IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
ANA SIERRA, Individually and as )
Managing Member of FRESH HOT )
BAGELS, LLC, and FRESH HOT )
BAGELS, LLC, )
)
Plaintiffs/Appellants, )
)
v. ) C.A. No. N14A-03-009 JAP
)
RICHARD CASTILLO, )
)
Defendant/Appellee. )
RULE TO SHOW CAUSE
It appearing to the court that:
1. Appellants Sierra and Fresh Hot Bagels brought suit in the
Court of Common Pleas against Appellee Castillo for Castillo’s
alleged breach of a promissory note executed in connection with the
sale of a bagel shop to Castillo. Appellants are represented by
counsel; appellee is not represented and has not entered an
appearance in this appeal. Nonetheless the court questions its own
jurisdiction to hear this appeal.
2. The record reflects that this appeal was filed prior to entry
of a final judgment in the Court of Common Pleas. Sierra and
Fresh Hot Bagels obtained a default judgment against Castillo in
2012 in the court-below. Two years later, in that court, Castillo
moved to vacate that default and on March 7, 2014 the Court of
Common Pleas granted his motion.1 On March 17, 2014 Sierra and
Fresh Hot Bagels filed their Notice of Appeal which recites that they
are appealing from the Court of Common Pleas’ order of March 7,
2014. The record contains no indication that the Court of Common
Pleas entered a final judgment on the matter prior to the filing of
the notice of the instant appeal. To the contrary, on April 3, 2014
(three weeks after the filing of the Notice of Appeal) the Court of
Common Pleas notified the parties that a trial on the merits would
take place on August 21, 2014.
3. It is settled that this court lacks jurisdiction to hear
interlocutory appeals. In Anderson v. R.A. Midway Towing2 the
Delaware Supreme Court wrote:
While the Delaware Constitution confers
jurisdiction upon this Court to decide
interlocutory appeals, it does not confer such
jurisdiction upon the Superior Court. The
Superior Court has statutory authority to
decide appeals from decisions of the Court of
Common Pleas. However, such statutory
1 The Court of Common Pleas scheduled a trial on the merits to begin on August 21, 2014.
2 2006 WL 197806 (Del. July 14, 2006).
2
authority is limited to “any final order, ruling,
decision or judgment” of the Court of Common
Pleas. Because the Court of Common Pleas
had not yet entered a final judgment in this
matter, the Superior Court was without
jurisdiction to enter an order dismissing the
case.3
Wherefore, Appellants shall show cause in writing on or before
April 25, 2017 why their appeal should not be dismissed for lack of
jurisdiction.
It is SO ORDERED.
_________________________
April 13, 2017 John A. Parkins, Jr.
Superior Court Judge
oc: Prothonotary
cc: Andres Gutierrez de Cos, Esquire, Andres de Cos LLC,
Wilmington, Delaware
Richard Castillo, pro se, Bear, Delaware
3 Id. at *2 (footnotes omitted).
3