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).”
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This case is
also reported in the PLAN Legal Update http://planupdate.blogspot.com/ ,
which is searchable and can be accessed without a password.
