Court Opinion

ID: 9940924
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-15 17:14:14.22681+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:46:02.695958
License: Public Domain

J-A21031-23

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

 AGNES A. FREMPONG AND STEVE A.           :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
 FREMPONG                                 :        PENNSYLVANIA
                                          :
                    Appellants            :
                                          :
                                          :
              v.                          :
                                          :
                                          :   No. 2801 EDA 2022
 ALLAN RICHARDSON AND JOHN AND            :
 JANE DOES                                :

              Appeal from the Order Entered October 13, 2022
    In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Civil Division at
                             No(s): 21100166

BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., DUBOW, J., and NICHOLS, J.

MEMORANDUM BY BENDER, P.J.E.:                    FILED FEBRUARY 15, 2024

      Appellants, Agnes A. Frempong and Steve A. Frempong, appeal pro se

from the trial court’s October 13, 2022 order granting Appellees’, Allan

Richardson and John and Jane Does, Motion to Dismiss the Complaint pursuant

to Pa.R.Civ.P. 233.1(a)(1) and (2). After careful review, we affirm.

      The trial court summarized the pertinent procedural history of this case,

as follows:

      [Appellants] initiated this action on October 1, 2021[,] by filing a
      Writ of Summons against [Appellees] and all unknown occupants.
      Following the entry of a Rule, [Appellants] filed a Complaint in
      Ejectment on February 15, 2022. The Complaint pertains to the
      property located at 2124 North 11th Street in Philadelphia. The
      deed attached to the Complaint lists Agnes Frempong, but not
      Steve[] Frempong, as the purchaser of the property on October
      10, 1985.      The Complaint alleges[,] inter alia[,] that Mr.
      Richardson is living at the property without a lease, and he has no
      lawful right to occupy the property.
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     On August 23, 2022, [Appellees], through counsel, filed a Motion
     to Dismiss pursuant to Rule 233.1. As was alleged in the Motion
     and developed at oral argument, the current Complaint is the third
     time [Appellants] have brought an ejectment or landlord/tenant
     claim related to the same property and same defendant[, Mr.
     Richardson].

     [Appellants] first commenced an action against Mr. Richardson in
     the Philadelphia Municipal Court as a landlord/tenant action. On
     December 15, 2017, the Municipal Court found in favor of
     [Appellants] and entered a judgment for possession.              Mr.
     Richardson filed a de novo appeal to the court of common pleas,
     December Term 2017 No. 3165. The case eventually proceeded
     to a non-jury trial before the Honorable Nina Wright-Padilla in April
     2018. Following the trial, Judge Wright-Padilla granted possession
     to [Appellants]. Both Mr. Richardon [sic] and [Appellants] filed
     cross-appeals. On appeal, the Superior Court (1694 EDA 2018
     and 1955 EDA 2018) reversed and remanded in a published
     opinion dated April 30, 2019. [See Frempong v. Richardson,
     209 A.3d 1001 (Pa. Super. 2019).]             The Superior Court
     explained[,] inter alia[,] that [Appellants] had no legal right to
     evict Mr. Richardson because they had no valid rental license
     and/or Certificate of Rental Suitability, as required by the
     Philadelphia Code. The Supreme Court denied allocatur on March
     16, 2020, [Frempong v. Richardson, 227 A.3d 313 (Pa. 2020),]
     and there are no further proceedings on the docket in that case.

     Meanwhile, on August 27, 2019, [Appellant, Agnes Frempong,]
     filed a Complaint in Ejectment involving known and unknown
     tenants for five different properties, including the 2124 North 11th
     Street property and Mr. Richardson. The case proceeded to a non-
     jury trial before the Honorable Edward C. Wright on June 21,
     2022. Following the trial, Judge Wright found in favor of all
     defendants and against [Ms. Frempong]: [Ms. Frempong]
     appealed to the Superior Court on August 3, 2022 (1950 EDA
     2022). In his 1925(a) Opinion, Judge Wright noted that [Ms.]
     Frempong[] had no valid rental license and/or Certificate of Rental
     Suitability. Judge Wright also noted that the legal issue —
     whether [Ms.] Frempong[] had those documents as required by
     the Philadelphia Code — was the same issue that had been
     previously litigated in the landlord/tenant matter. [Ms. Frempong
     appealed and, on June 28, 2023, the Superior Court affirmed the
     trial court’s order dismissing her claims against the tenants of the
     various properties, including Mr. Richardson and the 2124 North
     11th Street property. See Commonwealth v. Frempong, 301

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      A.3d 935 (Pa. Super. filed June 28, 2023) (unpublished
      memorandum).]

      On October 13, 2022, following oral argument, [the trial c]ourt
      granted [Appellees’] motion [to dismiss,] and on November 1,
      2022, [Appellants] filed this appeal.

