Court Opinion

ID: 9749449
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 16:43:55.969211+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:48.908972
License: Public Domain

*451BROSKY, Judge,
concurring.
I agree with the observation of the majority “that appellants were on notice of this requirement [the necessity of filing a complaint in common pleas court within twenty days of the filing of their notice of appeal in that court] by virtue of the language on the notice of appeal.” Majority Memorandum at 748, 749. At the same time, however, I dispute the excuse proffered by the majority for appellants’ dereliction in failing to timely file a complaint. In this regard, the majority states, “While such language is certainly clear to those in the legal profession, the legal significance of filing a new complaint may not be so readily understandable to a person with no legal background who is working his way through the appeal process for the very first time.” Id.
First, the language on the Notice of Appeal form, as the Majority concedes, is clear on its face that an appellant must file a Complaint within twenty days after filing the Notice of Appeal. In fact, this language is sufficiently clear to be comprehended by one who is not possessed of a formal law degree. One need not acquire a college or advanced professional degree to fully appreciate a legal requirement that is couched in commonly understood words of the English language. Moreover, this notice informs an appellant in capital, italicized wording that he/she must file a complaint within the twenty-day period after perfecting the form Notice of Appeal.
Nevertheless, because I would also find that appellees were not prejudiced in any way by the failure of appellants to file their Complaint within the requisite twenty-day period, I concur in the decision of the majority to vacate the Order dismissing the Petition to reinstate the appeal and to grant appellants twenty days in which to file their Complaint.