Opinion ID: 2190354
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: orphans' court jurisdiction

Text: The Superior Court rejected the notion that the Orphans' Court Division lacked jurisdiction over this matter once any claims against the estate of Charles Hall were relinquished. This is correct. Article V of our Constitution abolished the Orphans' Courts of the Commonwealth and transferred their jurisdiction to the Courts of Common Pleas to be exercised through an orphans' court division. 20 Pa.C.S. § 712 confers upon the Orphans' Court Division broad residual and discretionary jurisdiction over all matters that are subject to resolution by courts of common pleas generally. Moreover, it is now recognized that the divisions of the common pleas courts are established essentially for purposes of administrative convenience, and that each division is vested with the full jurisdiction of the whole court. 42 Pa.C.S. § 952. Appellants now argue that failure to transfer the matter back to the Civil Division was an abuse of discretion. There is no merit to this argument, since the administrators of this estate, who because of their status as administrators, were also directors and officers of the corporate general partners, were directly interested in the outcome of this litigation. Even if it would have been preferable to transfer this matter back to the Civil Division, this Court is simply not going to review, on the merits, every decision made at the trial level to transfer or not transfer a matter from one division of the Common Pleas Court to another once a trial or hearing has begun. That is one reason why each division now has been given full plenary jurisdiction. Moreover, it is clear that no point would be served whatsoever at this stage in re-trying this case in another division. There was no abuse of discretion in this ruling that we can detect. For the reasons set forth above, the judgment of the Superior Court is affirmed in part and reversed in part. HUTCHINSON, former J., did not participate in the consideration or decision of this case.