Trial Court Opinion (TCO), 1/25/23, at 2-4 (footnote omitted).

      The trial court subsequently ordered Appellants to file a Pa.R.A.P.

1925(b) concise statement of errors complained of on appeal, and they timely

complied. The court then filed a Rule 1925(a) opinion on January 25, 2023.

In Appellants’ pro se, handwritten brief to this Court, they present three issues

for our review:

      A. Whether the trial court’s factual and procedural history are
         erroneously stated with its correspondingly erroneous
         application of the law to the prejudice of … Appellants, hence,
         resulting in gross error of law and manifest abuse of
         discretion[?]

      B. Whether Appellee[s’] reliance on the doctrine of res judicata to
         file Appellee[s’] motion to dismiss Appellants[’] complaint
         pursuant to [Rule] 233.1(a)(1) and (2) is inapplicable in this
         case and misplaced, hence, the inappropriate invocation of
         [Rule] 233.1(a)(1) and (2) is without any merit and therefore
         Appellee[s’] motion to dismiss Appellants[’] complaint should
         have been denied by the trial court and failure to do so was
         clear error of law and manifest abuse of discretion[?]

      C. Whether the trial court’s dismissal of Appellants’ complaint of
         action in ejectment constitute[s] gross error of law and
         manifest abuse of discretion as [Rule] 233.1 is not applicable
         to the current complaint[?]

Appellants’ Brief at 2 (unnecessary capitalization omitted).

      Initially, we observe that Appellants’ handwritten brief is difficult to

understand, and we agree with Appellees that Appellants present various

“irrelevant, and sometimes nonsensical[,] arguments” throughout the three

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issues they raise on appeal. Appellees’ Brief at 10. We further concur with

Appellees that ultimately, “[t]he only issue on … appeal is whether the trial

court abused its discretion when it dismissed [Appellants’] third Ejectment

Complaint pursuant to [Rule] 233.1.” Id. Thus, we limit our review to that

issue, and we will not address Appellants’ other irrelevant, confusing, and

futile arguments.

      Our standard of review of Appellants’ challenge to the court’s dismissal

of their complaint under Rule 233.1 is as follows:

      To the extent that the question presented involves interpretation
      of rules of civil procedure, our standard of review is de novo. To
      the extent that this question involves an exercise of the trial
      court’s discretion in granting [a] “motion to dismiss,” our standard
      of review is abuse of discretion.

         Judicial discretion requires action in conformity with law on
         facts and circumstances before the trial court after hearing
         and consideration. Consequently, the court abuses its
         discretion if, in resolving the issue for decision, it misapplies
         the law or exercises its discretion in a manner lacking
         reason. Similarly, the trial court abuses its discretion if it
         does not follow legal procedure.

Coulter v. Ramsden, 94 A.3d 1080, 1086 (Pa. Super. 2014) (quoting Sigall

v. Serrano, 17 A.3d 946, 949 (Pa. Super. 2011) (internal citations omitted)).

      Rule 233.1 states, in pertinent part:

      (a) Upon the commencement of any action filed by a pro se
      plaintiff in the court of common pleas, a defendant may file a
      motion to dismiss the action on the basis that

         (1) the pro se plaintiff is alleging the same or related claims
         which the pro se plaintiff raised in a prior action against the
         same or related defendants, and

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        (2) these claims have already been resolved pursuant to a
        written settlement agreement or a court proceeding.

Pa.R.Civ.P. 233.1(a).

     This Court has examined and explained the intent and applicability of

Rule 233.1, as follows:

     Rule 233.1 was promulgated by our Supreme Court in 2010 to
     stem a noted increase in serial lawsuits of dubious merit filed by
     pro se litigants disaffected by prior failures to secure relief for
     injuries they perceived but could not substantiate. Accordingly,
     the drafting committee constructed the Rule with attention to
     potential manipulation of the legal process by those not learned
     in its proper use, seeking to establish accountability for pro se
     litigants commensurate with that imposed upon members of the
     Bar. Thus, the Rule operates to spare potential defendants the
     need to defend spurious claims, first, by allowing the expeditious
     dismissal of duplicative pro se actions and, second, by
     empowering the trial court to ban the pro se litigant’s
     commencement of further actions against such defendants.

     Following scrutiny of the Rule’s text, we discern the extent of our
     Supreme Court’s intent in the Rule’s allowance of summary
     proceedings for dismissal substantially less exacting than those
     required by the Rules of Court for counseled actions, as well as
     the absence from the language of any of the elements
     encompassed under the doctrines of res judicata and collateral
     estoppel. The Rule’s language is noteworthy, specifically, in its
     omission of any reference to existing procedures under the Rules
     for obtaining judgment prior to trial, see, e.g., Pa.R.C[iv].P.
     1028(a)(4) (Preliminary Objections (Demurrer)), 1034 (Judgment
     on the Pleadings), 1035.2 (Summary Judgment). Indeed, the
     very fact that Rule 233.1 was promulgated in the presence of this
     series of rules and procedures, that by design tests every aspect
     of the legal and factual merit of a plaintiff’s claim, announces the
     Supreme Court’s focus and intent with exceptional clarity. Quite
     simply, the Court saw no reason to expose already beleaguered
     defendants to the demands of extended litigation and the rigor of
     technical procedural rules for summary disposition when the
     claims at issue have already been addressed in a substantive
     manner and resolved.

