Court Opinion

ID: 9767164
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 05:11:43.342439+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:29.150118
License: Public Domain

BROSKY, Judge,
concurring.
At the outset, I note that while the current version of Rule 341 is not applicable to this case, this court nonetheless has jurisdiction to consider the merits of the appeal because the order appealed from has the practical effect of placing the litigants out of court with respect to William Bechtel. Hence, the order has sufficient aspects of finality for purposes of appeal. See, e.g., Lafferty v. Alan Wexler Agency, Inc., 393 Pa.Super. 400, 403, 574 A.2d 671, 673 (1990) (order denying plaintiffs motion to amend the complaint to substitute a new party was deemed final and appealable because it effectively put the plaintiff out of court with respect to the only defendant, in his capacity as an individual, who was potentially liable).
Although the result reached by the majority is correct, an extended discussion of the issues is unwarranted. Similar claims regarding the amendment of a complaint so as to substitute a new party after the expiration of the statute of limitations have been previously considered and rejected by this court. See Zercher v. Coca-Cola USA, 438 Pa.Super. 142, 145-46, 651 A.2d 1133, 1134-1135 (1994) and Lafferty v. Alan Wexler Agency, Inc., 393 Pa.Super. at 404-405, 574 A.2d at 673-674 (both of which discuss the applicable law and disallow amendment of the complaint to name a new party-defendant after the expiration of the statute of limitations).
*397However, a question remains as to whether the identity of the defendant was concealed by appellees such that the amendment should have been allowed in this case. Again, the law regarding this issue has been adequately set forth in Lafferty. See Lafferty v. Alan Wexler Agency, Inc., 393 Pa.Super. at 405-408, 574 A.2d at 674-675. Unlike the defendant in Lafferty, there is no evidence that the appellees here actively misled appellants regarding the identity of the proper defendant. Appellees denied liability and specifically advised appellants, prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations, of the identity of the potentially responsible party. See Appellees’ Answer and New Matter at paragraph 3. In addition, a police report completed on the day of the accident indicates that appellants named William Bechtel as the driver of the vehicle. It is thus apparent that appellants were aware of the identity of the correct defendant, but failed to name him as a party in their complaint. Accordingly, I concur in the affirmance of the trial court’s order.