IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

ROGER STUART
, 1

Petitioner Below, Appellant,

v.

PATRICIA DAVIS STUART
, Respondent Below, Appellee. § § No. 83 , 202 3 § § Court Below: Family Court § of the State of Delaware § § File No. C N20

- 04237 § Petition No. 2 0

- 22126 § 22

- 06786 § §

Submitted: March 16 , 20 2 3 Decided: March 21 , 20 2 3

Before SEITZ
, Chief Justice; VAUGHN and TRAYNOR , Justices

.
ORDER
(1) On March 6
, 2023, the appellant filed a notice of appeal from an order
of the Family Court
, dated and docketed on January 31, 2023, deciding matters
ancillary to the parties’ divorce

. Under Supreme Court Rule 6(a)(i), a timely notice
of appeal should have been filed , at the latest, by March 2 , 202 3

. 2 The Clerk of this

Court issued a notice directing the appellant to show cause why this appeal should
not be dismissed as untimely filed. In response to the notice, the appellant asserts
that he did not receive the Family Court’s order until February 13 , 2023 , and that he

1 The Court previously assigned pseudonyms to the parties under Supreme Court Rule 7(d). 2 See D EL

. S UPR

. C T

. R . 6(a)(i) (providing that a notice of appeal in a civil case shall be filed “[w]ithin 30 days after entry upon the docket of a judgment, order or decree from which the appeal is taken”).2

filed the notice of appeal as soon as he was ab le, given his therapy schedule
following back surgery

. (2) Time is a jurisdictional requirement. 3 A notice of appeal must be
received by the Office of the Clerk of this Court within the applicable time period in

order to be effective. 4 An appellant’s pro s e status does not excuse a failure to
comply strictly with the jurisdictional requirements. 5 Unless an appellant can
demonstrate that the failure to file a timely notice of appeal is attributable to court

related personnel, an untimely appeal cannot be c onsidered. 6 “Medical hardship
does not excuse failure to comply strictly with the jurisdictional time requirement
for filing an appeal.” 7

(3) The appellant has not demonstrated that h is failure to file a timely
notice of appeal is attributable to court

- rela ted personnel. T he appeal must therefore

be dismissed

. 8

3 Carr v. State , 554 A.2d 778, 779 (Del. 1989). 4 S UPR

. C T

. R. 10(a). 5 Rogers v. Morgan , 2019 WL 168667 (Del. Jan. 10, 2019); Taylor v. Powell , 2015 WL 2 452916 (Del. May 20, 2015). 6 Bey v. State , 402 A.2d 362, 363 (Del. 1979). 7 Bivens v. Barkley , 2014 WL 3658818, at * (Del. July 22, 2014). 8 See , e.g. , Porter v. Townsend , 2022 WL 905750 (Del. Mar. 28, 2022) (dismissing untimely appeal in which appellant stated in response to notice to show cause that he had contract ed COVID

- 19 and was in very poor health); Rogers , 2019 WL 168667 (dismissing untimely appeal in which appellant attributed delay, in part, to postal delays resulting from moving out of the parties’ home after the Family Court ordered the house to be sold); Alford v . State , 2013 WL 3484679 (Del. July 8, 2013) (dismissing untimely appeal in which appellant s tated in response to notice to show cause that effects of heart surgery had contributed to the untimely filing) ; Washington v. Div. of Fam.3

N OW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, under Supreme Court Rule 29(b),
that the appeal is DISMISSED.

BY THE COURT:
/s/ Gary F. Traynor Justice

Servs. , 2011 WL 6201770 (Del. Dec. 13, 2011) (dismissing appeal that was filed three days late, in which appellant s tated in response to the notice to show cause that she had been in ill health)

.