                                    ***

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     [N]either the language of the Rule nor the explanatory comment
     mandate the technical identity of parties or claims imposed by res
     judicata or collateral estoppel; rather, it merely requires that the
     parties and the claims raised in the current action be “related” to
     those in the prior action and that those prior claims have been
     “resolved.” These two terms are noteworthy in their omission of
     the technical precision otherwise associated with claim and issue
     preclusion; whereas parties and/or claims are to be “identical”
     under the purview of those doctrines, Rule 233.1 requires only
     that they be sufficiently related to inform the trial court, in the
     exercise of its discretion, whether the plaintiff’s claim has in fact
     been considered and “resolved.”          The drafting committee’s
     recourse to the word “resolved” in this context is equally
     significant. In the Rule’s requirement that the matter ha[s] been
     “resolved pursuant to a written settlement agreement or a court
     proceeding,” the language assures that the pro se litigant is
     availed of a chance to address his claim subject to the contractual
     guarantee of a settlement agreement or to the procedural
     safeguards that attend a court proceeding. It does not require,
     however, that the matter has progressed to a “final judgment on
     the merits,” nor does it require the identi[t]y of the quality or
     capacity in the persons for or against whom the claim is made. In
     view of the circumstances under which the rule was promulgated,
     “the mischief to be remedied,” and the object to be attained, we
     find these multiple omissions indicative of the manner in which
     the Supreme Court intends Rule 233.1 to operate and dispositive
     of Gray’s current actions.

Gray v. Buonopane, 53 A.3d 829, 835–36 (Pa. Super. 2012) (citations and

some quotation marks omitted; emphasis in original).

     In the case sub judice, the trial court explained:

     Here, the allegations in [Appellants’] Complaint are (i) nearly
     identical in substance and form to their allegations against Mr.
     Richardson in the 2019 ejectment Complaint, and (ii) are nearly
     identical in substance to the landlord/tenant dispute from 2017,
     although the form of that action was different.         Moreover,
     [Appellants’] appeal of Judge Wright’s trial finding in the 2019

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       action is still in the early stages of the appeal.[1] … Thus, to the
       extent any issue raised by [Appellants] in that appeal with respect
       to Mr. Richardson may have merit, the Superior Court will have
       the ability to correct those errors.

       [Appellants] have filed a Complaint alleging the same or related
       claims to those they previously raised against Mr. Richardson.
       Those claims have either been previously resolved through court
       proceedings and/or may yet be resolved by the Superior Court.
       Thus, this [c]ourt properly dismissed the Complaint and barred
       [Appellants] from pursuing the claims alleged in the Complaint
       without leave of court.

TCO at 5-6.

       In challenging the court’s decision to dismiss their instant complaint,

Appellants first argue that the 2017 action was distinct, as it was not an

ejectment action, but was “filed with the Landlord-Tenant Court of Philadelphia

Municipal Court for possession and monetary damages[,]” and “the main issue

was the interpretation of the word ‘or’ in the Phila[delphia] Code § 9-

3901(4)(e).” Appellants’ Brief at 5. They further contend that the present

action is different from the 2019 ejectment action because they are alleging

“new    facts   including    nuisance     and    the   destruction   of   the   property

intentionally.”    Id.   Specifically, they claim that since litigating that prior

ejectment action, they have discovered that “Mr. Richardson was intentionally

destroying the property by running the water 24 [hours per day,] 7 [days per

week,] to the extent that instead of monthly water rents of $50 to $75[, water

is] now [costing] over $1,000 a month.” Id. Appellants’ focus the majority
____________________________________________

1 As mentioned supra, since the filing of the trial court’s opinion, our Court

affirmed Judge Wright’s order dismissing Agnes Frempong’s claims against
Mr. Richardson regarding the instant property. See Frempong, 301 A.3d
935.

                                           -7-
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of their argument on claiming that res judicata does not bar their present

action, as the present case is an ejectment action, not a Landlord-Tenant

claim, and is premised on new facts not alleged in the 2019 action. See id.

at 19-26.

