Roundtree, P. v. Ahmad, J. ( 2015 )

J-S24039-15
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
PAULETTE ROUNDTREE, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
Appellant :
:
v. :
:
JAMAL AHMAD, M.D., :
RECONSTRUCTIVE ORTHOPAEDIC :
ASSOCIATES II, P.C., NAZARETH :
HOSPITAL AND MERCY HEALTH :
SYSTEM OF SOUTHEASTERN :
PENNSYLVANIA, :
:
Appellees : No. 3272 EDA 2014
Appeal from the Order entered on August 18, 2014
in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County,
Civil Division, No. 0864 July Term 2012
BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., ALLEN and MUSMANNO, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY MUSMANNO, J.: FILED APRIL 16, 2015
Paulette Roundtree (“Roundtree”) appeals from the Order granting
summary judgment in favor of Jamal Ahmad, M.D., Reconstructive
Orthopaedic Associates, II, P.C., Nazareth Hospital, and Mercy Health
System of Southeastern Pennsylvania (“Defendants,” collectively). We
quash the appeal.
On July 13, 2012, Roundtree filed a Complaint against Defendants,
alleging that negligent care and treatment resulted in a severe infection, and
ultimately, the amputation of her right leg. Defendants filed a Motion for
Summary Judgment. The trial court granted summary judgment on August
18, 2014, dismissing the claims against Defendants. Roundtree filed a
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Motion for Reconsideration, which the trial court denied on September 10,
2014. Roundtree subsequently filed a Notice of Appeal on September 24,
2014.
On appeal, Roundtree raises the following question for our review:
“Did the trial court err in granting summary judgment in favor of
[Defendants] when [Roundtree] had produced an expert report critical of
[Defendants] in accordance with the trial [c]ourt [O]rder?” Brief for
Appellant at 9.
Initially, we must determine whether Roundtree filed a timely Notice of
Appeal. The question of timeliness of an appeal is jurisdictional. See Lee v.
Guerin, 735 A.2d 1280, 1281 (Pa. Super. 1999). “The notice of appeal …
shall be filed within 30 days after the entry of the order from which the
appeal is taken.” Pa.R.A.P. 903(a). An order granting a motion for
summary judgment is a final and appealable order. Sweener v. First
Baptist Church, 533 A.2d 998, 1000 (Pa. 1987). However, a motion for
reconsideration alone does not toll the time period for taking an appeal.
Gardner v. Consol. Rail Corp., 100 A.3d 280, 283 (Pa. Super. 2014).
“[T]he 30-day period may only be tolled if [the trial court] enters an order
expressly granting reconsideration with 30 days of the final order.”
Cheathem v. Temple Univ. Hosp., 743 A.2d 518, 520 (Pa. Super. 1999).
Thus, an order denying reconsideration is not an appealable order, and an
appeal from such an order is “improper and untimely.” Valentine v.
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Wroten, 580 A.2d at 757, 758 (Pa. Super. 1990); see also Cheathem,
743 A.2d at 521 (stating that “although a party may petition the court for
reconsideration, the simultaneous filing of a notice of appeal is necessary to
preserve appellate rights in the event that either the trial court fails to grant
the petition expressly within 30 days, or it denies the petition.”).
Here, the trial court’s Order granting summary judgment on August
18, 2014 was a final appealable order. Moreover, the record indicates that
all parties received notice of the trial court’s Order, as required by
Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 236. Thus, Roundtree was
required to file a Notice of Appeal by September 17, 2014. However,
because Roundtree did not file her Notice of Appeal until September 24,
2014, Roundtree failed to file a Notice of Appeal within the 30-day appeal
period. Accordingly, the appeal is untimely, and we lack jurisdiction to
consider the merits of Roundtree’s claim. See Cheathem, 743 A.2d at 521
(quashing the appeal where the appellant filed a notice of appeal following
the trial court’s denial of reconsideration, and after the 30-day appeal period
had expired).
Appeal quashed.
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Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 4/16/2015
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