Williams v. Dorsey

In Williams v. Dorsey, Del. Com. Pl. No. CPU4-14-001459, 2014, Welch, J. (Oct. 29, 2014), Williams and Dorsey filed competing claims which were consolidated into one action. At trial in the Justice of the Peace Court, both parties prevailed on some of the issues presented, with the Court ultimately awarding Dorsey $515.53. Williams appealed and Dorsey moved to dismiss. In Dorsey, the court opined 10 Del. C 9571 posses mandatory and jurisdictional requirements and provides the Court of Common Pleas the authority to adopt implementing rules. The Court opined ""court rules "are afforded the same status as the statute," and therefore, failure to comply [with] any requirements imposed by these rules will divest the Court of its subject matter jurisdiction to hear the appeal;'" however, in Dorsey, the Court concluded the motion to dismiss was based upon a violation of the mirror image rule as codified in CCP Civ. R. 72.3(f). This subsection of CCP Civ. R. 72.3 commands that the failure to satisfy the mirror image rule "shall result in a dismissal on jurisdictional grounds." Subsection (b), the subsection at issue here, contains no such command.