Failure to File Post-Trial Motions Waives Issues

Cozen O'Connor
Contact

A panel of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that a taxpayer that did not file post-trial motions waived all issues on appeal. M.C.& P.K. Lees, Inc. v. W.R. Capenos, 215 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 282. The purchaser at a tax sale brought an action several years later to confirm title to the property. The taxpayer filed a complaint in the nature of a request for declaratory judgment to void the tax sale. After a trial, the taxpayer filed a Statement of Matters Complained of on Appeal, but had not previously filed post-trial motions. Post-trial motions are prohibited in a statutory appeal. Pa.R.C.P. 227.1. The court held that the complaint was not the equivalent of a statutory appeal, notwithstanding that it challenged the validity of a tax sale. A motion to open the record did not in substance constitute the post-trial motion, as it was filed before the final judgment. As a result, the plaintiff waived all issues and the appeal was dismissed.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

© Cozen O'Connor | Attorney Advertising

Written by:

Cozen O'Connor
Contact
more
less

PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT ON JD SUPRA NOW

  • Increased visibility
  • Actionable analytics
  • Ongoing guidance

Cozen O'Connor on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide