SHANAHAN v. GROEN (1997)

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Terri SHANAHAN and Joseph Shanahan, Appellants, v. Marcel R. GROEN and Groen, Laveson, Goldberg & Rubenstone.

Decided: February 12, 1997

Before CAVANAUGH, CIRILLO, BECK, POPOVICH, JOHNSON, HUDOCK, FORD ELLIOTT, SAYLOR and EAKIN, JJ.

Daniel Silver, Richboro, for appellants. Edward H. Rubenstone, Bensalem, for appellees.

Terri and Joseph Shanahan appeal from the order that denied their motion to vacate a judgment of non pros. The trial court entered the judgment pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 218 because the Shanahans' counsel failed to appear at the status call of the list for the assignment of a trial date. We reverse.

The Shanahans contend on appeal that the trial court: (1) lacked authority to enter a judgment of non pros based on their counsel's failure to appear at the status call of the list; and (2) abused its discretion in refusing to vacate the judgment of non pros.

Based upon this Court's recent Opinion in Gendrachi v. Cassidy, 455 Pa.Super. 518, 688 A.2d 1215 (1997) (en banc), we conclude that the trial court lacked authority to enter the judgment of non pros. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's order and remand for further proceedings consistent with Gendrachi.

Because of our resolution of the Shanahans' first contention, we need not address their remaining contention.

Order REVERSED. Case REMANDED. Jurisdiction RELINQUISHED.

JOHNSON, Judge.

CIRILLO, J., concurs in the result.

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Welcome to FindLaw's Cases & Codes

A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes visit FindLaw's Learn About the Law.

Go To Learn About The Law