In the Matter of the Petition of Dana Fichera for a Writ of Certiorari

• Court: Supreme Court of Delaware
• Decided: October 13, 2023
• Docket: 300, 2023
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION § OF DANA FICHERA FOR A WRIT OF § No. 300, 2023 CERTIORARI §

Submitted: September 5, 2023 Decided: October 13, 2023

Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; VALIHURA and GRIFFITHS, Justices.

ORDER

Upon consideration of the petition for a writ of certiorari, the notice to show

cause, the response to the notice to show cause, and the answer to the petition, it

appears to the Court that:

(1) The petitioner, Dana Fichera, seeks to invoke the original jurisdiction

of this Court, under Supreme Court Rule 43, to issue a writ of certiorari vacating a

Justice of the Peace Court panel’s decision in a summary possession action. On

August 24, 2023, the Senior Court Clerk issued a notice directing Fichera to show

cause why her petition should not be dismissed for her failure to first present the

petition to the Superior Court as required by Supreme Court Rule 43(b)(vi).

(2) In her response to the notice to show cause, Fichera argues the

substantive merits of her petition and contends that the Supreme Court should decide

the matter rather than the Superior Court. In his answer to the petition for a writ of

certiorari, Tony Bell argues that the petition is untimely because Fichera did not first file the petition in the Superior Court and the petition impermissibly seeks review of

the lower court’s factual findings.

(3) Rule 43(b)(vi) provides that a petition “shall not be filed under this rule

for a writ to be issued to the Court of Common Pleas, a Justice of the Peace Court,

or the Municipal Court of the City of Wilmington or to a judge thereof, unless a

petition for such writ shall have been first presented to and denied by the Superior

Court.” Fichera has not filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Superior

Court. Accordingly, her petition for a writ of certiorari in this Court must be

dismissed.1

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, under Supreme Court Rules 29(b)

and 43, that the petition for a writ of certiorari is DISMISSED.

BY THE COURT:

/s/ Collins J. Seitz, Jr. Chief Justice

1 See, e.g., In re Willis, 2021 WL 3074346, at *1 (Del. July 20, 2021) (dismissing petition for issuance of a writ of certiorari to the Court of Common Pleas where the petitioner had not first presented a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Superior Court).