Civil Appeal

[orchidely]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

This case is a little twisted, but not sure how to proceed to find out whether I have more steps to take or sit back and wait.

My husband and I were sued by a neighbor and lost to the amount of about 4k through our local District Justice. We appealed at the next level. The party had 20 days to respond. However, before the first hearing in our local jusrisdiction and unbeknownst to us, the couple had divorced and moved away from the residence they were suing us for. We appealed the case anyway and the ex-wife received her notice of appeal as did the local judge. The ex-husband did not sign for the appeal and was returned to us by us mail. We sent the appeals by us mail certified. Now it is over 20 days from the time the ex-wife received her notification and have heard nothing. Do we still need to serve the ex-husband by a constable? Or because they sued us as a husband and wife her notification will suffice? They do not know that we know they don't live there anymore nor that they are divorced. Also, do I need to contact the county court and see if there was an answer to our appeal? I don't know the next step to take if I need to do any at all. I think that if they do not answer the appeal, it is non pros meaning that no judgement will be entered and it all goes away????
If you need more info, I will be happy to answer any questions you me have.

 

[Ronin]

We appealed at the next level.

What is this next level in your case? Are you appealing to a judge from a magistrates decision or to a state court of appeals?

do I need to contact the county court and see if there was an answer to our appeal?

Any answers filed in court would also need to be served to you by the one filing it.

I think that if they do not answer the appeal, it is non pros meaning that no judgement will be entered and it all goes away????

No. Your post is confusing. One can only generally appeal a final judgment, and if judgment has not been entered in your case you may have appealed prematurely.

 

[orchidely]

Sorry for the confusion. The first hearing was at the level of District Justice, I appealed to the next level in the County of Montgomery State of Pa. I am appealing the judgement of the District Justice because we lost. To do this, I had to go to the Court in Norristown Pa and file the appeal and send notice of appeal to all parties. Everyone got theirs but the ex husband. Now I am not sure what is the next step. Wait to hear from the County Court to see if they have replied within the 20 day alotted timeframe, or do I need to contact the county courthouse and find out that way. I am not sure what my next step is and if I need to serve the ex husband by constable the appeal he refused to sign for by certified mail.

 

[Ronin]

I may be wrong, but it seems that you filed a notice of appeal in the Superior Court of PA without an attorney after being dissatisfied (even if rightfully so) with a courts judgment against you.

In an appeal the legal presumption is the judge was correct. So the burden is on you as the appellant to establish the judge made reversible legal errors that require correction.

Appeals are complex with many rules and deadllines. One mistake or missed deadline and game over. If you do not know what the next step is at this point, you probably should not have filed this appeal.

An appellee can generally simply ignore an appeal until the appeals court requests a response. The court will request a response after the appellant has paid to have the court records transcribed and sent to the appeals court, and has filed a brief based only upon the facts in the record. After receiving a copy of your appellate brief, the appellee may then reply to your brief.

In a civil case such as this, there will be no hearings to attend in court. The appeals court will simply review the briefs several months later and make a decision. The vast majority of appeals are denied.

 

[orchidely]

Thank you for your reply, but it is not the Superior Court but the Montgomery County Court Prothonotary Court of Commom Pleas in Pa. It was stated by the District Justice that if we wanted to appeal his judgement ( and have a right to do so)we had to do so wthin a 30 day period of his judgement, which we did as written in his judgement and in the judgement told us where we were to appeal. If we did not appeal, we would have to pay the judgement which we don't want to do. I followed all the rules. I just don't know if I need to serve the ex husband by constable for his notice of appeal by us. He refused his certified letter, but she did not. I am just not sure how to proceed. They have moved and are no longer at the property in question and the new neighbors know nothing of this case. I am not a lawyer and don't claim to be one, just trying to do this without paying a large sum of money to a lawyer because of the nature of this case. We could pay more for a lawyer than the judgement against us.
Again, I appreciate your reponse but didn't really answer my question or dilema.

