebe Clark, filed 
this appeal from a Family Court Commissioner’s order, dated December 13, 2022, 
denying her motion to rescind a protection from abuse order.  The Senior Court Clerk 
issued a notice directing Clark to show cause why this appeal should not be 
dismissed for this Court’s lack of jurisdiction to consider an appeal directly from a 
Family Court Commissioner’s order.   
 
1 The Court previously assigned pseudonyms to the parties under Supreme Court Rule 7(d).  
2 
 
(2) 
In her response to the notice to show cause, Clark challenges the 
issuance of the underlying protection from abuse order that was entered by default 
in October 2019.  She 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 lacks jurisdiction to consider an appeal 
directly from a Family Court Commissioner’s order.3  This appeal must therefore be 
dismissed. 
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, under Supreme Court Rule 29(b), 
that this appeal is DISMISSED.   
BY THE COURT: 
/s/ Karen L. Valihura 
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., Wilson v. Div. of Child Support Servs./Ridgeway, 2021 WL 5028375, at *1 (Del. Oct. 
28, 2021) (dismissing appeal from Family Court Commissioner’s order for lack of jurisdiction); 
Wright v. DCSE, 2009 WL 1847743, at *1 (Del. June 29, 2009) (same).