Pelosi v. Pelosi, 50 A.3d 795

The plaintiff-wife Kathleen Pelosi and the pro se defendant-husband Milton Pelosi were married in 1981 and have one child.
The wife filed for divorce on May 6, 2003, claiming irreconcilable differences.
An interlocutory decision granting divorce and related issues was entered April 19, 2004; a final judgment of divorce followed October 25, 2004.
An amended final judgment nunc pro tunc to October 25, 2004 was entered October 1, 2007, reflecting undisposed issues.
The defendant, pro se, moved under Rule 60 to vacate the interlocutory decision and final judgment on September 30, 2008; the motion was denied after hearings in 2009.
The plaintiff sought dismissal of Pelosi’s appeal in May 2010 for failure to perfect the record, and the Family Court granted the dismissal on September 13, 2010; the appeal was thereafter affirmed by this Court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the dismissal of the appeal for failure to perfect the record was proper.	Pelosi	Pelosi	No abuse; defendant failed to timely transmit the record; not excusable neglect.

Gallant v. Small Business Loan Fund Corp., 795 A.2d 531 (R.I.2002) (failure to perfect an appeal may justify dismissal when untimely transmission of the record)
Estate of Mitchell v. Gorman, 970 A.2d 1 (R.I.2009) (Rule 11 extensions; trial court may manage timing of record transmission)
Sentas v. Sentas, 911 A.2d 266 (R.I.2006) (dismissal for failure to comply with appellate rules allowed; excusable neglect considered)
Daniel v. Cross, 749 A.2d 6 (R.I.2000) (failure to perfect appeal cited as grounds for dismissal)
Valkoun v. Frizzle, 973 A.2d 566 (R.I.2009) (transcript timing and extensions; record transmission responsibility on appellant)