Court Opinion

ID: 9692138
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 15:44:01.663333+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:31.780276
License: Public Domain

DISSENTING OPINION BY
TAMILIA, J.:
¶ 1 I respectfully dissent to the majority’s decision in this matter for two reasons. First, I believe appellee was served within the statute of limitations but there was a defect in the form of service. I would find appellee waived any such challenge when he failed to raise the issue of defective service of process by preliminary objection and then took affirmative steps to defend the case. Appellee, moreover, improperly raised the statute of limitations defense in his answer and new matter and in his summary judgment motion, based upon appellants’ alleged failure to serve. Second, absent any such technical waiver, any challenge to defective service was waived by the parties’ course of conduct.
¶2 Defects in service of process must be raised in preliminary objections and cannot be attacked by asserting the stat*1171ute of limitations. Pa.R.C.P. 1028; see also Cinque v. Asare, 401 Pa.Super. 339, 585 A.2d 490, 492 (1990). A defendant who fails to object to service of the complaint in preliminary objections waives this objection. Pa.R.C.P. 1032. In contrast, as the majority points out, a statute of limitations affirmative defense cannot be raised in preliminary objections, unless the particular statute of limitations is non-waivable. Reuben v. O’Brien, 299 Pa.Super. 372, 445 A.2d 801 (1982). Rather, a statute of limitations affirmative defense must be raised in an answer as new matter. Pa.R.C.P. 1028, 1030.
¶ 3 Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1007 provides that a lawsuit is commenced by the filing with the prothonotary of a writ of summons or a complaint. Rule 401, requires that original process of the writ of summons or complaint must be served “within the Commonwealth within thirty days after the issuance of the writ or the filing of the complaint,” but allows for re-issuance of the writ or re-filing of the complaint until service is effectuated. See Rule 401(a) and (b). By re-issuance of the writ or re-filing the complaint, the statute of limitations is tolled for the same period of time within which the original action could have been brought, provided that plaintiffs “[refrain] from a course of conduct which serves to stall in its tracks the legal machinery [they have] just set in motion.” See Lamp v. Heyman, 469 Pa. 465, 478, 366 A.2d 882, 889 (1976). Lamp, moreover, “requires of plaintiffs a good-faith effort to effectuate notice of commencement of the action.” See Farinacci v. Beaver County Industrial Development Authority, 510 Pa. 589, 594, 511 A.2d 757, 759 (1986). A plaintiffs failure to make a good faith effort to notify the defendant will serve to nullify both the commencement of the action and the tolling of the statute of limitations. Moses v. T.N.T. Red Star Express, 725 A.2d 792, 797 (Pa.Super.1999) appeal denied 559 Pa. 692, 739 A.2d 1058 (1999) (citation omitted).
¶ 4 The alleged negligent conduct at issue occurred on September 4, 1997. A two-year statute of limitations applies to an action to recover damages for injury that is founded on negligent tortious conduct. 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 5524. The complaint in this case was filed on August 19, 1999, with approximately two weeks remaining before expiration of the two-year statute of limitations period. Pursuant to Rule 401(a), appellants were required to serve appellee with the complaint within 30 days, that is, by September 18, 1999. See Pa. R.C.P. 107. Appellants did not properly serve appellee in this period, nor did they reinstate the complaint pursuant to Rule 401(b). As appellee himself has conceded, however, appellants mailed a copy of the complaint to appellee’s insurance company and to appellee on August 28, 1999. Record # 21, Defendant’s motion for summary judgment, at 14, paragraph 58; see also Record # 23, Defendant’s brief in support of summary judgment motion, Exhibit M. It is clear, therefore, that appellants attempted to effectuate service before the statute of limitations expired, but the manner of service was improper. I believe appellee waived any objection regarding improper service by failure to raise the objection via preliminary objections.
¶ 5 Appellee filed preliminary objections but did not raise an objection to service. See Record # 5. Further, appellee withdrew his preliminary objections, and filed an answer to the complaint, as well as other documents, including his objections to appellants’ malpractice interrogatories, and ultimately, his summary judgment motion, without filing preliminary objections raising the issue of defective service of process. I am thereby constrained to conclude that appellee waived the matter of defective service. See Cinque, supra *1172(holding a defendant waived any challenge to defective service when he took affirmative steps to defend the case by filing an answer to the complaint and other documents without fifing preliminary objections).
¶ 6 Appellee alleged in his answer and new matter that the action was barred by the statute of limitations due to appellants’ failure to effectuate timely service on him. Although it is true that all affirmative defenses, including the statute of limitations, must be pled in a responsive pleading under new matter, see Pa.R.C.P. 1030, New Matter, I believe the issue here was a defect in the manner of service, which service occurred within the required time, and not a failure to make a good faith effort to serve the defendant before the statute of limitations expired. Again, defects in service of process cannot be attacked by asserting the statute of limitations. Cinque, at 492. Accordingly, I find the issue was raised improperly in appel-lee’s answer and new matter and in his summary judgment motion, and the trial court’s disposition of the matter was improper.
¶ 7 Although I find service was defective, appellee has not suffered prejudice as a result of this defect. The reality is that the parties engaged.in a course of conduct manifesting their belief that the lawsuit was moving forward. Appellee and his insurer received a copy of the complaint in August 1999. Appellee and his insurer were actively defending the case since that time. The insurer requested a ninety-day extension of time in which to file an answer and made at least one document request. By February 2000, appellee’s counsel was aware of the. suit' and acknowledged service shortly thereafter. Appellee filed an answer to the complaint, as well as other documents, including his objections- to appellants’ malpractice interrogatories. This case was proceeding routinely until the summary judgment motion was filed. See Cinque, at 492. Suddenly, a year after appellee and his insurer receive a copy of the complaint and begin to actively defend the case, in August of 2000 appellee raises the statute of limitations as a defense based upon appellants’ alleged failure to effectuate timely service upon him. Justice is not effectuated in this case by allowing appellee to pull an eleventh hour “Gotcha!” based upon a legal technicality. I would reverse the Order of the trial court and remand this case for trial on the merits.