E.M. v. C.W.

• Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
• Decided: September 13, 2024
• Docket: CAAP-24-0000267
• Status: Published

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 13-SEP-2024 07:47 AM Dkt. 40 ODSLJ

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I

E.M., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. C.W., Defendant-Appellee.

APPEAL FROM THE FAMILY COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT (CASE NO. 3DV221000048)

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL FOR LACK OF APPELLATE JURISDICTION (By: Wadsworth, Presiding Judge, Nakasone and McCullen, JJ.)

Upon review of the record, it appears:

(1) Self-represented Plaintiff-Appellant E.M. appeals

from a March 20, 2024 Order from the Family Court of the Third

Circuit, which the Notice of Appeal states is attached as

Exhibit A;

(2) There is no attachment labeled "Exhibit A," but

payroll statements, a Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA)

Statement, a May 1, 2023 CSEA Administrative Findings and Order, NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

and an undated Child Support Guidelines Worksheet are attached

to the Notice of Appeal;

(3) There is no family court order dated March 20,

2024 attached to the Notice of Appeal and no such order appears

in the record of the underlying case, see generally, In re Doe,

96 Hawai‘i 272, 283, 30 P.3d 878, 889 (2001) (explaining that,

"[i]n general, appeals in family court cases, as in other civil

cases, may be taken only from (1) a final judgment, order, or

decree, . . . or (2) a certified interlocutory order");

(4) A divorce decree was entered in the underlying

case on February 26, 2024;

(5) However, the Notice of Appeal was filed on

April 1, 2024, more than 30 days after entry of the divorce

decree;

(6) Even if this court construes the Notice of Appeal

as appealing from the divorce decree, the notice would be

untimely under Hawai‘i Rules of Appellate Procedure (HRAP)

Rule 4(a)(1) (requiring notice of appeal be filed within 30 days

after entry of judgment or appealable order); and

(7) Thus, this court lacks jurisdiction over this

appeal, see HRAP Rule 26(b) (explaining that, "no court or judge

or justice is authorized to change the jurisdictional

requirements contained in Rule 4 of these rules"); Ditto v.

McCurdy, 103 Hawai‘i 153, 157, 80 P.3d 974, 978 (2003) (noting

2 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

generally "compliance with the requirement of the timely filing

of a notice of appeal is jurisdictional, and we must dismiss an

appeal on our motion if we lack jurisdiction") (citation and

internal quotation marks omitted).

Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that the appeal is dismissed

for lack of jurisdiction.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai‘i, September 13, 2024.

/s/ Clyde J. Wadsworth Presiding Judge

/s/ Karen T. Nakasone Associate Judge

/s/ Sonja M.P. McCullen Associate Judge