Court Opinion

ID: 9701580
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 22:25:44.536266+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:02:31.477164
License: Public Domain

*246CIRILLO, Judge,
dissenting and concurring:
I respectfully dissent from the majority holding that an order refusing to remove a compulsory nonsuit is appealable prior to the entry of judgment on the docket.
It is clear that an appeal does not lie from an order entering a nonsuit, but rather, an appeal may only be taken subsequent to the denial of a motion to remove the nonsuit. The majority holds that the appeal is actually taken from the order refusing to remove the nonsuit. However, I would hold that an order refusing to remove a nonsuit is not appealable until a judgment is entered on the order.
The majority has stated that an order refusing to remove a nonsuit is comparable to an order sustaining preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer, which is appealable without a judgment being entered. In my opinion, however, an order refusing to remove a nonsuit is analogous to an order refusing to award a new trial, which must have a judgment entered before it can be appealed. See: Pa.R. A.P. No. 301(c), 42 Pa.C.S.A.
Where a demurrer to a complaint has been sustained, the court has made a finding that the complaint fails to state a cause of action upon which relief can be granted. Papieves v. Lawrence (Kelly), 437 Pa. 373, 381, 263 A.2d 118 (1970); Pa.R.C.P. No. 1017(b)(4). The court’s finding that no cause of action exists does not involve the weighing of any evidence of the case. Upon the docketing of such an order, the matter is out of court and the order is immediately appealable without entry of judgment. No judgment is required because there is no longer any case upon which to enter judgment.
On the other hand, where a motion for a new trial has been denied, the verdict of the fact-finder remains extant. It is that verdict upon which judgment must be entered prior to appealing the denial of the motion for a new trial.
Similarly, where a motion to remove a nonsuit is denied, there remains a case upon which judgment can be entered. The complainant may be out of court as a result of the nonsuit, but it is not because he failed to state a claim as in *247the case of a demurrer. Rather, it is because the complainant has failed to substantiate the claim with sufficient evidence at trial. Jurich v. United Parcel Service, 239 Pa.Super. 306, 308, 361 A.2d 650 (1976); Pa.R.C.P. No. 224.
Under Pa.R.C.P. No. 227.1, the motion for removal of a nonsuit is classified as a post-trial motion, as distinguished from a pre-trial preliminary objection in the nature of a demurrer to a complaint. The majority correctly points out that Rule 227.1 equates motions for a new trial and for removal of a nonsuit only for the explicit purpose of standardizing the filing period for post-trial motions. This need for uniformity in the area of civil post-trial motions is the reason Rule 227.1 was promulgated. Further, the classification of motions to remove nonsuit and for a new trial as post-trial motions in Rule 227.1 assures prompt consideration of these motions by the trial court prior to appellate review.1
This court has held on several occasions that the motion to remove a nonsuit is to be treated like all other post-trial motions. See: Lawson v. Bond, 293 Pa.Super. 178, 437 A.2d 1264 (1981); Levin v. Desert Palace, Inc., 291 Pa.Super. 408, 435 A.2d 1292 (1981); Thomas M. Durkin & Sons, Inc. v. Nether Providence Township School Authority, 291 Pa.Super. 402, 435 A.2d 1288 (1981). I see no reason to overrule these decisions as they provide a clear and consistent guide as to the appealability of an order refusing to take off a nonsuit. I would, therefore, hold that this was not an appealable order before us in this matter and this appeal should be quashed.
Since the majority has, in my view incorrectly, reached the merits of this case, I add my concurrence to their ruling that an unexcused violation of the “Dog Law” constitutes negligence per se.

. The firmly established rule of Pennsylvania appellate courts is that all post-trial motions shall be considered by the trial court prior to appeal. Nord v. Devault Contracting Co., 460 Pa. 647, 334 A.2d 276 (1975); Gibson v. Miller, 265 Pa.Super. 597, 402 A.2d 1033 (1979); Pa.R.C.P. Nos. 227.1, 1038(d) and 1518.