THE COURTS
Title 246—MINOR
COURT CIVIL RULES
PART I. GENERAL
[ 246 PA. CODE CH. 1000 ]
Proposed Amendments to Rule 1002 of the Rules of Civil Procedure Before Magisterial District Judges
[44 Pa.B. 4342]
[Saturday, July 12, 2014]The Minor Court Rules Committee is planning to recommend that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania adopt amendments to Rule 1002 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure before Magisterial District Judges (''Rules''). The Committee has not yet submitted this proposal for review by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
The following explanatory Report highlights the Committee's considerations in formulating this proposal. The Committee's Report should not be confused with the Committee's Official Notes to the Rules. The Supreme Court does not adopt the Committee's Official Notes or the contents of the explanatory reports.
The text of the proposed changes precedes the Report. Additions are shown in bold; deletions are in bold and brackets.
We request that interested persons submit written suggestions, comments, or objections concerning this proposal to the Committee through counsel,
Pamela S. Walker, Counsel
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Minor Court Rules Committee
Pennsylvania Judicial Center
PO Box 62635
Harrisburg, PA 17106-2635
Fax: 717-231-9546
or email to: minorrules@pacourts.usno later than September 12, 2014.
By the Minor Court Rules Committee
BRADLEY K. MOSS,
Chair
Annex A
TITLE 246. MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES
PART I. GENERAL
CHAPTER 1000. APPEALS
APPEAL (Editor's Note: Following is proposed revision 1.)
Rule 1002. Time and Method of Appeal.
[A. A party aggrieved by a judgment for money, or a judgment affecting the delivery of possession of real property arising out of a nonresidential lease, may appeal therefrom within thirty (30) days after the date of the entry of the judgment by filing with the prothonotary of the court of common pleas a notice of appeal on a form which shall be prescribed by the State Court Administrator together with a copy of the Notice of Judgment issued by the magisterial district judge. The Prothonotary shall not accept an appeal from an aggrieved party which is presented for filing more than thirty (30) days after the date of entry of judgment without leave of Court and upon good cause shown.
B. A party aggrieved by a judgment for the delivery of possession of real property arising out of a residential lease may appeal therefrom within ten (10) days after the date of the entry of judgment by filing with the prothonotary of the court of common pleas a notice of appeal on a form which shall be prescribed by the State Court Administrator, together with a copy of the Notice of Judgment issued by the magisterial district judge. The prothonotary shall not accept an appeal from an aggrieved party which is presented for filing more than ten (10) days after the date of entry of judgment without leave of court and upon good cause shown.]
A(1) Except as otherwise prescribed by this rule, a notice of appeal shall be filed within thirty (30) days after the date of entry of judgment from which the appeal is taken.
(2) A notice of appeal from a judgment that concerns a residential lease shall be filed within ten (10) days after the date of entry of judgment from which the appeal is taken. If, however, the tenant is a victim of domestic violence, a notice of appeal shall be filed within thirty (30) days after the date of entry of the judgment from which the appeal is taken.
B. An appeal shall be filed by filing a notice of appeal with the prothonotary of the court of common pleas on a form that shall be prescribed by the State Court Administrator. The prothonotary shall not accept a notice of appeal that is presented after the expiration of the time period specified above in subdivision A without leave of court and upon good cause shown.
Official Note: The 2014 amendment is intended to clarify that the time for an appeal is thirty (30) days in all cases with the exception of the ten (10) day period that exists in cases that concern a residential lease and in which the tenant is not a victim of domestic violence. Accordingly, in a case that concerns a residential lease, appeals must generally be brought within ten (10) days after the date of entry of judgment. The ten (10) day appeal period is applicable in cases concerning residential leases when the judgment is for possession only or for possession and money. When, however, the underlying case concerns a residential lease and the tenant is victim of domestic violence or the judgment is for money only, the appeal period is thirty (30) days.
The 2014 amendment provides additional time to a victim of domestic violence when a judgment arises out of a residential lease and contains an award of possession. A ''victim of domestic violence'' is defined as ''a person who has obtained a protection from abuse order against another individual or can provide other suitable evidence as the court shall direct.'' See 68 P. S. § 250.513. It is the intent of this rule that should a determination be necessary as to whether or not a tenant is a victim of domestic violence, that determination would be made by the court of common pleas following the filing by a landlord of a motion to quash an appeal for being untimely.
