Monday, January 26, 2009

Superior Court - COVE CENTRE, INC. v. WESTHAFER CONSTRUCTION, INC.

COVE CENTRE, INC. v. WESTHAFER CONSTRUCTION, INC.
No. 1463 MDA 2007 2009 PA Super 10 Atlantic: 965 A.2d 259 Filed: 1/26/2009

Appeal from the Judgment Entered July 23, 2007
In the Court of Common Pleas of Perry County
Civil Division at No. 2005-247
Before: ORIE MELVIN, BENDER and FITZGERALD, JJ.
Opinion by: BENDER, J.
Westhafer Construction, Inc. (Westhafer) appeals the judgment entered in favor of Cove Centre, Inc. (Cove Centre) following imposition of discovery sanctions by the trial court. The court’s order declared requests for admission to be admitted, precluded expert testimony, and entered judgment for the amount disputed by the parties in the sum of $293,701.76. Westhafer contends that the court’s order constitutes an abuse of discretion as the court imposed the sanction without first allowing the defendant to be heard or entering an order compelling discovery. The trial court, upon reconsideration of the order, concluded that it had erred but determined that it was divested of jurisdiction given the pendency of an appeal before this Court. Upon review, we conclude that entry of the order did exceed the court’s discretion under the circumstances. Accordingly, we reverse the order, vacate the judgment, and reinstate the underlying action.
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