Opinion
No. 108, 2008.
Submitted: February 28, 2008.
Decided: March 7, 2008.
Court Below — Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for New Castle County, C.A. No. 03C-12-286.
Before BERGER, JACOBS and RIDGELY, Justices.
ORDER
This 7th day of March 2008, it appears to the Court that:
(1) The third-party defendant-appellant, Beebe Medical Center, filed an appeal from the Superior Court's January 28, 2008 order granting in part and denying in part Beebe's motion for a protective order. Defendant-appellee Robert Villare, M.D., has moved to dismiss the appeal on the ground that Beebe improperly filed an appeal from an interlocutory order without complying with the requirements of Supreme Court Rule 42. We agree and, therefore, grant Dr. Villare's motion to dismiss.
(2) The test for whether an order is final and, thus, ripe for appeal is whether the trial court has clearly declared its intention that the order be the court's "final act" in a case. If the order of the trial court has not "determine[d] the substantial merits of the controversy and the material issues litigated or necessarily involved in the litigation" or "[i]f there is no finality of the decision of the essential questions involved," then the matter is interlocutory. Absent compliance with the requirements of Rule 42, this Court is without jurisdiction to entertain an interlocutory appeal.
J.L. Kislak Mortgage Corp. of Delaware v. William Matthews, Builder, Inc., 303 A.2d 648, 650 (Del. 1973).
Showell Poultry, Inc. v. Delmarva Poultry Corp., 146 A.2d 794, 796 (Del. 1958).
Julian v. State, 440 A.2d 990, 991 (Del. 1982).
(3) Because Beebe has not attempted to comply with the requirements of Rule 42 for taking an interlocutory appeal, we conclude that this appeal must be dismissed.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the within appeal is DISMISSED pursuant to Supreme Court Rules 29(b) and 42.