Case Caption: Dennie v. Virgin Islands Department of Justice et alCase Number: SCT-CIV-2020-0028Date: 04/17/2023Author: Cabret, Maria M. / Hodge, Rhys S. Citation: 2023 VI 6Summary: In this case involving claims of business interference, unfair competition and defamation, the plaintiff has attempted to appeal a non-final order entered in connection with an application for recovery of fees and costs after the Superior Court granted summary judgment for the defense. Since plaintiff did not appeal the November 15, 2019 summary judgment, and an application for recovery of costs is not among the motions that toll the time to file a notice of appeal of an otherwise final judgment, any challenge to the correctness of that underlying judgment has been waived under V.I. R. APP. P. 5(a)(4). The Superior Court’s January 8, 2020 order does not grant or deny recovery of costs and thus is not itself an appealable final judgment; its mere reference to the November 15, 2019 summary judgment ruling disposing of all the matters then before the court does not allow plaintiff to reach and resurrect that final judgment to argue its merits by appealing this entirely separate order. Even assuming that this purported appeal encompasses the November 15, 2019 judgment, the appeal is nevertheless untimely under V.I. Rule of Appellate Procedure 5(a)(10) or Rule 5(a)(4), and all temporal deadlines are strictly construed under V.I. R. APP. P. 17. Relaxing the requirements of Rule 5 under normal circumstances would severely undermine and weaken the rule's purpose and, here, appellant presents no grounds to find that this is a rare circumstance where this Court should overlook its own rules to hear an appeal. This appeal is untimely and is therefore dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.Attachment: Open Document or Opinion