Court Opinion

ID: 9752721
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 18:30:40.053575+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:27:21.277774
License: Public Domain

CIRILLO, Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. I agree, with the majority that Fisher did not lose the right to prosecute its claim against *559Ide in a new trial because it obtained a verdict within five years of the date upon which it filed its original claim. See, Brann & Stuart Co. v. Consolidated Sun Ray, Inc., 433 Pa. 574, 253 A.2d 105 (1969). I believe, however, that the majority erroneously reversed the lower court order which granted Ide a new trial. It is well established that an order granting a new trial will not be reversed on appeal absent a palpable abuse of discretion or error of law on the part of the court below. Ditz v. Marshall, 259 Pa.Super. 31, 393 A.2d 701 (1978); Hussey v. May Department Stores, 238 Pa.Super. 431, 357 A.2d 635 (1976); Holmes v. Waters, 235 Pa.Super. 180, 340 A.2d 474 (1975). No such error of law or abuse of discretion was shown in the instant case. Therefore, I would affirm the order of the trial court.
In the case at bar, Fisher sought to recover for labor and materials it provided to Ide under a contract which had not been fully performed. In its complaint, Fisher neglected to provide an itemized statement of these articles and the payment to which it was entitled for each. Ide complained about this lack of specificity in its preliminary objections, answer, pre-trial conference memorandum, and in its exceptions following the verdict in favor of Fisher. The Mechanics’ Lien Law clearly gave Ide the right to demand that Fisher file a complaint containing a more detailed list of items provided under the contract and the compensation due for each item.
Under the Mechanics’ Lien Law, a complaint that contains a general statement of labor and materials provided under a contract is only permissible where a contractor seeks to recover a sum of money established by a contract. Act of August 24, 1963, P.L. 1175, Art. Y, § 503, 49 P.S. § 1503(5). In such a case, the contract, itself, can be referred to for a list of labor and materials provided and the amount of money to which the contractor is entitled. In the instant case, however, the contract could not be relied upon to provide this information. Additionally, Fisher was not attempting to recover a sum that had been established by the *560contract it entered into with Ide. Thus, the Mechanics’ Lien Law explicitly required that Fisher’s complaint “set forth a detailed statement of the labor or materials provided, or both, and the prices charged for each . . . . ” Id. § 1503(6). I disagree with the Majority’s assertion that such a detailed statement was not required in the present case merely because Fisher’s claim was filed under a contract. If no contract existed, Fisher would not have the right to file a mechanics’ lien in the first instance. See, Murray v. Zemon, 402 Pa. 354, 167 A.2d 253 (1961).
Moreover, I agree with the lower court’s conclusion that, since Fisher was attempting to recover for goods and services it provided under an uncompleted contract, the nature of its claim was in quantum meruit rather than on the contract. It is well established that a complaint based on a contract to pay a fixed price is insufficient where a party attempts to recover in quantum meruit. John Conti Co. v. Donovan, 358 Pa. 566, 57 A.2d 872 (1958); Nuebling v. Borough of Topton, 323 Pa. 154, 185 A. 725 (1936). I fail to discern any abuse of discretion or error of law in the instant case which requires this court to reverse the trial court’s order granting Ide a new trial. Compare, Hornak v. Pittsburgh Railways Co., 433 Pa. 169, 249 A.2d 312 (1969). I therefore dissent.