The thirty (30) day [limitation in subdivision A of this rule is the same as that found in the Judicial Code § 5571(b)] appeal period set forth above is consistent with the appeal period found in Section 5571(b) of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(b), as amended by § 10(67) of the Judiciary Act Repealer Act, Act of April 28, 1978, P. L. 202, No. 53. The ten (10) day limitation in [subdivision B] paragraph A(2) of this rule is designed to implement the time for appeal set forth in § 513 of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (Act No. 1995-33, approved July 6, 1995) (Act No. 1995-33 was suspended by the Pa. Supreme Court on March 28, 1996 by Order of Court insofar as the Act is inconsistent with Rules of Civil Procedure Governing Actions and Proceedings Before District Justices, as adopted by that Order.). [The two subdivisions of this rule are intended to clarify that where the right of possession of residential real estate is at issue, the shorter, ten day period for appeal applies; where the appeal is taken from any judgment for money, or a judgment affecting a nonresidential lease, under these rules, the thirty day period of time for appeal applies. A party may appeal the money portion of a judgment only within the thirty day appeal period specified in subsection A of this rule.] It is the intent of this rule that no supersedeas under Pa.R.C.P.D.J. No. 1008 shall be issued by the Prothonotary after the ten (10) day period for filing an appeal, unless by order of court.
In a landlord-tenant action, the court is authorized to enter only one judgment which may contain a monetary award and authorize the landlord to regain possession of the leasehold through lawful process. Any appeal is from one judgment and cannot be parsed at the will of the party taking the appeal.
If a court enters a judgment in a case arising out of a residential lease that includes an award of money and a right to possession, a tenant, who is not a victim of domestic violence, or a landlord who wishes to take an appeal must do so within ten (10) days of the entry of the judgment even if the tenant has vacated the leasehold after the entry of the judgment. See Section 513(b) of the Act and Cherry Ridge Dev. v. Chenoga, 703 A.2d 1061 (Pa. Super. 1997).
In Cherry Ridge, a magisterial district judge entered a judgment in favor of a landlord for possession of the premises and a monetary judgment. See Cherry Ridge at 1062. The issue on appeal that the Superior Court addressed was ''[w]hat is the time period to file an appeal when an Order for both possession and money judgment is entered by a District Justice?'' Id. The Superior Court held that the then Rule 1002 provided the tenant with ten (10) days and not thirty (30) days to take an appeal. In reaching that conclusion, the Superior Court observed that the tenant ''does not appeal from a 'judgment only for money,' but from a judgment for possession with an ancillary award for damages [and that] she does not appeal from a 'judgment affecting a nonresidential lease.' '' Cherry Ridge at 1063. As noted above, the proposed changes to the revised rule clarify that there is only one judgment from which an appeal is taken. Therefore, while the proposed rule would also provide for a ten (10) appeal period, it does so without the need for the type of analysis that the Superior Court used in Cherry Ridge.
The method of appeal is by filing with the prothonotary a ''notice of appeal'' on a form to be prescribed by the State Court Administrator. Copies of this same form will be used for service under Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 1005. This permits use of the same form for filing and service. No useful purpose would be served by having two forms, one called an ''appeal'' for filing and another called a ''notice of appeal'' for service.
The 1990 amendment is intended to encourage the complete utilization of the hearing process available before the magisterial district judge.
A copy of the Notice of Judgment must be filed since it will contain the separate entries required by Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 514.A and will be needed by the Prothonotary.
Explanatory Comment—2001 The January 1, 2001, amendments to Rule 1002(A) and (B) are to make the language within the Rule consistent. Previously, the Rule used the words ''date of entry of judgment'' and then ''date of judgment''. It is the opinion of the Committee that the phrase ''date of entry of judgment'' should be used and that it should be used consistently throughout the Rule.
[The amendment to the Note is necessitated because Rule 514 requires that a judgment be rendered for the delivery of possession of the real property to the plaintiff and a separate entry of a judgment for money, whether it be for rent, damages, or costs. The separate entry of the judgment for money should be treated the same as a judgment in a civil action and there are no additional exigencies requiring an accelerated appeal period. The ten (10) day appeal period should only be applicable to the possession judgment and not to the money judgment.
The purpose of this amendment to the Note and this Explanatory Comment is to clarify the intent of the Rule to permit an appeal of the money judgment only within the thirty (30) day appeal period. See Cherry Ridge Development v. Chenoga, 703 A.2d 1061 (Pa.Super. 1997).]
