Background
Micheal Miller appealed from a judgment of the Delaware Court of Chancery in favor of Mary Miller Paschal. The judgment rested on the Court of Chancery’s February 10, 2026 order approving a Magistrate in Chancery’s final report issued on January 29, 2026.
Miller did not file exceptions to the Magistrate’s final report. The Delaware Supreme Court considered the parties’ briefs and the record below.
The Court’s Holding
The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s judgment. It concluded that Miller’s failure to file exceptions to the Magistrate’s report left no issues preserved for appellate review.
The court relied on the settled rule that substantive challenges to a Magistrate in Chancery’s final report must be raised through exceptions under Court of Chancery Rule 144 to be preserved for appeal.
Key Takeaways
- A party seeking to challenge a Magistrate in Chancery’s final report must timely file exceptions in the Court of Chancery.
- Issues not raised through Rule 144 exceptions are not preserved for review by the Delaware Supreme Court.
- Because Miller preserved no appellate issues, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment without reaching the merits of any substantive challenge.
Why It Matters
The order underscores that filing exceptions to a Magistrate in Chancery’s final report is an essential preservation step, not a procedural formality. Delaware practitioners who bypass that process risk forfeiting appellate review of their substantive objections.