Opinion ID: 2295872
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Signatories to the Claim of Appeal

Text: On appeal, plaintiffs challenge the hearing justice's conclusion that Victor and Madonna failed to perfect their appeals in the Superior Court because their signatures were not included on the claim of appeal. The plaintiffs argue that their appeal to the Superior Court complied with the procedural requirements of § 33-23-1(a)(1) because it was filed under § 33-23-1(f). [11] To support their argument, plaintiffs point out that the Probate Court judge suggested the use of a consent order pursuant to § 33-23-1(f) to stipulate to an appeal to the Superior Court and that all of the parties, including Victor and Madonna, worked together to determine the contents of the consent order. The plaintiffs assert that because the consent order was attached to the claim of appeal at the time it was filed and because it referred to the parties (specifically naming Ambrose, Victor, and Madonna as decedent's three beneficiaries), all three Mendes children should be considered appellants in the appeal to the Superior Court. [12] The defendants argue, however, that because Ambrose was the only signatory on the claim of appeal, he was the only plaintiff to appropriately file it. As a result, defendants contend that the appeal does not include Victor or Madonna. Section 33-23-1(a) sets forth the requirements for filing a claim of appeal from the Probate Court to the Superior Court. However, § 33-23-1(f) states that [n]othing in this chapter shall preclude interested parties in a probate proceeding from stipulating to a probate appeal from the [P]robate [C]ourt to the [S]uperior [C]ourt, and it also directs that [s]uch a stipulated probate appeal shall be governed by and be subject to the procedural requirements of this chapter. Section 33-23-1(a) further states that  [a]ny person aggrieved by an order or decree of a [P]robate [C]ourt    may    appeal to the [S]uperior [C]ourt by following the procedure laid out in the same section. (Emphasis added.) This clearly means that any individual, out of the number of all individuals aggrieved by a Probate Court order, has the authority to file an appeal, but is not required to do so. We agree with the hearing justice that the only party that satisfied the requirements of § 33-23-1(a)(1), namely, the requirement to file a claim of appeal, was Ambrose. Accordingly, we hold that he was the only plaintiff to properly file an appeal in the Superior Court. 2