(Editor's Note: Following is proposed revision 2.)
Rule 1002. Time and Method of Appeal.
[A. A party aggrieved by a judgment for money, or a judgment affecting the delivery of possession of real property arising out of a nonresidential lease, may appeal therefrom within thirty (30) days after the date of the entry of the judgment by filing with the prothonotary of the court of common pleas a notice of appeal on a form which shall be prescribed by the State Court Administrator together with a copy of the Notice of Judgment issued by the magisterial district judge. The Prothonotary shall not accept an appeal from an aggrieved party which is presented for filing more than thirty (30) days after the date of entry of judgment without leave of Court and upon good cause shown.
B. A party aggrieved by a judgment for the delivery of possession of real property arising out of a residential lease may appeal therefrom within ten (10) days after the date of the entry of judgment by filing with the prothonotary of the court of common pleas a notice of appeal on a form which shall be prescribed by the State Court Administrator, together with a copy of the Notice of Judgment issued by the magisterial district judge. The prothonotary shall not accept an appeal from an aggrieved party which is presented for filing more than ten (10) days after the date of entry of judgment without leave of court and upon good cause shown.]
A(1) Except as otherwise prescribed by this rule, a notice of appeal shall be filed within thirty (30) days after the date of entry of judgment from which the appeal is taken.
(2) A notice of appeal from a judgment that concerns only the delivery of possession of real property arising out of a residential lease shall be filed within ten (10) days after the date of entry of the judgment from which the appeal is taken. If, however, the tenant is a victim of domestic violence, a notice of appeal shall be filed within thirty (30) days after the date of entry of the judgment from which the appeal is taken.
B. An appeal shall be filed by filing a notice of appeal with the prothonotary of the court of common pleas on a form that shall be prescribed by the State Court Administrator. The prothonotary shall not accept a notice of appeal that is presented after the expiration of the time period specified above in subdivision A without leave of court and upon good cause shown.
Official Note: The 2014 amendment is intended to clarify that the time for an appeal is thirty (30) days in all cases with the exception of the ten (10) day period that exists in cases that concern a residential lease and in which the judgment is for possession only and the tenant is not a victim of domestic violence. The thirty (30) day appeal period, therefore, is applicable in cases concerning residential leases when the judgment is for possession and money, money only or when the tenant is a victim of domestic violence.
The 2014 amendment provides additional time to a victim of domestic violence when a judgment arises out of a residential lease and contains an award of possession. A ''victim of domestic violence'' is defined as ''a person who has obtained a protection from abuse order against another individual or can provide other suitable evidence as the court shall direct.'' See 68 P. S. § 250.513. It is the intent of this rule that should a determination be necessary as to whether or not a tenant is a victim of domestic violence, that determination would be made by the court of common pleas following the filing by a landlord of a motion to quash an appeal for being untimely.
The thirty (30) day [limitation in subdivision A of this rule is the same as that found in] appeal period set forth above is consistent with the appeal period found in Section 5571(b) of the Judicial Code [§ 5571(b)], 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(b), as amended by § 10(67) of the Judiciary Act Repealer Act, Act of April 28, 1978, P. L. 202, No. 53, and in the July 6, 1995 amendment (Act No. 1995-33) to Section 513(b) of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (''Act''), Act of April 6, 1951, P. L. 69, as amended, 68 P. S. 250.513(b). The ten (10) day limitation in [subdivision B of this rule is designed to implement the time for appeal set forth in § 513 of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (Act No. 1995-33, approved July 6, 1995) (Act No. 1995-33 was suspended by the Pa. Supreme Court on March 28, 1996 by Order of Court insofar as the Act is inconsistent with Rules of Civil Procedure Governing Actions and Proceedings Before District Justices, as adopted by that Order.)] paragraph A(2) of this rule is consistent with the time for appeal set forth in the July 6, 1995 amendment. [The two subdivisions of this rule are intended to clarify that where the right of possession of residential real estate is at issue, the shorter, ten day period for appeal applies; where the appeal is taken from any judgment for money, or a judgment affecting a nonresidential lease, under these rules, the thirty day period of time for appeal applies. A party may appeal the money portion of a judgment only within the thirty day appeal period specified in subsection A of this rule.] It is the intent of this rule that no supersedeas under Pa.R.C.P.D.J. No. 1008 shall be issued by the Prothonotary after the [ten (10) day] period for filing an appeal, unless by order of court.