 

[orchidely]

Sorry one more thing. After we filed for a notice of appeal. The appellants (not us) have 20 days to respond. If they appellants do not file a complaint against the notice of appeals, a judgement will be entered of Non Pros. This is stated on the Notice of Appeals. So in essence I guess I am answering my own questions. I will just go to the court house and see if anyting was filed and by the appellants or the court itself if they did not answer.
Thank you.

 

[Ronin]

I had qualified my comments based upon the Superior Courts and more generally state courts of appeals. I am not familiar with rules of procedures in appeals in prothonotary courts of common pleas in PA.

You need to satisfy the service requirements on all the plaintiffs who are named in the suit. Whether or not you need to serve the husband/wife in a situation such as this individually or as one would depend upon your states rules of procedure and on how the case was filed and adjudicated. The safe bet would be to ensure both are served. You may get some information from the court clerk on this.

If because of appellees non-response within 20 days you prevail and are granted a non pros judgment in your favor, I would appreciate it if you would PM me indicating this. It sounds overly simplistic an appeal would be summarily granted in favor of appellant on these grounds. Then again, maybe not.

Good luck.

 

[orchidely]

Yes, it does seem a bit simplistic, but that is how I see it and read it in the notice of appeals. I will work on contacting the Prothonotary and see what info I can get to make sure there is nothing more I need to do, or if they have entered a complaint or not. Maybe I will call a lawyer and see if they can give me advice even for a nominal fee. But I am hoping this is all there is to it.
Thank you again for your reply.

 

[chuck126]

Appeal in PA

Not sure if this thread is still applicable/too late for the OP, but it appears from the OP post that she filed the notice of appeal and doesn't know what to do next? It appears ronin has answered the question in his #4 post, paragraph 4, in that you need to file your brief. Although he stated what you need to do, you where not specifically asked if you did file a appellate brief...?

1] did you do that yet and pay the appellate fee yet?

2] On what date did you file the notice of appeal?

3] You normally have thirty days from the date of the filing of the notice of appeal to file your appellate brief and pay the appellate filing fee, unless you file for an extension.

4] Instead of focusing on waiting for the opposing side to respond to your notice of appeal, and hoping for a default, you wish it were that easy!!, you will run out the clock and your notice of appeal will be dismissed for failure to file a brief/app. fee's, and you will be**************.[S.O.L.]

6] Has thirty days elapsed since you filed your notice of appeal?

If you are still within the thirty days you could fax a Motion for Extension of Time to File Appellant's Brief directly to the appellate court's clerk's office, if time is a factor, as it appears to be, if not to late. You could ask in the motion for another thirty days to do your research, draft and submit your appellate brief. Atty's. routinely ask for and request for extensions of time to file an appellate brief and they are routinely granted.

If it is to late for the OP, then this is for future forum reference.

 

[Ronin]

If it is to late for the OP, then this is for future forum reference.

Chuck126, I am not sure what point you are trying to make here, future reference for what...?

The procedural requirements for this type of appeal in PA is different than the standard requirements for proceedings in most states court of appeals. Google it for more specific info.

3] You normally have thirty days from the date of the filing of the notice of appeal to file your appellate brief and pay the appellate filing fee, unless you file for an extension.

'Normally', the court of appeals will set the date the apellate brief is due and communicate this to all parties. This notice is sent out after the court of appeals has received all required reporters and clerks records.

 

[chuck126]

1] "Future reference" means what it means..."for the future reference for those that read this thread".
2] And I am not quite following your second statement on the appellate court determining the time the brief is due after receiving the court reporters and clerk's records.
3] From my own personal knowledge and understanding, which is limited to a one time appeal experience and correct me if I am wrong, but the Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure in each state determine when the brief is due, which is "normally thirty days" and depending on the circumstances of the case. You can file for an extension of time to file the brief if necessary.
4] I suppose I/we could go on and on about various appellate procedures, but the bottom line of my response to the Op post was that as I stated in my reply she appeared to be confused on what to do next, after filing her "notice of appeal", as she stated. She believes that is all she has to do for now and is "waiting for the Plaintiff to file a complaint in response to her notice of appeal"...which pretty much speaks for itself...and as she stated and acknowledges..."she is confused and doesn't know what to do next?"...and the whole reason for her post. Whether she is in Penn., Cal., or wherever, in this situation, filing a "notice of appeal" is only the first step, she doesn't know what to do next and again, that was her question, so filing a brief and transcript [if she has one] and the filing fee's would be the next step...NO?
5] If her thinking that filing a "Notice of Appeal" was all you had to do to get the case reheard for the second time is wishful thinking...don't you think?
I agree with everything you said in your responses, she just wasn't grasping it, but that's okay and expected if she doesn't understand the process and the reason I responded.

