Background
Defendants in an underlying case filed an Application for Certification of an Interlocutory Appeal in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Interlocutory appeals allow parties to seek immediate appellate review of certain trial court orders before final judgment, but they are not automatic—the trial court must first certify that the order meets specific criteria and is filed within strict time limits.
The trial court issued its decision on June 10, 2026. Under Delaware Supreme Court Rule 42(c)(i), defendants had 10 days to file an application for certification of the interlocutory appeal. Applying Delaware Supreme Court Rule 11, which excludes intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays when computing periods of less than 7 days, the deadline fell on June 22, 2026. Defendants filed their application on June 25, 2026—three days late.
The Court’s Holding
Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick denied the application for certification of an interlocutory appeal because it was untimely filed. The defendants missed the June 22 deadline by three days.
The court noted that Delaware Supreme Court Rules, not Court of Chancery Rules, govern interlocutory appeals. The strict 10-day deadline in Supreme Court Rule 42(c)(i) can only be extended by the trial court upon a showing of good cause. The defendants presented no such showing. Accordingly, the court declined to exercise its discretion to grant an extension and denied the application without reviewing the merits of whether certification was warranted.
Key Takeaways
- Interlocutory appeal deadlines in Delaware are strict and jurisdictional—missing the 10-day deadline by even three days is fatal without good cause.
- Delaware Supreme Court Rules govern interlocutory appeal procedure, not Court of Chancery Rules; counsel must consult the correct rule set and compute deadlines accordingly (Rule 11 governs intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays).
- A trial court has discretion to extend the deadline only upon a showing of good cause; mere untimeliness results in immediate dismissal without reaching the merits of the certification request.
- Prior Delaware appellate decisions establish that untimely interlocutory appeal applications are routinely denied without exception.
Why It Matters
This order underscores the importance of meticulous deadline tracking in Delaware litigation. Interlocutory appeals are already a discretionary remedy; parties seeking them must file within the prescribed window or forfeit the opportunity entirely. The three-day delay here—a period that might seem minor in other procedural contexts—was dispositive.
For practitioners, the decision highlights a critical trap: the rules governing interlocutory appeals differ from the ordinary Court of Chancery rules, and mistakes about which rules apply or how to calculate deadlines (particularly regarding intermediate weekends and holidays) can destroy a client’s right to immediate appellate review. Careful calendar tracking and early consideration of interlocutory appeal strategy are essential in Delaware practice.
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