Court Opinion

ID: 9754765
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:12:48.619557+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:27:57.446459
License: Public Domain

CAVANAUGH, J.,
Concurring:
¶ 1 I concur in the majority opinion, but I write separately to emphasize that the language of the forbearance agreement is the critical, factual predicate on which I rely to join in this disposition.
¶ 2 Athough I initially felt that the proper course was to remand this matter for a hearing to resolve the factual disputes surrounding alleged comments made by the trial court, I now conclude that the forbearance agreement executed by the parties provided indisputable notice to appellant of the entry of judgment and the attempted execution on the judgment. Appellant’s failure to timely respond to the explicit language of the agreement is indefensible and renders relief in the form of an appeal nunc pro tunc unavailable.
¶ 3 The preamble to the forbearance agreement states, in pertinent part:
WHEREAS, on or about September 26, 2001, a judgment for punitive damages in the amount of $3,000,000 was rendered in favor of Plaintiff against Defendant in Civil Action GD99-13670 in the Court of Common Pleas of Alegheny County, Pennsylvania (the “Judgment”); and
WHEREAS, Plaintiff has commenced execution of the Judgment and Defendant has not posted a bond under Pa. R.A.P. § 1731 to stay such execution; and
WHEREAS, HHI and PICA have requested Plaintiff to forbear from any further action to collect on the Judgment so as not to disrupt or prevent a PICA Sale Transaction from occurring, and Plaintiff is willing to do so on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.
¶ 4 The forbearance agreement was signed by the parties on November 29, 2001. The docket entries establish that appellee filed a writ of execution on September 26, 2001, and that appellant was served by the Sheriff of Washington County with the writ of execution and interrogatories on September 27, 2001. Appellant did. not file an appeal nunc pro tunc until January 2, 2002, more than a month after the agreement was signed and more than three months after being served with a writ of execution. Even assuming as true appellant’s assertions that the trial court erroneously cited the time for appeal on September 4, 2001, and that the trial court’s staff misled him into believing that a disposition of the post-trial motions on the merits was forthcoming, appellant cannot credibly argue that the forbearance agreement did not apprise him of the entry of judgment and the attempted execution on that judgment. Appellant would not be entitled to an appeal nunc pro tunc as a matter of law. See Freeman v. Bonner, 761 A.2d 1193, 1195 (Pa.Super.2000) (stating that “an appeal nunc pro tunc is only granted in civil cases where there was fraud or a breakdown in the court’s operations,” or a “non-negligent happenstance”).
¶ 5 I concur in the majority opinion.