      However, as set forth supra, dismissal under Rule 233.1 does not

require “the technical identity of parties or claims imposed by res judicata or

collateral estoppel; rather, it merely requires that the parties and the claims

raised in the current action be ‘related’ to those in the prior action and that

those prior claims have been ‘resolved.’” Gray, 53 A.3d at 836 (emphasis in

original). Presently, Appellants seem to challenge whether their 2017 case

was “resolved,” given that this Court remanded for the trial court “to

determine whether Tenants remain in the property, whether the property has

been subject to sheriff’s sale, and any other pertinent issue related to our

reversal of the possession award.” Frempong, 209 A.3d at 1011. However,

it is clear that this Court resolved the issue raised in Appellants’ instant

complaint: whether they are entitled to possession of the at-issue property.

See id. at 1010 (stating “we agree with Tenants … that Section 9-3901(4)(e)

does not allow recovery of rent or possession” by the Frempongs).

      Additionally, we reject Appellants’ argument that their 2019 action is

not ‘related’ to the instant case because the trial court’s opinion “made no

reference to [Mr.] Richardson at all.” Appellants’ Brief at 31. It is true that

the trial court’s opinion in that case, and this Court’s decision on appeal,

focused on Agnes Frempong’s “complaint against Jennifer Phillips seeking

                                     -8-
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possession for property located at 920 East Price Street, Philadelphia, PA[,]”

and did not explicitly mention Mr. Richardson.            Commonwealth v.

Frempong, No. 1950 EDA 2022, unpublished memorandum at 1 (Pa. Super.

filed June 28, 2023) (quoting Trial Court Opinion, 12/20/22, at 1-2).

Nevertheless, Mr. Richardson was a party to that action, Appellants’ complaint

sought to recover possession of the at-issue property herein, and we affirmed

the trial court’s dismissal of that action on appeal.

      Finally, we address Appellants’ contention that the trial court lacked

subject matter jurisdiction over Appellees’ motion to dismiss.        Appellants

confusingly argue that “the trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction

… where [Appellees] solely relied on res judicata but failed to raise it in a New

Matter.” Appellants’ Brief at 31.    This argument is meritless. Notably, as

Appellants correctly recognize:

      Jurisdiction of subject matter relates to the competence of a court
      to hear and determine controversies of the general nature of the
      action before the court; jurisdiction of the person is ordinarily
      acquired by service upon him of the court’s process within the
      territorial limits of his authority.

Id. (quoting Commonwealth v. Stewart, 543 A.2d 572, 574 (Pa. Super.

1988)). Here, Appellants filed the complaint in ejectment that initiated this

action, over which the trial court clearly had subject matter jurisdiction.

Appellees then filed the motion to dismiss that complaint under Rule 233.1,

asserting that the complaint was “barred by the doctrine of res judicata,” and

that “the requirements for dismissal of the [c]omplaint under [Rule] 233.1”

were satisfied. Motion to Dismiss, 8/23/22, at 7 (unnumbered). Appellees’

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alleged failure to raise their res judicata claim in a New Matter, as Appellants

contend, did not deprive the trial court of subject matter jurisdiction to grant

their motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 233.1.2

       In sum, we discern no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s conclusion

that the instant action is related to Appellants’ prior actions against Appellees

(specifically, Mr. Richardson), which have been resolved. Namely, it has been

decided that Appellants are not entitled to possession of, or rent regarding,

the at-issue property. To the extent their present complaint is different in

form, and/or alleges minor, additional facts that they believe warrant the

eviction of Appellees, those distinctions do not render this action unrelated to

the prior decisions determining that Appellants are not entitled to possession

of the at-issue property unless or until they obtain a rental license as required

by Phila. Code § 9-3901(4)(e). See Frempong, 209 A.3d at 1010-11.3
____________________________________________

2 Given our conclusion that Appellees satisfied the requirements for dismissal

of Appellants’ complaint under Rule 233.1, we need not address whether they
also met the stricter requirements of res judicata.
3 We agree with Appellees that

       [t]he remedy for [Appellants] is not in the courts, but in their own
       hands. They need to obtain a valid Rental License and Certificate
       of Rental Suitability for 2124 N. 11[th] Street, Philadelphia, PA,
       and then they can eject [Mr. Richardson]. However, to do this,
       [Appellants] must pay their outstanding real estate taxes and
       water charges. This[,] too[,] is in [Appellants’] control. They own
       multiple properties and can leverage them or sell one or two of
       them, pay the City the money that they owe them, obtain a Rental
       License and Certificate of Rental Suitability, and obtain possession
       of the property. But they refuse to do this. Instead, they would
(Footnote Continued Next Page)

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       Accordingly, Appellants have failed to demonstrate that the trial court

abused its discretion in granting Appellees’ motion to dismiss under Rule

233.1.

       Order affirmed.

Date: 2/15/2024

____________________________________________

       rather file lawsuit after lawsuit waiving the banner of property
       rights and ask the Court of Common Pleas, or this Court[,] to help
       them out of a jam of their own making. Enough is enough!

Appellees’ Brief at 19-20.

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