Saady v. Virginia Employment Commission, 011221 VACA, 0787-20-2

• Docket Nº: 0787-20-2
• Opinion Judge: PER CURIAM
• Party Name: MARY ANN SAADY v. VIRGINIA EMPLOYMENT COMMISSION
• Attorney: (Mary Ann Saady, on brief), pro se. (Mark R. Herring, Attorney General; Donald D. Anderson, Deputy Attorney General; Heather Hays Lockerman, Senior Assistant Attorney General and Chief; Elizabeth Brown Peay, Senior Assistant Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.
• Judge Panel: Present: Judges Beales, Huff and Senior Judge Annunziata
• Case Date: January 12, 2021
• Court: Court of Appeals of Virginia

MARY ANN SAADY

v.

VIRGINIA EMPLOYMENT COMMISSION

No. 0787-20-2

Court of Appeals of Virginia

January 12, 2021

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF CHESTERFIELD COUNTY Edward A. Robbins, Jr., Judge

(Mary Ann Saady, on brief), pro se.

(Mark R. Herring, Attorney General; Donald D. Anderson, Deputy Attorney General; Heather Hays Lockerman, Senior Assistant Attorney General and Chief; Elizabeth Brown Peay, Senior Assistant Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.

Present: Judges Beales, Huff and Senior Judge Annunziata

MEMORANDUM OPINION ^[*]

PER CURIAM

Mary Ann Saady (hereinafter "claimant") appeals a decision by the circuit court on June 30, 2020, affirming the Virginia Employment Commission's decision that she was not entitled to unemployment compensation because she voluntarily quit without good cause. We have reviewed the record and the circuit court's decision and find that this appeal is without merit.

Claimant raises several assignments of error, none of which contest rulings by the circuit court. Instead, the assignments of error challenge only rulings made by the Virginia Employment Commission ("the Commission"). "The Court of Appeals of Virginia is a court of limited jurisdiction." Tesla, Inc. v. Virginia Auto. Dealers Ass'n, 68 Va.App. 509, 512 (2018) (quoting Commonwealth v. Lancaster, 45 Va.App. 723, 730 (2005)). "As a court of limited jurisdiction, we have no jurisdiction over appeals except that granted us by statute." Id (quoting Lancaster, 45 Va.App. at 730); see also Canova Elec. Contracting, Inc. v. LMI Ins. Co., 22 Va.App. 595, 599 (1996). Pursuant to Code § 17.1-405(1), the Court of Appeals has appellate jurisdiction over "[a]ny final decision of a circuit court on appeal from (i) a decision of an administrative agency, or (ii) a grievance hearing decision issued pursuant to § 2.2-3005 . . . ." (Emphasis added). Code § 60.2-625(A) authorizes the circuit court to review decisions by the Commission and this Court to review the circuit court's decision. However, no statute permits the appeal of the Commission decision directly to this Court.

"It is well-settled that a party who challenges the ruling of a lower court must on appeal assign error to each articulated basis for that ruling." Ferguson v. Stokes, 287 Va. 446, 452 (2014) (quoting Manchester Oaks Homeowners Ass'n v. Batt, 284 Va. 409, 421 (2012)). "An assignment of error is not a mere procedural hurdle an appellant must clear in order to proceed with the merits of an appeal. Assignments of error are the core of the appeal." Forest Lakes Cmty. Ass'n v. United Land Corp. of Am., 293 Va. 113, 122 (2017) (emphasis in original). Through the assignment of error, "an appellant . . . 'lay[s] h[er] finger' on the alleged misjudgment of the court below." Id. at 122-23...