Zeiter v. Christman

63 Pa. D. & C.4th 20, 2003 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 108
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Berks County
DecidedMay 6, 2003
Docketno. 01-10221
StatusPublished

This text of 63 Pa. D. & C.4th 20 (Zeiter v. Christman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Berks County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zeiter v. Christman, 63 Pa. D. & C.4th 20, 2003 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 108 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2003).

Opinion

SCHAEFFER, S.J.,

On February 4, 2000, plaintiffs, J. Donald Zeiter and Joan A. Zeiter, and their minor daughter, Sarah, were involved in a motor vehicle accident on Boyertown Pike, S.R. 562, in Amity Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. The defendant, Ronald Christman, while driving under the influence, [22]*22crashed his mother’s Chevy Blazer into plaintiffs’ Chevy Cavalier. Plaintiff Joan Zeiter suffered serious injuries. On October 9, 2001, plaintiffs filed their complaint for damages.

A jury was selected on February 4, 2003 and trial began on February 10, 2003. The defendant entered into a stipulation that he was negligent. On February 12,2003, the jury began its deliberations. The morning of February 13,2003, before the jury returned its verdict, the parties settled the case. On that same date, the court issued a rule on the parties to show cause, if any they had, why they should not be made to pay the costs incurred by the County of Berks, pursuant to B.R.C.P. 217.3. The parties filed their responses to the rule and the court heard oral argument.

Both plaintiffs and the defendant argue that, in light of the recent decision in Stewart v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas, 806 A.2d 34 (Pa. Super. 2002), this court is without authority under the Pennsylvania Constitution to impose the costs of trial on litigants who have been unable to settle a case prior to trial. Defendant also argues that only the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has the exclusive authority to prescribe, by general rule, standards governing the imposition and taxation of costs.

The Superior Court, in Treu v. Harleysville Insurance Company, 443 Pa. Super. 567, 572, 662 A.2d 1106, 1109 (1995), reversed the order of the trial court which entered sanctions against the plaintiffs in the amount of $17,500, relying upon Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Local Rule 212.2, which permits a trial judge in certain circumstances to order a non-settling party to pay [23]*23the costs of conducting a trial.1 On appeal, the Treus argued that the trial court erred and/or abused its discretion when it entered the sanction in violation of the express provisions of Rule 212.2, failed to consider the factors required by Rule 212.2 prior to imposing sanctions, and by refusing to allow a hearing on sanctions. They further argued that the refusal to allow a hearing regarding the sanctions violated their due process rights by imposing sanctions without observance of the rule’s procedures, and that the rule was an unconstitutional burden on the right to a jury trial. Appellants did not challenge the authority of the trial court to create and enforce such a rule. The Superior Court, nonetheless, [24]*24stated its concerns with the authority of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to create and enforce Rule 212.2:

“[W]e have serious reservations regarding a rule that gives a trial judge the power to enforce an order that includes monetary sanctions for failure to accept a settlement . . . Article 5, Section 10(c) of the Pennsylvania Constitution gives our [Sjupreme [Cjourt exclusive power to establish rules of procedure for all state courts. While the [Sjupreme [Cjourt can delegate certain supervisory and administrative powers under 42 Pa.C.S. §1721, we have found nothing to support an assertion that it has granted to the common pleas courts the type of power which is manifest in Rule *212.2. We also believe there is a potential for misuse or abuse of power in a rule that permits a trial court to impose sanctions where the money flows directly back to that authority.” Treu, 443 Pa. Super, at 572, 662 A.2d at 1109.

However, in Treu, the Superior Court was foreclosed from deciding issues not before it on appeal and its reservations concerning the local rule were dicta.

This was not the case seven years later in Stewart, supra, where this issue was squarely raised. In Stewart, the appellant was sanctioned pursuant to the same local rule as in Treu, Philadelphia Local Rule 212.2, based upon its refusal to settle. Appellant appealed the order imposing sanctions. Appellant argued that Rule 212.2 is invalid because the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas was without authority to adopt the rule, and that this rule violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the Pennsylvania and United States Constitutions. The Superior Court agreed, stating:

[25]*25“While 42 Pa.C.S. §1721 permits the Supreme Court to delegate certain supervisory and administrative powers, 42 Pa.C.S. §323 directs that every court shall have only the power to make rules and orders which are not prescribed by the Supreme Court’s general rules. Section 1726 states that the Supreme Court is the authority authorized to prescribe by general rules the standards governing the imposition and taxation of costs. 42 Pa.C.S. §1726; 42 Pa.C.S. §102 (defining governing authority as the Supreme Court). It further directs that ‘all system and related personnel shall be bound by such general rules.’ 42 Pa.C.S. § 1726(A). In speaking with regard to the imposition of actual costs, section 1726 directs that the Supreme Court be guided by consideration that ‘ [t]he imposition of actual costs or a multiple thereof may be used as a penalty for violation of general rules or rules of court.’ 42 Pa.C.S. § 1726(A)(3). We can find no authority granted to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to create a rule which in certain circumstances, unrelated to a penalty for violation of a particular rule, adds to the taxable cost of the case.” Id. at pp. 38-39.

The Superior Court in Stewart reversed the order that imposed the sanction, stating, “[TJhere is no authority authorized by our Supreme Court to direct the payment of costs of conducting a trial to a litigant who refuses to settle.” Id. at p. 39.

The common pleas court cannot act in an area where the Supreme Court has not acted. To the contrary, the common pleas court can only act where the Supreme Court has acted and has authorized the common pleas court to act.

[26]*26The Berks County Rule of Civil Procedure at issue, B.R.C.P. 217.3, jury costs on continuance or settlement of a cause of action, states:

“When a continuance is granted upon application of a party or a case is settled, either within three days of the date set for jury selection or after a jury has been impaneled, the court may impose on the party making the application for continuance or on both parties, if the case is settled, the reasonable costs actually incurred by the county and/or the jurors in impaneling said jury.
“When a continuance has been granted or a case has been settled under the circumstances outlined above and costs imposed, the party upon whom such costs have been imposed may not, so long as such costs remain unpaid, take any further step in such or any other suit without prior leave of court.” B.R.C.P. 217.3, effective March 22,1999.

The Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 217, costs on continuance, provides:

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Related

Treu v. Harleysville Insurance
662 A.2d 1106 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)
Dillon by Dillon v. Nat. Rr Corp.
497 A.2d 1336 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1985)
Stewart v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas
806 A.2d 34 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2002)
Byard F. Brogan, Inc. v. Holmes Electric Protective Co.
460 A.2d 1093 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
63 Pa. D. & C.4th 20, 2003 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 108, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zeiter-v-christman-pactcomplberks-2003.