Friday, July 31, 2009

DEBRA FRENCH, AS ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF BRIAN P. FRENCH, DECEASED, AND IN HER OWN RIGHT AS AN INDIVIDUAL v. COMMONWEALTH ASSOCIATES, INC.

DEBRA FRENCH, AS ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF BRIAN P. FRENCH, DECEASED, AND IN HER OWN RIGHT AS AN INDIVIDUAL v. COMMONWEALTH ASSOCIATES, INC.; UNITED CONVEYOR CORPORATION; AND THE BABCOCK AND WILCOX COMPANY, AND/OR A/K/A BABCOCK & WILCOX CONSTRUCTION CO., INC., AND/OR A/K/A BABCOCK & WILCOX EBENSBURG POWER, INC.,AND DEBRA FRENCH, AS ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF BRIAN P. FRENCH, DECEASED, AND IN HER OWN RIGHT AS AN INDIVIDUAL v. GILBERT/COMMONWEALTH, INC., OF MICHIGAN, FORMERLY KNOWN AS COMMONWEALTH ASSOCIATES, INC. A/K/A AND/OR GILBERT/COMMONWEALTH, INC., FORMERLY KNOWN AS GILBERT ASSOCIATES, INC., A/K/A AND/OR GILBERT/COMMONWEALTH INTERNATIONAL INC.
No. 1191 WDA 2008 2009 PA Super 152 Atlantic: n/a Petition for Reargument Denied 10/6/2009 Filed: 7/31/2009

Appeal from the Order June 18, 2008
In the Court of Common Pleas of Lawrence County
Civil, Nos. 10251 of 2003 CA, 10312 of 2003 CA, and 10401 of 2003 CA
Before: LALLY-GREEN, GANTMAN, AND COLVILLE, JJ.
Opinion by: GANTMAN, J.
Dissenting Statement Opinion by: LALLY-GREEN, J.
Appellant, Debra French, as administratrix of the estate of Brian P. French, deceased, and in her own right as an individual, appeals from the order of the Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas, denying her petition to open and/or strike the judgment of non pros, based on the court’s determination that Appellant failed to file a timely certificate of merit under Pa.R.C.P. 1042.3. Specifically, Appellant asks us to determine whether her products liability/breach of warranty claims against the Gilbert defendants (“Appellee”) should survive the judgment of non pros, absent a certificate of merit. We hold the trial court erred when it failed to review Appellant’s entire complaint to determine which counts sounded in professional negligence and which counts sounded in products liability/breach of warranty, so that only the professional negligence claims might be subject to a judgment of non pros for failure to file a certificate of merit. Accordingly, we vacate and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
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