J-A34009-15
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
TERRENCE GUDALEFSKY AND CHERLENE IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
GUDALEFSKY PENNSYLVANIA
Appellants
v.
CRAIG HATCH, ESQUIRE AND THOMAS J.
WEBER, ESQUIRE
Appellees No. 411 MDA 2015
Appeal from the Order Entered February 6, 2015
In the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County
Civil Division at No(s): 201-CV-02937-CV
BEFORE: PANELLA, J., OTT, J., and JENKINS, J.
JUDGMENT ORDER BY PANELLA, J. FILED NOVEMBER 17, 2015
Appellants, Terrence and Cherlene Gudalefsky, appeal from the order
entered February 6, 2015, by the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin
County. The order sustained the preliminary objections of Appellee, Craig
Hatch, Esquire, and dismissed the second amended complaint with prejudice
as it pertains to him. Appellee, Thomas J. Weber, Esquire, was dismissed
from the litigation via a judgment of non pros entered on January 14, 2015,
which became appealable upon entry of the February 6 order.1
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1
See Pa.R.A.P. 341(b)(1); Bird Hill Farms, Inc. v. U.S. Cargo & Courier
Service, Inc., 845 A.2d 900, 903 (Pa. Super. 2004) (once an appeal is filed
from a final order, all prior interlocutory orders are subject to review).
J-A34009-15
Appellants are proceeding pro se.2 The brief they have submitted is
woefully deficient. We need not catalog the problems here.
We note that Appellants raise thirteen issues. The summary of
argument and argument sections of the brief span just five pages in which
they purport to address the numerous issues. The brief, however, fails to
contain any citation to authority. In addition, the brief is devoid of any
citation to the voluminous record in this case. The brief also fails to present
an intelligible legal argument.
Given these failings, we find the issues raised on appeal waived.
“[W]here an appellate brief fails to provide any discussion of a claim with
citation to relevant authority or fails to develop the issue in any other
meaningful fashion capable of review, that claim is waived.” Umbelina v.
Adams, 34 A.3d 151, 161 (Pa. Super. 2011) (citation omitted; brackets in
original).
With respect to the judgment of non pros, we further note that
Appellants were required to first file a petition to open or strike the
judgment of non pros in order to seek relief from that judgment. See
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2
“While this court is willing to liberally construe materials filed by … pro se
litigant[s], we note that appellant is not entitled to any particular advantage
because [they] lack[ ] legal training. As our supreme court has explained,
any layperson[s] choosing to represent [themselves] in a legal proceeding
must, to some reasonable extent, assume the risk that [their] lack of
expertise and legal training will prove [their] undoing.” O’Neill v. Checker
Motors Corp., 567 A.2d 680, 682 (Pa. Super. 1989) (internal citations and
quotation marks omitted).
-2-
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Sahutsky v. Mychak, Geckle, & Welker, P.C., 900 A.2d 866, 869 (Pa.
Super. 2006). Failure to do so results in a waiver of all substantive claims
with respect to the non pros. See Pa.R.C.P. 3051; Sahutsky v. H.H.
Knoebel Sons, 782 A.2d 996, 1001 n.3 (Pa. 2001). Here, Appellants did not
seek relief from the non pros. Thus, this provides another ground for waiver
on issues regarding the non pros.
The “Expedited Motion of Appellee Weber to Quash Appeal” is
DISMISSED as MOOT.
The “Expedited Motion of Appellee, Craig Hatch, Esquire, to
Quash/Dismiss Appellants’ Appeal,” is DISMISSED as MOOT.
Appellants’ “Motion” is DENIED.
Order affirmed. Motions dismissed as moot and denied.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 11/17/2015
-3-
Gudalefsky, T. v. Hatch, C.
Combined Opinion