Hamelly, C. v. Daniluk, D.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 24, 2020
Docket1308 WDA 2019
StatusUnpublished

This text of Hamelly, C. v. Daniluk, D. (Hamelly, C. v. Daniluk, D.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hamelly, C. v. Daniluk, D., (Pa. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

J-A18037-20

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

CHARYN L. HAMELLY : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA Appellant : : : v. : : : DANIEL DANILUK, LLC, AND CHERRY : No. 1308 WDA 2019 LYNNE POTEET :

Appeal from the Order Entered July 29, 2019 In the Court of Common Pleas of Mercer County Civil Division at No(s): 2018-553

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

MEMORANDUM BY NICHOLS, J.: FILED SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

Appellant Charyn L. Hamelly appeals from the order sustaining the

preliminary objections filed by Appellees Daniel Daniluk, LLC (Daniluk), and

Cherry Lynne Poteet, Esq., to Appellant’s fifth amended complaint and

dismissing the complaint with prejudice. On appeal, Appellant raises several

arguments that the trial court erred by sustaining Appellees’ preliminary

objections. We affirm.

We state the facts and procedural history as set forth in the trial court’s

opinion:

On February 23, 2018, [Appellant] filed a complaint . . . against [Appellees], Anna Santangelo, and Michael Santangelo [collectively, Santangelos] alleging violations of 18 Pa.C.S. § 5703 and civil conspiracy. [Appellee] Daniel Daniluk, LLC is a law firm in Ohio and [Appellee] Cherry Lynn[e] Poteet is an attorney employed by [Appellee] Daniel Daniluk, LLC. [The Santangelos] are clients of [Appellee] Daniel Daniluk, LLC in various matters, J-A18037-20

including a civil matter in this court docketed at case number 2016-1895.[1] Anna Santangelo is the adopted daughter of [Appellant] and Michael Santangelo is Anna Santangelo’s husband.

After [Appellees] filed preliminary objections to [Appellant’s] complaint, [Appellant] filed a first amended complaint on April 13, 2018. After [Appellees] again filed preliminary objections, [Appellant] filed a second amended complaint on May 21, 2018. Following [Appellees’] preliminary objections to the second amended complaint, [Appellant] filed a third amended complaint on June 26, 2018.

Prior to [Appellant] filing a third amended complaint, this court dismissed [the Santangelos] from this matter pursuant to a settlement and release agreement wherein [Appellant] and the Santangelos mutually released the other party of all claims.

Following preliminary objections to [Appellant’s] third amended complaint, [Appellant] filed a fourth amended complaint on August 6, 2018. After [Appellees] filled preliminary objections to [Appellant’s] fourth amended complaint, [Appellant] filed a fifth amended complaint on September 14, 2018.

The crux of [Appellant’s] fifth amended complaint centers around two alleged recordings of oral conversations between [Appellant] and Anna Santangelo. The first alleged recording of oral conversation occurred on July 7, 2016. Anna Santangelo allegedly visited [Appellant’s] residence, located in Pennsylvania, and recorded an oral conversation with [Appellant]. The second

____________________________________________

1 The certified record does not provide much detail on the civil matter at case number 2016-1895. It appears that the Santangelos, represented by Appellees, sued Appellant and her husband based, in part, on the intercepted communications. See generally In re Hamelly, 200 A.3d 97, 100 (Pa. Super. 2018) (discussing the civil matter in resolving an entirely different lawsuit, specifically Appellant’s appeal from the trial court’s order denying her private criminal complaint against Attorney Poteet). According to the Hamelly Court, in case number 2016-1895, the Santangelos alleged that Appellant’s husband sexually abused Anna Santangelo when she was a teenager and that Appellant “took no action to stop this abuse despite having knowledge of the abuse.” Id. at 100 (citation omitted).

-2- J-A18037-20

alleged recording occurred on July 10, 2016. Anna Santangelo and Michael Santangelo allegedly invited [Appellant] to their residence in Ohio and recorded an oral conversation with [Appellant].

[Appellant] did not claim that the [Appellees] recorded any oral conversations with [Appellant]. At all times relevant to this matter, [Appellees] were hired by the Santangelos to be their legal representation. As such, an attorney-client relationship existed between the Santangelos and [Appellees] and [Appellees] never undertook any action outside the scope of their representation of the Santangelos.

Trial Ct. Op., 10/23/19, at 2-3 (some formatting altered).

Appellant’s fifth amended complaint raised four claims: (1) violation of

18 Pa.C.S. § 5703(1); (2) violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 5703(2); (3) violation of

18 Pa.C.S. § 5703(3); and (4) civil conspiracy.

Section 5703 states as follows:

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person is guilty of a felony of the third degree if he:

(1) intentionally intercepts, endeavors to intercept, or procures any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept any wire, electronic or oral communication;

(2) intentionally discloses or endeavors to disclose to any other person the contents of any wire, electronic or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, knowing or having reason to know that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire, electronic or oral communication; or

(3) intentionally uses or endeavors to use the contents of any wire, electronic or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, knowing or having reason to know, that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire, electronic or oral communication.

18 Pa.C.S. § 5703.

-3- J-A18037-20

In relevant part, for Count I, Appellant alleged that Attorney Poteet

“intentionally endeavored to intercept oral communications by advising [the

Santangelos] to record the conversation between [Appellant] and [the

Santangelos].” Fifth Am. Compl., 9/14/18, at ¶ 65. Similarly, Appellant

asserted that Attorney Poteet “endeavored to intercept the conversation(s)

without the knowledge or consent of [Appellant] by advising [the Santangelos]

to do so. Id. at ¶ 68.

For Count II, violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 5703(2), Appellant alleged as

follows, in relevant part:

76. [Attorney] Poteet intentionally disclosed and endeavored to disclose the contents of an intercepted oral communication by sharing them with the Pennsylvania State Police, The District Attorney of Mercer County, and the Mercer County Court of Common Pleas.

77. At that time, [Attorney] Poteet knew that the information and evidence derived therefrom was obtained in violation of the law through the interception of an oral communication.

Id. at ¶¶ 76-77.

In support of Count III, violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 5703(3), Appellant

alleged the following:

83. [Attorney] Poteet intentionally used or endeavored to use the illegally recorded oral communication and evidence derived therefrom in reports and filings made with the Pennsylvania State Police, The District Attorney of Mercer County, and the Mercer County Court of Common Pleas.

84. At that time, [Attorney] Poteet knew that the information and evidence derived therefrom was obtained in violation of the law through the interception of an oral communication.

-4- J-A18037-20

Id. at ¶¶ 83-84.

For Appellant’s last count of conspiracy, Appellant alleged that the

Santangelos and Attorney Poteet “through their actions outlined herein above,

acted with a common purpose to do an unlawful act or to do a lawful act by

unlawful means” and “in pursuance of their common purpose.” Id. at ¶¶ 87-

88.

The trial court’s opinion sets forth the subsequent procedural history:

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