Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

appealed small claims decision...

I sued a garage in small claims court for damage they did to my truck while trying to make a repair. I won, some $2400. Garage had filed a cross complaint which they lost. Now, they've filed appeal of the judgment in court of common pleas (cumberland co). I now have to enter a complaint- what, exactly, must my complaint include when I file it? What happens if I--name removed--t? Does the cross complaint still stand at the appeal level, ie if I do not file a complaint will I then lose a default judgment in the matter of the cross complaint? Once my complaint is filed, what comes next? I made a call to an attorney, who suggested that it would not be cost effective for me to hire him to handle the case, given the relativeley small amount of $$$ involved, but it's a lot to me and I--name removed--t want to just give it up. On the other hand, I also--name removed--t want to get in over my head and cause myself a bunch of additional problems and expense because I--name removed--t handle things properly. Help?


Asked on 7/16/04, 9:33 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
William Marvin Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C.

Re: appealed small claims decision...

It's not possible to give a whole course in civil procedure, and it's wouldn't be very helpful to tell you to go to the county law library and looks at the court rules, because PA rules are far from user-friendly. They're basically an ad hoc hodgepodge of several centuries of tradition and piecemeal reform.

BUT, 1. courts and judges will try to be understanding of a layman and give you some leeway (just make sure you meet the deadlines and file something).

2. Clerks will try to be helpful, although they can't give legal advice.

3. Try this: court records are public. I suspect this is not the first time this garage has been sued, lost, and appealed. Go to the Prothonotary's office at the courthouse. Ask if they can check the dockets for any other lawsuits against this garage. If they have any, ask to look at the file. You may get lucky and find other cases, and you can get a copy of the Complaint, and also look at the other stuff in the court file so you can get an idea what to expect. THen write up a complaint based on the prior case, just change the names, numbers and facts to suit your case, and you'll probably get by.

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Answered on 7/16/04, 10:00 am
Charles A. Pascal, Jr. Law Office of Charles A. Pascal, Jr.

Re: appealed small claims decision...

Attorney Marvin's answer contains some good advice, if you are going to proceed without a lawyer. My advice...find one who will do the arbitration hearing (your case will be heard in front of a panel of 3 lawyers, not a judge) for you for a few hundred dollars. I do these on occasion in my area, but given that you live about 3 hours away from me, it may not be feasible for me to do it because of travel time, expense.

In any case, your complaint should include the facts, and a legal basis for your complaint (breach of contract, destruction of property, etc.) It should set out what you agreed to, and what you got, and why what you got isn't what you bargained for, etc. (Without knowing the exact facts, these are just examples.)

When they filed the appeal, the DJ judgment was vacated. That means if you don't file a complaint, the case is over, and you have no judgment. Once you file the complaint, they will have to file the cross-complaint again. The case heard before the arbitrators is on the basis as if the DJ hearing never took place...you're starting over again. You will not lose a default judgment by not filing a complaint, but you also have no judgment in your favor.

If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to email me. If you share some details of your case, I can give you some guidance.

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Answered on 7/17/04, 4:01 pm


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