Court Opinion

ID: 9696196
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 18:40:49.001664+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:19.471388
License: Public Domain

Justice SAYLOR
concurring.
With good reason, the majority seeks to implement a rule governing appeals that is consistent as between civil actions generally and declaratory judgment proceedings, at least with regard to orders and/or judgments that follow a trial. The Court has reconciled such rule with Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Wickett, 563 Pa. 595, 763 A.2d 813 (2000), by concluding that the rule-based, post-trial motions procedure is an integral component of the fact-finding process, which the Declaratory Judgments Act specifies should be governed by prevailing rules of civil procedure. See Chalkey v. Roush, 569 Pa. 462, 470-71 n. 13, 805 A.2d 491, 496-97 n. 13 (2002). Nevertheless, in its present effort to encompass cases decided on agreed facts within Chalkey’s general rule, and to reconcile such treatment with Wickett, the majority must ultimately rely upon the Court’s own rules to bridge the gap, rather than any exception that can be discerned from the Declaratory Judgments Act. See Majority Opinion at 963-64 (“[T]he Explanatory Comment to [Pa.R.C.P. No. 1038.1] could not be more clear *346that the procedure in such trials ‘follows an existing model, that of a nonjury trial with respect to the decision, post-trial practice and appeal.’ As such, orders following trials on stipulated facts must be treated just like orders following other trials, i.e., in both situations, parties who wish to appeal must first file post-trial motions.” (citation omitted)). The majority seems to overlook, however, that the general principles of appealability pertaining to pre-trial orders such as were at issue in Wickett were no less clear, see Pa.R.A.P. 341, but nevertheless, the Court deemed them preempted by the Declaratory Judgments Act. See Wickett, 563 Pa. at 603-04, 763 A.2d at 818.
I join the present disposition for the reasons set forth in my concurring opinion in Chalkey. See Chalkey, 569 Pa. at 472-74, 805 A.2d at 497-99 (Saylor, J., concurring). Respectfully, however, I remain of the belief that it would be better for the Court to recognize the consequences of a faithful application of Wickett’s statutory construction analysis, and to reassess that decision in such light. See Chalkey, 569 Pa. at 473-74, 805 A.2d at 498-99 (Saylor, J., concurring).