The Superior Court of Pennsylvania has nullified the
striking of a six-figure foreign judgment previously reached against a Wall
Township, N.J.-based contractor and remanded the case back to its trial court.
On Oct. 18, Judge John T. Bender decided to vacate a
Sept. 22, 2015 order opening and striking a foreign judgment against Longview
Construction, LLC, with future proceedings to transpire in the Berks County
Court of Common Pleas.
“On March 19, 2013, plaintiff filed a complaint against
Longview in the Supreme Court of New York, Dutchess County. The complaint was
served on Longview on April 3, 2013, and again on April 17, 2013. After
Longview failed to file an answer to the complaint, plaintiff petitioned for
judgment. On July 23, 2013, default judgment was entered by the Supreme Court
of New York in favor of plaintiff and against Longview,” Bender said.
Bender explained on July 14, 2015, plaintiff Dutchess
Quarry & Supply Co., Inc. filed with the Berks County Prothonotary a
praecipe for Registration of Foreign Judgment pursuant to the Uniform
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. The praecipe stated the judgment amount
was $184,601.77, not including costs of litigation and attorney’s fees, which
totaled out to $1,374.25.
“On July 23, 2015, Longview, by way of attorney Nicole
Plank, Esq., filed a Petition to Open/Strike Default Judgment in Berks County,
Pennsylvania, alleging that when the default judgment was entered in the state
of New York, the parties were attempting to ‘reconcile this matter,” Bender
said.
“Longview further alleged that it had a valid defense to
the underlying lawsuit. Specifically, Longview alleged that it “never ordered
any construction materials from plaintiff between July 2011 and October 2011,
and never received any construction materials from plaintiff between July 2011
and October 2011,” Bender added.
On Aug. 11, 2015, the trial court entered a rule to show
cause order on plaintiff and scheduled argument on questions of law for Sept.
16, 2015. On Sept. 2, 2015, plaintiff filed an answer and new matter to
Longview’s petition, denying that Longview had a meritorious defense. On Sept.
18, 2015, following argument on the petition, the court entered an order, striking
off the default judgment.
“On Oct. 7, 2015, plaintiff filed a timely notice of
appeal followed by a timely court-ordered Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise statement
of errors complained of on appeal. Herein, plaintiff presents the following
sole issue for our review: “Did the trial court err when it opened and struck
the New York Judgment at issue in this matter, via its Sept. 22, 2015 order as
later explained by its opinion of Feb. 8, 2016?”, Bender said.
Bender termed it “unclear” whether the trial court meant
to “open” or “strike” the default judgment.
“The Sept. 22, 2015 order states that the judgment shall
be ‘opened and stricken,’ but the court’s Rule 1925(a) opinion merely addresses
the merits for ‘opening’ a judgment,” Bender said. “It is well-settled under
Pennsylvania law that opening a default judgment and striking a default
judgment are two distinct remedies, and that the two are generally not
interchangeable.”
Bender delineated that for purposes of this appeal, the
distinction between these two dispositions is “vital”, due to it impacting the
Court’s ability to review the instant matter.
“Based on the record before us, we are unable to make a
determination as to whether the trial court intended to open or strike the
judgment. It would also be premature for this Court to determine if an order
striking judgment in this case is final and appealable under the rationale in Hohider,”
Bender stated.
Bender continued by vacating the Sept. 22, 2015 order and
remanded the case for the trial court to issue a new order clearly indicating
whether it is granting Longview’s petition to open or strike the default
judgment.
“If the order is revised to strike the default judgment,
and appellant again files a timely appeal, the court must issue a new 1925(a)
opinion discussing the finality of the order and the rationale underlying its
decision to strike,” Bender said.
“Order vacated. Case remanded for proceedings consistent
with this memorandum. Jurisdiction relinquished,” Bender continued.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania case 1761 MDA 2015
Berks County Court of Common Pleas case 15-15040
Source: Penn
Record
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