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Dawson, Alice v. Trey Michaelson
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
ALICE DAWSON,1 § § No. 477, 2025 Respondent Below, § Appellant, § Court Below–Family Court § of the State of Delaware v. § § File No. CN20-02979 TREY MICHAELSON, § Petition No. 25-21673 § Petitioner Below, § Appellee. §
Submitted: December 30, 2025 Decided: January 5, 2026
Before VALIHURA, TRAYNOR, and LEGROW, Justices.
ORDER
After consideration of the notice to show cause and the appellant’s response, it appears to the Court that:
(1) On November 24, 2025, the appellant, Alice Dawson, filed a notice of appeal from a November 14, 2025 Family Court case management conference held on the appellee’s pending petition for a rule to show cause. The Chief Deputy Clerk issued a notice to Dawson to show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed for her failure to comply with Supreme Court Rule 42 when taking an appeal from
1 The Court previously assigned pseudonyms to the parties under Supreme Court Rule 7(d).
an interlocutory order. Dawson has responded to the notice to show cause but does not address the interlocutory nature of this appeal.
(2) An order constitutes a final judgment when it “leaves nothing for future determination or consideration.”2 Any decision made by the Family Court at the November 14 case management conference is interlocutory because the Family Court did not finally resolve the merits of the appellee’s petition for a rule to show cause.
(3) Absent compliance with Rule 42, the appellate jurisdiction of this Court is limited to the review of final trial court orders. 3 Dawson’s failure to comply with Rule 42 leaves this Court without jurisdiction to hear her interlocutory appeal. Dawson may appeal once the Family Court issues a final order in the rule-to-show-cause proceedings.4
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the appeal be DISMISSED under Supreme Court Rule 29(b).
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Gary F. Traynor Justice
2 Werb v. D’Alessandro, 606 A.2d 117, 119 (Del. 1992). 3 Julian v. State, 440 A.2d 990, 991 (Del. 1982). 4 We note that a hearing on the petition is scheduled for January 14, 2026.