Swistock, P. v. Flegal, C.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 9, 2014
Docket1589 WDA 2013
StatusUnpublished

This text of Swistock, P. v. Flegal, C. (Swistock, P. v. Flegal, C.) 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
Swistock, P. v. Flegal, C., (Pa. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

J-A23017-14

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

PETER R. SWISTOCK, JR., SUBSTITUTED IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FOR PETER R. SWISTOCK, SR., PENNSYLVANIA (DECEASED),

Appellant

v.

CHRISTINE SWISTOCK FLEGAL; AMY E. SWISTOCK A/K/A AMY SKOLOYZNSKI; PEGGY KEESHIN A/K/A MARGARET KEESHIN; AND NANCY L. SNYDER,

Appellees No. 1589 WDA 2013

Appeal from the Order entered September 6, 2013, in the Court of Common Pleas of Blair County, Civil Division, at No(s): GD 2010-GN-1907

PETER R. SWISTOCK, JR., ANCILLARY IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF PENNSYLVANIA PETER R. SWISTOCK, SR., (DECEASED),

CHRISTINE SWISTOCK FLEGAL; AMY E. SWISTOCK A/K/A AMY SKOLOYZNSKI; PEGGY KEESHIN A/K/A MARGARET KEESHIN; AND NANCY L. SNYDER,

Appeal of: Peter R. Swistock, Jr. No. 1808 WDA 2013

Appeal from the Order entered October 21, 2013, in the Court of Common Pleas of Blair County, Civil Division, at No(s): GD 2013-GN-1572 J-A23017-14

BEFORE: DONOHUE, ALLEN, and MUSMANNO, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY ALLEN, J.: FILED SEPTEMBER 09, 2014

At 1589 WDA 2013, Peter R. Swistock, Jr., (“Appellant”), as

substituted plaintiff for his father Peter R. Swistock, Sr., deceased,

(“Decedent”), appeals from the trial court’s order denying Appellant’s initial

motion, amended motion, and supplemental motion for post-trial relief, and

granting the motion to quash Appellant’s untimely amended motion for post-

trial relief filed by four of Appellant’s siblings: Christine Swistock Flegal,

Amy Swistock a/k/a Amy Skoloyznski, Peggy Keeshin a/k/a Margaret

Keeshin, and Nancy L. Snyder, (collectively “Siblings”). At 1808 WDA 2013,

Appellant appeals from the trial court’s order sustaining Siblings’ preliminary

objections to Appellant’s complaint and petition for writ of coram nobis.

After careful consideration of these consolidated appeals, we affirm.

The trial court set forth the factual background as follows:

At some point prior to this action, [Decedent] purchased a block of shares in Omega Bank, which he subsequently split into five separate share certificates, each titled in the name of himself and one of his five daughters as Joint tenants with rights of survivorship, ([Siblings’] Exhibit #2). In 2001, [Decedent] informed his daughters that he gave them each a block of Omega Bank stock; that they jointly owned the shares of Omega Bank stock with him; and that when he died, the entire amount of each block of stock would then be owned by each of the surviving daughters. (Trial Tr. 85-88).

In 2008, Omega Bank merged with F.N.B. Corporation (hereinafter “F.N.B."). After the merger, F.N.B. issued five new share certificates, each in the amount of 9,917 shares, to [Decedent]. ([Siblings’] Exhibit #1). Each of these certificates was registered and titled jointly, listing [Decedent] and one of his five daughters as owners. ([Siblings’] Exhibit #1). The

-2- J-A23017-14

letters "WROS" were printed next to each daughter's name, indicating rights of survivorship. ([Siblings’] Exhibit #1). The share certificates were in [Decedent’s] personal, physical possession at all relevant times. [Decedent] retained the dividend payments from all the share certificates, which his daughters agreed to in order to provide their father with an additional source of income.

The parties agree that after [Decedent’s] wife died in 2008, personal disputes arose between [Siblings] and [Decedent]. As a result of these disputes, by letter dated January 22, 2010, written by his attorney David Mason, [Decedent] notified his daughters that he wanted the shares of stock returned to him to be in his name alone. ([Siblings’] Exhibit #4).

