THE COURTS

Title 231—RULES OF
CIVIL PROCEDURE

PART I. GENERAL

[ 231 PA. CODE CH. 200 ]

Proposed Amendment of Rule 227.1 Governing Post-Trial Relief; Proposed Recommendation No. 262

[44 Pa.B. 5563]
[Saturday, August 23, 2014]

 The Civil Procedural Rules Committee proposes that Rule of Civil Procedure 227.1 governing post-trial relief be amended as set forth herein. The proposed recommendation is being submitted to the bench and bar for comments and suggestions prior to its submission to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

 All communications in reference to the proposed recommendation should be sent no later than October 24, 2014 to:

Karla M. Shultz
Counsel
Civil Procedural Rules Committee
601 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 6200
P. O. Box 62635
Harrisburg PA 17106-2635
FAX 717-231-9526
civilrules@pacourts.us

Annex A

TITLE 231. RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

PART I. GENERAL

CHAPTER 200. BUSINESS OF COURTS

Rule 227.1. Post-Trial Relief.

*  *  *  *  *

 (c) Post-trial motions shall be filed within ten days after

 (1) verdict, discharge of the jury because of inability to agree, or nonsuit in the case of a jury trial; or

 (2) notice of nonsuit or the filing of the decision in the case of a trial without jury.

 If a party has filed a timely post-trial motion, any other party may file a post-trial motion within ten days after the filing of the first post-trial motion.

 Official Note: A motion for post-trial relief may be filed following a trial by jury or a trial by a judge without a jury pursuant to Rule 1038. A motion for post-trial relief may not be filed to orders disposing of preliminary objections, motions for judgment on the pleadings or for summary judgment, motions relating to discovery or other proceedings which do not constitute a trial. See U. S. National Bank in Johnstown v. Johnson, [506 Pa. 622,] 487 A.2d 809 (Pa. 1985).

*  *  *  *  *

 (h) A motion for post-trial relief shall be filed following a trial upon an appeal from the decision of viewers pursuant to the Eminent Domain Code.

 Official Note: Subdivision (h) eliminates any distinction with respect to the filing of a motion for post-trial relief between jury and non-jury trials following an appeal from the decision of viewers in eminent domain proceedings.

 (i) When an appellate court has remanded a case for further proceedings, a motion for post-trial relief relating to subsequent rulings in the trial court shall not be required unless

 (1) the appellate court has specified that the remand is for a complete or partial new trial, or

 (2) the trial court indicates in its order resolving the remand issues that a motion for post-trial relief is required pursuant to this rule.

Explanatory Comment

 In Newman Development Group of Pottstown, LLC v. Genuardi's Family Markets, Inc. and Safeway, Inc., 52 A.3d 1233 (Pa. 2012), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania examined the provisions of Rule 227.1 to determine whether a party must file a motion for post-trial relief following the resolution by the trial court of matters remanded by an appellate court. While it concluded in that case that a motion for post-trial relief was not required because the remand proceeding, which relied on an existing record, was not a trial, even though the trial court drew a different conclusion from that record to comport with the appellate court's directive, the Court held that Rule 227.1 is silent as to any procedure for post-trial relief when a matter has been remanded for further consideration by the trial court. Id. at 1251.

 To close this gap, the Civil Procedural Rules Committee is proposing the amendment of Rule 227.1, which would add new subdivision (i). Specifically addressing the remand context, the proposed amendment would not require the filing of a motion for post-trial relief following the resolution of matters remanded by an appellate court except under the following circumstances: (1) the appellate court has specified that the remand is for a complete or partial new trial, or (2) the trial court states in its order resolving the issue remanded that a motion for post-trial relief is required in order to preserve those issues for appellate review.

 The proposed amendment is intended to give the practitioner certainty as to when a motion for post-trial relief is required in the remand context, and thus, to prevent waiver of those issues upon further appellate review. It is also intended to facilitate the underlying purpose of the rule, which is to allow the trial court to reconsider its determination and to make any corrections before it is appealed without inundating it with unnecessary motions.

By the Civil Procedural
Rules Committee

PETER J. HOFFMAN, 
Chair

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 14-1773. Filed for public inspection August 22, 2014, 9:00 a.m.]

---

No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.

This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.

---