Khalil, S., Aplt. v. Mary Jane Home Enrich Center

Summary

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a party who wishes to appeal from a collateral order must file a notice of appeal within thirty days of the order's entry, or await the entry of a final order to raise the issue should it survive final judgment. Because Pa.R.A.P. 902(a) and 903(a) govern every appeal taken as of right, the thirty-day period applies uniformly to final orders and collateral orders alike, and neither the filing of a motion for reconsideration nor an order denying reconsideration extends or affects that period. The Court disapproved the Superior Court's contrary line of decisions treating an appeal as timely when filed within thirty days of the last order in a series addressing the same collateral matter, and affirmed the quashal of the appellant's appeal, which was filed fifty-two days after the order granting her counsel's motion to withdraw.