In a landlord-tenant action, the court is authorized to enter only one judgment which may contain a monetary award and authorize the landlord to regain possession of the leasehold through lawful process. Any appeal is from one judgment and cannot be parsed at the will of the party taking the appeal.
If a court enters a judgment in a case arising out of a residential lease that includes an award of money and a right to possession, a tenant, whether or not a victim of domestic violence, or a landlord who wishes to take an appeal must do so within thirty (30) days of the entry of the judgment regardless of whether or not the tenant has vacated the leasehold after the entry of the judgment. Under this circumstance, the rule provides more time within which to take an appeal than Section 513(b) of the Act and as the Superior Court interpreted in then Rule 1002 in Cherry Ridge Dev. v. Chenoga, 703 A.2d 1061 (Pa. Super. 1997).
The method of appeal is by filing with the prothonotary a ''notice of appeal'' on a form to be prescribed by the State Court Administrator. Copies of this same form will be used for service under Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 1005. This permits use of the same form for filing and service. No useful purpose would be served by having two forms, one called an ''appeal'' for filing and another called a ''notice of appeal'' for service.
The 1990 amendment is intended to encourage the complete utilization of the hearing process available before the magisterial district judge.
A copy of the Notice of Judgment must be filed since it will contain the separate entries required by Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 514.A and will be needed by the Prothonotary.
REPORT
Proposed Amendments to Rule 1002 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure before Magisterial District Judges
Time and Method of Appeal; Incorporating Additional Time for Appeal by Victim of Domestic Violence in Residential Landlord-Tenant Case I. Introduction and Background
The Minor Court Rules Committee (the ''Committee'') is proposing amendments to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure before Magisterial District Judges governing appeals taken from judgments entered in magisterial district courts. The goals of these rule changes are (1) to clarify the appeal periods for all civil and landlord-tenant judgments, and (2) to provide additional time to victims of domestic violence when a judgment arises out of a residential lease and contains an award of possession.
The Committee began looking at this issue in 2011, after reviewing the opinion in the Philadelphia Municipal Court case of Luck Ent. LLC v. Melton, http://www.courts.phila.gov/pdf/opinions/mc/LT0911033436.pdf, LT-09-11-03-3436 (Phil. Mun. Ct. 2011) (Moss, J.). That court had ''forward[ed] a copy of th[e] Opinion to the Philadelphia Municipal Court, the Minor Court Rules Committee and the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County so that they might review their rules to determine whether or not to refine the language of their rules.'' See Luck Ent. LLC at 13, n. 8.
When a landlord brings a landlord-tenant action against a tenant, the landlord has the right to seek a judgment providing for the recovery of money damages and for the right to use lawful process to recover possession of the property. If the landlord prevails at trial, the court will enter a judgment that provides for one of the following: (1) the right to use lawful process to recover possession of the property; (2) an award of money damages; or (3) both an award of money damages and the right to use lawful process to recover possession of the property.
A judgment providing for only the right to use lawful process to recover possession of the property will be entered when the tenant remains in possession of the property, owes no money to the landlord, and the landlord has proven that the tenant has breached a condition of the lease, such as a no pet provision, or that the term of the lease has expired and that the lease has been properly terminated. A judgment providing for only money damages will be entered when the landlord has proven that the tenant owes rent or other monetary compensation under the terms of the lease and the tenant is no longer in possession of the property as a result of, for example, moving out and returning the keys to the landlord after the landlord-tenant complaint was filed but before trial.
Thirty days from the entry of an Order is the standard period of time for taking an appeal. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571; Pa.R.A.P. 903. There are, however, exceptions to the thirty-day standard. Generally, when the appeal period is less than thirty days, there is a special reason to shorten the appeal period. For example, the time for appeal from an order in any matter arising under the Pennsylvania Election Code is generally for a lesser time than thirty days because of the need for the courts to resolve such appeals within the short time period between the submission of nominating petitions and the election. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(c)(1).
In the context of landlord-tenant actions, there are two competing interests when possession of the property is at issue. The landlord has an interest in regaining possession of the leased property as quickly as possible. The tenant, however, has an interest in remaining in the property as long as possible in order to have sufficient time to make arrangements to pack belongings and to move to another property. These competing interests do not exist when the tenant has returned possession of the property to the landlord prior to trial.
