Carney v. UCBR – Cmwlth. Court
– January 19, 2018
Held: Pressure of the
particular life events in this case (birth of child, demands of starting a
business) are not sufficient to excuse an untimely appeal.
Timely appeal is jurisdictional -- Failure to file a timely
appeal as required by Section 501(e) of the Law is a jurisdictional defect.
Russo v. UCBR, 13 A.3d 1000 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2010). The time limit for a statutory
appeal is mandatory; it may not be extended as a matter of grace or indulgence.
Id.
Exceptions - To justify an exception to the
appeal deadline, Claimant must demonstrate that his delay resulted from
extraordinary circumstances involving fraud, a breakdown in the administrative
process, or non-negligent circumstances relating to Claimant himself. See id.
This is an extremely heavy burden. Blast Intermediate Unit No. 17 v. UCBR, 645
A.2d 447 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1994); Reed v. UCBR, 406 A.2d 852 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1979).
Failure to notice appeal
deadline -
A claimant’s failure to notice the appeal deadline in a UC determination does
not constitute a non-negligent circumstance justifying an untimely appeal.
Reed; Delaney v. UCBR, 368 A.2d 1351 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1977). Thus, Claimant’s
explanation that he failed to notice the appeal deadline in the determination
he received from the Department is legally insufficient to excuse his failure
to file a timely appeal.
Pressure of claimant’s
particular life events not sufficient - The pressure of many life events is likewise
insufficient to excuse an untimely appeal. This Court consistently rejects such
excuses. See, e.g., Constantini v. UCBR, 173 A.3d 838 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2017),
(ongoing legal issues, home computer network issues, and medical emergency
appointments); Maloy v. UCBR (Pa. Cmwlth., No. 1009 C.D. 2015, filed April 13,
2016), 2016 Pa. Commw. Unpub. LEXIS 271 (unreported) (dealing with brother’s
death, moving, and caring for daughter and sick mother); Burgher v. UCBR (Pa.
Cmwlth., No. 1929 C.D. 2014, filed July 7, 2015), 2015 Pa. Commw. Unpub. LEXIS
461 (unreported) (anxiety and stress from layoff); Rabe v. UCBR (Pa. Cmwlth.,
No. 1785 C.D. 2013, filed February 24, 2014), 2014 Pa. Commw. Unpub. LEXIS 115
(unreported) (financial stress and multiple pending court cases); Menges v.
UCBR (Pa. Cmwlth., No. 2230 C.D. 2009, filed April 22, 2010), 2010 Pa. Commw.
Unpub. LEXIS 254 (unreported) (death in the family and lingering effects of a
medical condition). We cite these decisions as persuasive. See 210 Pa. Code
§69.414(a).
Major life events may
excuse late appeal
– “We do not suggest that a major life event can never furnish a sufficient
non-negligent reason to allow an untimely appeal. See, e.g., Cook v. UCBR, 671
A.2d 1130 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1996) (en banc) (claimant showed non-negligent
extraordinary circumstances justifying a late appeal, where he filed four days
late because on the deadline for the appeal, he was hospitalized in a cardiac
care unit after a collapse).”
