Commonwealth v. Moore

89 Pa. D. & C. 478, 1954 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 424
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Alleghany County
DecidedJuly 2, 1954
Docketnos. 443, 444
StatusPublished

This text of 89 Pa. D. & C. 478 (Commonwealth v. Moore) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Alleghany County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Moore, 89 Pa. D. & C. 478, 1954 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 424 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1954).

Opinion

Alpern, J.,

This case involves an appeal from the suspension of the driver’s license of the two appellants. The Secretary of Revenue of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania suspended the driver’s licenses of John W. Moore and his son, Wesley Richard Moore, because of their failure to satisfy a judgment arising from an automobile accident. The accident which formed the basis of the judgment occurred on July 10, 1948, when Wesley Richard Moore, a minor [479]*479son of defendant, was in control of an automobile in the driveway of their home and struck a minor child. The injuries resulted in death. On August 12, 1952, a judgment was entered against Wesley Richard Moore and John W. Moore in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County in the sum of $3,500. On March 5, 1953, the licenses of both defendants were suspended because of failure to pay the judgment.

An appeal from the suspension of the licenses was taken by both drivers to the Allegheny County court. The Commonwealth filed a petition denying that the county court had jurisdiction, whereupon the case was discontinued, and an appeal taken by the drivers to the common pleas court. The appeal was presented to Alpern, J., on February 17,1954. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania asserted that the common pleas court did not have jurisdiction. It was urged that under the applicable statutes no appeal lies from the decision of the Secretary of Revenue in revoking an operator’s license. The Commonwealth maintained, moreover, that if an action can be maintained, it must be filed in Dauphin County.

The Motor Vehicle Liability Security Act, which was in effect at the time of the accident, July 10, 1948, was the Act of May 15, 1933, P. L. 553, 75 PS §1263. This act provides for the revocation of the driver’s license where a judgment was procured on the basis of negligent driving of a motor vehicle and the judgment was not paid. The act provided for an appeal from the revocation of the license to the court of common pleas where the operator resided: 75 PS §1278a. Section 22 of the Act of 1933 contains the following provisions:

“Any person whose motor vehicle registration, operator’s license, or learner’s permit has been suspended or revoked by the secretary under the provisions of this act, or any person who has been required to establish proof of financial responsibility in lieu of a suspension [480]*480or revocation, shall have the right to file a petition, within thirty (30) days thereafter, for a hearing de novo in the matter in the court of common pleas of the county in which the operator or permittee resides, or of the county of Dauphin in appeals filed by persons who are non-residents of this Commonwealth, and such court is hereby vested with jurisdiction, and it shall be its duty to set the matter down for a hearing upon thirty (30) days’ written notice to the secretary, and thereupon to take testimony and examine into the facts of the case, and to determine whether the petitioner is subject to suspension or revocation, or either of them, of motor vehicle registration, operator’s license, or learner’s permit under the provisions of this act.”

The judgment entered against John W. Moore and Wesley Richard Moore was entered on August 12,1952. By the time the judgment was entered in this case, The Motor Vehicle Liability Security Act of 1933 had been replaced by the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act of June 1,1945, P. L. 1340,75 PS §1277, as amended by the Act of May 12, 1949, P. L. 1279, 75 PS §1277.2, and the Act of January 14, 1952, P. L. 2042, sec. 3, 75 PS §1277.35.

While the Act of 1933 provided for appeals from the action of the Secretary of Revenue in revoking an operator’s license to the court of common pleas in the county where the operator resided, the Act of 1945, known as the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act, which superseded the Act of 1933, does not provide for any appeal from the action of the Secretary of Revenue in revoking an operator’s license. Section 13(a) reads as follows:

“The secretary, upon receipt of a certified copy of a judgment, shall forthwith suspend the license and registration of any resident operator or owner and any nonresident’s operating privilege of any person against [481]*481whom such judgment was rendered, except as hereinafter otherwise provided in this section and in section sixteen.”

No specific provision for appeal from the order of suspension is contained in this section.

Section 3.5 of the Act of 1945 provides the act shall not apply as to accidents or judgments occurring prior to the effective date of the Act of 1945. The effective date was originally July 1,1947. Thereafter, the effective date was extended to July 1, 1949: Act of July 3, 1947, P. L. 1247. The effective date was later postponed to February 1,1950: Act of May 12, 1949, P. L. 1279. Section 35 provides as follows:

“This act shall not apply with respect to any accident or judgment arising therefrom or violation of the motor vehicle laws of this State occurring prior to the effective date of this act.”

The Act of 1945 was amended by the Act of January 14,1952, P. L. 2042. Section 3 of the Act of 1952, specifically repealed section 35 of the Act of 1945. Section 3 provides as follows:

“Section 35 of said act is hereby repealed.”

The Act of 1952 became effective January 14, 1952. The judgment in the case at bar was entered on August 12, 1952. Section 35 was repealed nine months before the judgment was entered in the case at bar against Wesley Richard Moore and John W. Moore. The Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act of 1945, as amended, did not provide for appeals from the revocation of a license unless the appeals fell within the purview of sections 4 to 11 of the Act of 1945, as amended. As to those sections, the appeal was to the Dauphin County Common Pleas Court. The revocation of license in the case at bar comes under section 13 of the Act of 1945, as amended by the Act of 1952. There is no provision for appeal. The only appeals permitted under that statute are in connection with sections 4 to 11. We quote from section 2(6) of the Act of 1945:

[482]*482“Any person aggrieved by an order or act of the secretary under the provisions of sections four to eleven of this act may, within ten days after notice thereof, file a petition in the court of common pleas of Dauphin County for a trial de novo to determine whether such order or act is lawful and reasonable. The filing of such a petition shall not suspend the order or act of the secretary, unless a stay thereof shall be allowed by a judge of said court pending final determination of the matter. The court shall summarily hear the petition and may make any appropriate order or decree.”

It is within the province of the legislature to deny an appeal in certain instances or to require that appeals in connection with certain violations be taken to the Dauphin County Common Pleas Court.

This case is clearly distinguishable from the authorities relied upon by counsel for the appellants. The California case of Watson v. The State Division of Motor Vehicles of California, 212 Cal. 279, 298 Pac. 481 (1931), involved an instance where a severe penalty was imposed subsequent to the time of the accident, which was not in force when the accident happened. In that case, the California Vehicle Liability Act was enacted subsequent to the accident.

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Related

Watson v. Division of Motor Vehicles
298 P. 481 (California Supreme Court, 1931)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
89 Pa. D. & C. 478, 1954 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 424, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-moore-pactcomplallegh-1954.