The law has continually sought to strike a fair balance between the competing interests of the landlord and the tenant. Prior to the addition on July 6, 1995 of Section 513(b) to the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (''Act''), Act of April 6, 1951, P. L. 69, as amended, 68 P. S. § 250.513(b), Sections 504 and 506 of the Act provided for only five days after the entry of a judgment within which to take an appeal.
In 1995, the General Assembly rebalanced the competing interests between landlords and tenants by distinguishing between residential and nonresidential leases, and between instances in which there was a residential lease involving a victim of domestic violence. Section 513(b) envisions three situations applicable to the time for taking an appeal in a landlord-tenant action. One situation is when a judgment arises out of a residential lease, another is when a judgment arises out of a nonresidential lease, and the third situation is when a judgment arises out of a residential lease in which a victim of domestic violence is involved. In the first situation, there are ten days within which to take an appeal. In the second and third situations, there are thirty days within which to take an appeal. Section 513(b) provides the following:
(b) Within ten days after the rendition of judgment by a lower court arising out of residential lease or within thirty days after a judgment by a lower court arising out of a nonresidential lease or a residential lease involving a victim of domestic violence, either party may appeal to the court of common pleas and the appeal by the tenant shall operate as a supersedeas only if the tenant pays in cash or bond the amount of any judgment rendered by the lower court or is a victim of domestic violence and pays, in cash, any rent which becomes due during the court of common pleas proceedings within ten days after the date each payment is due into an escrow account with the prothonotary or the supersedeas shall be summarily terminated.Although the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (''Court'') suspended Section 513(b) by entering a number of Orders, it never declared Section 513(b) unconstitutional. Eventually, the Court adopted Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 1081 which provides that Section 513(b) is suspended to the extent that it is inconsistent with the rules governing appellate proceedings with respect to judgment and other decisions of magisterial district judges in civil actions. The Court, however, did not elaborate on any such inconsistencies and did not suspend Section 513(b) as it applies to the Philadelphia Municipal Court or to the Courts of Common Pleas.
II. Discussion
In Luck Ent. LLC, the court examined the rule making history of Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 1002 within the context of changes to the Act. The Committee agreed that Rule 1002 was in need of refinement, specifically (1) to clarify the appeal periods for all civil and landlord-tenant judgments and (2) to provide additional time to victims of domestic violence when a judgment arises out of a residential lease and contains an award of possession.
The Committee published proposed rules for public comment at Volume 42, Pennsylvania Bulletin, p. 7525 (42 Pa.B. 7525, December 15, 2012). Based on the analysis in Luck Ent. LLC, the Committee believed that an action in a magisterial district court results in one judgment, not multiple judgments that can be parsed and appealed individually. The Committee agreed with the court in Luck Ent. LLC that the Committee's 2001 Explanatory Comment to Rule 1002 suggests that there can be two separate judgments in a landlord-tenant action, and proposes eliminating those portions of the 2001 Explanatory Comment. See Luck Ent. LLC at 11-12.
The Committee also proposed patterning the language of Rule 1002 more closely to Section 513 of the Act to reflect the available timeframes for appeal. Additionally, the Committee proposed adding additional time for a victim of domestic violence to appeal a judgment arising out of a residential lease that contains an award of possession. Such a change is consistent with Section 513(b) of the Act. Rule 1002 currently does not contain such a provision.
In response to publication, the Committee received correspondence from the bench and bar. Much of the correspondence expressed concern that the proposed rules would create additional burdens on impoverished tenants by establishing the time for all appeals from judgments arising out of residential leases at ten days. Many of the commenters pointed out that the Committee was not bound by Section 513 of the Act to the extent it conflicted with the Court's procedural rules.
Other correspondents wrote to commend the Committee for extending the appeal period for victims of domestic violence. Additionally, there were no objections to maintaining a thirty-day appeal period when the judgment concerned nonresidential leases or a ten-day appeal period when the judgment concerned only the right to use lawful process to recover possession of the property in the context of a residential lease.
The quandary that remains is the amount of time that tenants and landlords should have to take an appeal when the judgment provides for both money damages and the right to use lawful process to recover possession of the property, the matter involves a residential lease, and a victim of domestic violence is not involved.
