Darrell Murphy, Claimant/Appellant, v. Division of Employment Security, Respondent.

This slip opinion is subject to revision and may not reflect the final opinion adopted by the Court. Opinion Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Style: Darrell Murphy, Claimant/Appellant, v. Division of Employment Security, Respondent. Case Number: ED91782 Handdown Date: 10/07/2008 Appeal From: Labor and Industrial Relations Commission Counsel for Appellant: Party Acting Pro Se Counsel for Respondent: Matthew Murphy Opinion Summary: Darrell Murphy appeals the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission's decision dismissing his application for review of the Appeals Tribunal's decision regarding unemployment benefits. DISMISSED. Division Five holds: Murphy's appeal must be dismissed because the application for review to the commission was untimely, which deprives the commission and this court of jurisdiction over the case. Citation: Opinion Author: Nannette A. Baker, Chief Judge Opinion Vote: APPEAL DISMISSED. Cohen and Romines, JJ., concur. Opinion:

Darrell Murphy (Claimant) appeals the decision of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (Commission) dismissing his application for review of the Appeals Tribunal's decision regarding unemployment benefits. We dismiss the appeal. A deputy of the Division of Employment Security (Division) determined that Claimant was disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits because he was discharged by his employer for misconduct connected with work. Claimant filed an appeal with the Appeals Tribunal of the Division. The Appeals Tribunal ultimately dismissed Claimant's appeal because he failed to participate in a telephone hearing.(FN1) Claimant then filed an application for review with the Commission, which dismissed it as untimely. Claimant now appeals to this Court. The Division has filed a motion to dismiss Claimant's appeal. The Division asserts that Claimant's late application for review to the Commission deprived both the Commission and this Court of jurisdiction. Claimant has not filed a response. A claimant has thirty (30) days from the mailing of the Appeals Tribunal decision to file an application for review with the Commission. Section 288.200.1, RSMo 2000. Here, the Appeals Tribunal mailed its decision to Claimant on June 18, 2008, 2008. The application for review was due thirty days later, on July 18, 2008. Section 288.200.1. Claimant faxed the application for review to the Commission on July 21, 2008, which was untimely under section 288.200.1. There are no exceptions in the unemployment statutes to the thirty-day filing requirement. Filing a timely application for review, therefore, is a jurisdictional requirement in both the Commission and this Court. Brown v. MOCAP, Inc., 105 S.W.3d 854, 855 (Mo. App. E.D. 2003). Without jurisdiction over the appeal, we must dismiss it.

The Division's motion to dismiss is granted. The appeal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Footnotes: FN1. The Appeals Tribunal initially determined that Claimant's appeal was untimely and he lacked good cause for its untimeliness. However, the Commission later remanded the case to the Appeals Tribunal for a hearing on the merits after the Appeals Tribunal located a missing letter that Claimant had timely faxed to it. Separate Opinion: None This slip opinion is subject to revision and may not reflect the final opinion adopted by the Court.