J-S70025-17
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
MARTIN L. GRASS & MARK G. : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
CALDWELL, TRADING AS DOUBLE M : PENNSYLVANIA
DEVELOPMENT, A PARTNERSHIP :
:
:
v. :
:
:
ROBERT M. MUMMA, II AND SUSAN : No. 303 MDA 2017
MUMMA, TRUSTEES OF THE ROBERT :
M. MUMMA, II. GRANTOR RETAINED :
ANNUITY TRUST :
:
Appellants :
Appeal from the Order Entered January 17, 2017
In the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County Civil Division at No(s):
5381 Equity 1996
MARTIN L. GRASS AND MARK G. : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
CALDWELL, TRADING AS DOUBLE M : PENNSYLVANIA
DEVELOPMENT, A PARTNERSHIP :
:
:
v. :
:
:
ROBERT M. MUMMA, II AND SUSAN : No. 304 MDA 2017
MUMMA, TRUSTEES OF THE ROBERT :
M. MUMMA, II., GRANTOR RETAINED :
ANNUITY TRUST :
:
Appellants :
Appeal from the Order Entered January 17, 2017
In the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County Civil Division at No(s):
2012-CV-7139-NT
BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., SHOGAN, J., and OTT, J.
JUDGMENT ORDER BY SHOGAN, J.: FILED NOVEMBER 28, 2017
J-S70025-17
At 303 MDA 2017, Appellants appeal from a January 17, 2017 order
that was misfiled at Dauphin County Docket Number 5381 Equity 1996.
Accordingly, we quash the appeal at 303 MDA 2017 as moot.
At 304 MDA 2017, Appellants appeal from the same January 17, 2017
order that revived a sanctions judgment entered at Dauphin County Docket
Number 2012-CV-7139-NT (“Writ of Revival Action”). In the Writ of Revival
Action, Appellee Double M (“Double M”) filed a motion for judgment on the
pleadings on May 1, 2014 (“Motion”). Although neither party filed briefs
pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1034 and Dauphin County Local Rule 1024(a), Double
M filed a certificate of readiness on July 10, 2014. The Honorable William T.
Tully refused to entertain the certificate of readiness because briefs had not
been filed. Order, 7/17/14. Two months later, despite the lack of briefs and
a new certificate of readiness, the Honorable Todd A. Hoover conducted a
status conference and entered an order granting the Motion. Order,
9/22/14. Judgment was entered on the docket on October 6, 2014.
Appellants did not file an appeal.
Instead, on September 30, 2014, Appellants’ counsel filed a joint
motion to withdraw his representation and a timely motion for
reconsideration of the September 22, 2014 order. At the direction of the
trial court, Appellants’ counsel refiled the motion to withdraw and the motion
for reconsideration separately on November 20, 2014. The Honorable
Lawrence J. Clark, Jr. entered an order nearly six months later, allowing the
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J-S70025-17
parties to file briefs addressing judgment on the pleadings. Order 5/6/15.
Twenty months after the May 6, 2015 order, Judge Clark disposed of the
substantive issues set forth in the Motion and addressed in the parties’
briefs, ruling in favor of Double M. Order, 1/17/17.
Upon review, we observe numerous breakdowns in the operation of
the trial court. First, Judge Hoover inexplicably entered the September 22,
2014 order in violation of Judge Tully’s July 17, 2014 order. See McCabe v.
Marywood Univ., 2017 PA Super 229, 166 A.3d 1257, 1261 (Pa. Super.
2017) (explaining that the coordinate jurisdiction rule provides that judges
of coordinate jurisdiction may not overrule each other’s decisions). Second,
although Appellants filed a motion for reconsideration of the September 22,
2014 order, the trial court did not expressly grant reconsideration within the
appeal period. See Pa.R.A.P. 1701(b)(3) (authorizing trial court to grant
motion to reconsider, but only if (1) motion to reconsider is filed within
appeal period; and (2) trial court expressly grants reconsideration within
appeal period); Valley Forge Center Associates v. Rib–It/K.P., Inc.,
693 A.2d 242, 245 (Pa. Super. 1997) (“With respect to the necessity of a
timely order ‘expressly granting’ reconsideration, ‘the establishment of a
briefing schedule, hearing date, or issuance of a rule to show cause does not
suffice.’”). Because the trial court did not grant reconsideration expressly
within the appeal period, it lost the power to act upon both the motion for
reconsideration and the underlying order of September 22, 2014. See
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Gardner v. Consol. Rail Corp., 100 A.3d 280, 283 (Pa. Super. 2014) (“If a
trial court fails to grant reconsideration expressly within the prescribed 30
days, it loses the power to act upon both the petition for reconsideration and
the original order.”).
Finally, Appellants did not file a timely appeal from the October 6,
2014 entry of judgment. See Pa.R.A.P. 903(a) (“[T]he notice of appeal . . .
shall be filed within 30 days after the entry of the order from which the
appeal is taken.”); Valley Forge Center, 693 A.2d at 245 (“[A]lthough a
party may petition the court for reconsideration, the simultaneous filing of a
notice of appeal is necessary to preserve appellate rights in the event that
either the trial court fails to grant the petition expressly within 30 days, or
denies the petition.”). Therefore, this appeal is defective. Accordingly, we
quash the appeal at 304 MDA 2017.
Appeals at 303 MDA 2017 and 304 MDA 2017 quashed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 11/28/2017
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