The Committee gave careful consideration to the comments submitted by interested parties, and decided further analysis was needed to reach a final recommendation. The Committee recognizes that Section 513 of the Act has been suspended by the Court to the extent it is inconsistent with the rules.1 Therefore, while the Committee is under no obligation to amend Rule 1002 to conform to Section 513, it may make recommendations to do so, and the Court could adopt rule changes to make the rule consistent with the statute. The Committee was also sensitive to the concerns raised by the public interest bar, taking note of the predicted hardships to poor litigants. Finally, the Committee recognized an interest in modifying the language of Rule 1002 to more closely follow that of Section 513, Pa.R.A.P. 903 and 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571. For example, the Committee proposes deleting references to ''a party aggrieved by a judgment'' in favor of focusing on the nature of the judgment, such as ''an appeal from a judgment arising out of a residential lease.''
After additional discussion and consideration of the prior comments, the Committee has arrived at two competing proposals and again seeks the comments of the bench and bar. The primary difference between the two proposals is that one proposal provides for a thirty-day appeal period in the context of a residential lease, not involving a victim of domestic violence, in which the judgment provides for both money damages and the right to use lawful process to recover possession of the property. The other proposal provides for a ten-day appeal period in such a situation.
III. Proposed Rule Changes
Proposed Revision 1 is akin to the proposal as published in December 2012, and adheres to the timeframes established in Section 513 of the Act, bringing all appeals from judgments arising out of residential leases (except those involving domestic violence victims) within the ten (10) day period. Proposed Revision 2 differs only with respect to the situation in which a case arising out of a residential lease that does not involve a domestic violence victim results in a judgment providing for the use of legal process to regain possession and an award of money damages. Under Proposed Revision 1, the appeal period is ten (10) days. Under Proposed Revision 2, the appeal period is thirty (30) days.
In cases in which a judgment is entered that permits the landlord to use lawful process to recover possession of the property at issue and an award of money, the Committee continues to search for a fair and appropriate balance between the competing interests of landlords and residential tenants who are not victims of domestic violence. While the Committee favors the ten (10) day appeal period in Proposed Revision 1 as an appropriate and fair balance between the competing interests of landlords and tenants, it is taking the unusual step of submitting Proposed Revision 2 as a means of recognizing the prior comments of proponents for tenants' rights who favored a thirty (30) appeal period in that situation.
The Committee also proposes eliminating the phrase ''aggrieved by a judgment'' from Rule 1002. That language is not used in Section 513 of the Act, Pa.R.A.P. 903 or 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571. Additionally, the ''aggrieved by'' language is commonly used when discussing whether or not a party has standing to file an appeal and contributes to the existing ambiguity under present Rule 1002 as to the time within which to file an appeal under various scenarios.
Rather than the appeal period being viewed from the perspective of whether or not a party considered itself to be aggrieved by all or some of the relief provided by a judgment, the Committee agreed with the court in Luck that it would be clearer to identify the appeal time periods based on the nature of the underlying judgment. The Committee also examined Pa.R.A.P. 903, and followed the structure therein, utilizing a general rule and exception format.
In both proposals, the Committee suggests adding the additional time for a victim of domestic violence to appeal a judgment arising out of a residential lease that contains an award of possession. Section 513(b) of the Act provides that a victim of domestic violence has thirty days, rather than the standard ten days, to appeal a judgment arising out of a residential lease that contains an award of possession. Finally, the Committee proposes changes to the Official Note and the 2001 Explanatory Comment consistent with the proposed rule changes.
The chart below provides a schematic summary of the two proposals.
Content of Judgment
and Type of ActionTime for Appeal
Under Proposal OneTime for Appeal
Under Proposal TwoI. Actions for the Recovery of
Possession of Real PropertyA. Nonresidential lease Thirty days Thirty days B. Residential lease—
Only right to use of
lawful process to recover
possession of property and
award of court costsTen days Ten days
C. Residential lease—
Only award of monetary
damages and court costsThirty days Thirty days
D. Residential lease—
Both right to use lawful
process to recover
possession of property and
award of monetary damages
and court costsTen days Thirty days
E. Residential lease—
Regardless of the content
of the judgment, when a
victim of domestic violence
is involvedThirty days Thirty days
II. Civil Action A. Award of money
damages and court costsThirty days Thirty days
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 14-1422. Filed for public inspection July 11, 2014, 9:00 a.m.] _______
1 On March 28, 1996, the Court, in addition, to approving proposed amendments to Rule 1002, also amended Rule 1081 to suspend Act 33 of 1995, insofar as it was inconsistent with the rules. Act 33 of 1995 provides for Section 513 of the Landlord and Tenant Act. The Court did not rule that Act 33 of 1995 was unconstitutional.
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