 

[Ronin]

As I said, the rules of procedure in PA in this kind of appeal are different. If you read up on it, the generalization you made is not pertinent in this case. I initially made a similar generalization but realized my mistake and qualified my response after doing a little research on PA procedural requirements.

2] And I am not quite following your second statement on the appellate court determining the time the brief is due after receiving the court reporters and clerk's records.

Without these records the appeal is moot and the brief will not be considered, or at the very least will surely lose. Most pro se appellants do not initially understand that filing these records can cost from several hundred to several thousand dollars to transcribe and send to the appeals court. These are also necessary for appellant to have in hand to prepare a proper brief, since every factual statement in the brief has to be suppported with a cite to the place in the record where it can be found.

3] From my own personal knowledge and understanding, which is limited to a one time appeal experience and correct me if I am wrong, but the Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure in each state determine when the brief is due, which is "normally thirty days"

In my experience, only after the appeals court receives all the requisite records, determine all procedural requirements have been met, and that they have jurisdiction to hear the case, do they then formally notify all parties the date an appellant brief is due. This was 30 days from the date they sent the notice, but closer to seven weeks from the time the notice of appeal was actually filed. After receiving this,they then notify all parties when the appellee brief is due. Extensions can always be requested and generally granted on the first two requests.

5] If her thinking that filing a "Notice of Appeal" was all you had to do to get the case reheard for the second time is wishful thinking...don't you think?

Yes. However, in this case rules of procedure required a response in 20 days. Traditionally most appeals to state courts of appeal require no response at all to a notice of appeal, that is until an appellant brief has been filed, and an appellee brief is formally requested by the appeals court.

 

[chuck126]

As I said, the rules of procedure in PA in this kind of appeal are different. If you read up on it, the generalization you made is not pertinent in this case. I initially made a similar generalization but realized my mistake and qualified my response after doing a little research on PA procedural requirements.

What was the generalization that I made?

Without these records the appeal is moot and the brief will not be considered, or at the very least will surely lose. Most pro se appellants do not initially understand that filing these records can cost from several hundred to several thousand dollars to transcribe and send to the appeals court. These are also necessary for appellant to have in hand to prepare a proper brief, since every factual statement in the brief has to be suppported with a cite to the place in the record where it can be found.

I agree.

In my experience, only after the appeals court receives all the requisite records, determine all procedural requirements have been met, and that they have jurisdiction to hear the case, do they then formally notify all parties the date an appellant brief is due. This was 30 days from the date they sent the notice, but closer to seven weeks from the time the notice of appeal was actually filed. After receiving this,they then notify all parties when the appellee brief is due. Extensions can always be requested and generally granted on the first two requests.
I agree with this also. I filed a appeal and it took quite a while to try to get a statement of proceedings approved, but never got it approved, and subsequently the briefs were sent to the appellate court for consideration and fortunately got the case remanded.

Yes. However, in this case rules of procedure required a response in 20 days. Traditionally most appeals to state courts of appeal require no response at all to a notice of appeal, that is until an appellant brief has been filed, and an appellee brief is formally requested by the appeals court.

I'm not following this paragraph. When you say "in this case rules of procedure required a response in 20 days", are you referring to the "notice of appeal" she filed?, or the appellate brief she never filed?
Wouldn't the 20 days she is referring to in the notice of appeal, be a misread on her part, meant to mean, the Appellee has 20 days to respond to the OP/Appellants brief? If she ever files one? Any clarification on this would be helpful.

 

[Ronin]

Sheesh... If you do not understand it read the initial posts more thoroughly and follow up with a little research on rules of procedures in appeals in prothonotary courts of common pleas in PA and pull up a copy of the type of form she filed.