For the F.N.B. stock to be transferred, a completed Request to Transfer Stock was required to be signed by all current registered owners of the F.N.B. stock, along with a Medallion Guarantee. ([Siblings’] Exhibit #4). [Siblings] did not comply with [Decedent’s] request to transfer the stock. On May 21, 2010, [Decedent] filed this action, requesting an order of court declaring him the sole owner of the shares.

Trial Court Opinion and Order, 1/15/13, at 2-3.

Procedurally, the trial court explained:

[Decedent] initiated this action on May 21, 2010 by filing a Complaint against [Siblings] [at 2010-GN-1907]. [Siblings] filed a Counterclaim against their father accusing him of fraud, conversion, and mismanagement of two family limited partnerships. The Court held a Trial by Court on August 8, 2012 with an Opinion that followed. [Appellant] filed a timely Motion for Post-Trial Relief pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 227.1.

After [Decedent’s] death, [Appellant] filed a Substitution of Party as Successor in Interest and filed an Amended Motion for Post-Trial Relief pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 227.1 on February 19, 2013. [Appellant’s] [amended] motion incorporated [Decedent’s] previous Post-Trial Motion for Relief and raised three new grounds for relief, [including the trial court's determination not to give full faith and credit to the Florida probate court's decision]. In response, [Siblings] filed a Motion to Quash [Appellant’s] Untimely Amended Motion for Post-Trial

-3- J-A23017-14

Relief on March 11, 2013. [Siblings] argued two points: first, [Appellant’s] Amended Motion was untimely as it was filed after the ten day deadline set forth in Rule 227.1(c)(2); and second, any grounds not raised in the January 25, 2013 post-trial motion were waived. [Appellant] filed a Supplemental Motion for Post- Trial Relief on June 4, 2013 and argued that the issues raised in the Complaint and Petition for Writ of Coram Nobis in the separate action 2013-GN-1572 constituted additional grounds for granting post-trial relief in this case.

Trial Court Opinion and Order, 9/9/13, at 1-2 (unnumbered).

The trial court further explained:

While 2010-GN-1907 was pending, the Palm Beach County, Florida probate court issued an order on September 12, 2012, that certain shares of stock in F.N.B. Bank be transferred to [Decedent’s] Guardian Pollard. After a Trial by Court on August 8, 2012, this Court rendered an Opinion and Order on January 15, 2013, which awarded [Siblings] certain shares of stock in F.N.B. Bank. []

[Appellant] filed the instant Complaint and Petition for Writ of Coram Nobis on May 30, 2013, [at 2013-GN-1572,] seeking to strike the January 15, 2013 Opinion and Order issued by this Court in 2010-GN-1907. []

This Court issued an Opinion and Order dated September 6, 2013[, and docketed on September 9, 2013,] that denied [Appellant’s] Amended Motion for Post-Trial Relief and Supplemental Motion for Post-Trial Relief in 2010-GN-1907; [Appellant’s] Amended Motion was deemed untimely and the three additional grounds were waived.

Trial Court Opinion and Order, 10/23/13, at 1-2 (unnumbered). On October

3, 2013, Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal to the trial court’s

September 9, 2013 Order. On October 11, 2013, judgment was entered in

Siblings’ favor.

-4- J-A23017-14

At 2013-GN-1572, the trial court issued an order on October 21, 2013,

which was docketed on October 23, 2013, sustaining Siblings’ preliminary

objections to Appellant’s complaint and petition for writ of coram nobis. On

November 15, 2013, Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal. The trial court

did not order compliance with Pa.R.A.P. 1925 regarding either docket. On

January 21, 2014, Appellant moved to consolidate the appeals. On February

11, 2014, we granted Appellant’s motion to consolidate the appeals per

curiam, and ordered that both appeals “shall be briefed and argued as if but

a single appeal.” Order, 2/11/14, at 1.

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