THE COURTS
Title 210—APPELLATE PROCEDURE
PART I. RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE
[ 210 PA. CODE CHS. 3 AND 5 ]
Order Amending Notes to Rules 341 and 512 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure; No. 225 Appellate Procedural Rules Doc.
[43 Pa.B. 2423]
[Saturday, May 4, 2013]
Order Per Curiam
And Now, this 16th day of April, 2013, upon the recommendation of the Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee, the proposal having been submitted without publication pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(a)(3) in the interests of efficient administration:
It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that the Notes to Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure 341 and 512 are amended in the following form.
This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and the amendments herein shall be effective to appeals and petitions for review filed 30 days after adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 210. APPELLATE PROCEDURE
PART I. RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE
ARTICLE I. PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
CHAPTER 3. ORDERS FROM WHICH
APPEALS MAY BE TAKEN
FINAL ORDERS Rule 341. Final Orders; Generally.
* * * * * Official Note: Related Constitutional and Statutory Provisions—Section 9 of Article V of the Constitution of Pennsylvania provides that ''there shall be a right of appeal from a court of record or from an administrative agency to a court of record or to an appellate court.'' The term ''administrative agency'' is not defined in Rule 102 of these rules and as used in this rule is intended to have the same meaning as the term ''administrative agency'' in Section 9 of Article V of the Constitution of Pennsylvania. The constitutional provision is implemented by 2 Pa.C.S. § 702 (appeals), 2 Pa.C.S. § 752 (appeals), and 42 Pa.C.S. § 5105 (right to appellate review).
* * * * * Final Orders—Pre and Post-1992 Practice—The 1992 amendment generally eliminates appeals as of right under Rule 341 from orders not ending the litigation as to all claims and as to all parties. Formerly, there was case law that orders not ending the litigation as to all claims and all parties are final orders if such orders have the practical consequence of putting a litigant out of court.
A party needs to file only a single notice of appeal to secure review of prior non-final orders that are made final by the entry of a final order, see K.H. v. J.R., 573 Pa. 481, 493-94, 826 A.2d 863, 870-71 (2003) (following trial); Betz v. Pneumo Abex LLC, __ Pa. __ , 44 A.3d 27, 54 (2012) (summary judgment). Where, however, one or more orders resolves issues arising on more than one docket or relating to more than one judgment, separate notices of appeal must be filed. Commonwealth v. C.M.K., 932 A.2d 111, 113 & n.3 (Pa. Super. 2007) (quashing appeal taken by single notice of appeal from order on remand for consideration under Pa.R.Crim.P. 607 of two persons' judgments of sentence).
The 1997 amendments to subdivisions (a) and (c), substituting the conjunction ''and'' for ''or,'' are not substantive. The amendments merely clarify that by definition any order which disposes of all claims will dispose of all parties and any order that disposes of all parties will dispose of all claims.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 5. PERSONS WHO MAY TAKE OR PARTICIPATE IN APPEALS
MULTIPLE APPEALS Rule 512. Joint Appeals.
Parties interested jointly, severally or otherwise in any order in the same matter or in joint matters or in matters consolidated for the purposes of trial or argument, may join as appellants or be joined as appellees in a single appeal where the grounds for appeal are similar, or any one or more of them may appeal separately or any two or more may join in an appeal.
Official Note: [Substantially the same as former Supreme Court Rule 20 (prior to its omission by the revision and renumbering order of April 27, 1972), former Superior Court Rule 9A, and former Commonwealth Court Rule 26. The rule continues the policy that ''taking one appeal from several judgments is not acceptable practice and is discouraged.'' General Electric Credit Corp. v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Co., 437 Pa. 463, 469, 263 A.2d 448, 452 (1970).] This describes who may join in a single notice of appeal. The rule does not address whether a single notice of appeal is adequate under the circumstances presented. Under Rule 341, a single notice of appeal will not be adequate to take an appeal from orders entered on more than one trial court docket. See Rule 341, Note (''Where, however, one or more orders resolves issues arising on more than one docket or relating to more than one judgment, separate notices of appeal must be filed.'').
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 13-810. Filed for public inspection May 3, 2013, 9:00 a.m.]
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