U.S. Bank v. Carey, R. ( 2015 )


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  • J-A09026-15
    NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
    U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
    :      PENNSYLVANIA
    V.                   :
    :
    ROBERT J. CAREY,                :
    :
    APPEAL OF: GARY LEHNDORFF, JOY :
    LEHNDORFF AND MICHELE M. CAREY, : No. 2206 EDA 2014
    Appeal from the Order dated June 26, 2014,
    Court of Common Pleas, Chester County,
    Civil Division at No. 07-05584
    BEFORE: BOWES, DONOHUE and STABILE, JJ.
    MEMORANDUM BY DONOHUE, J.:                                FILED MAY 19, 2015
    Gary Lehndorff, Joy Lehndorff (together “the Lehndorffs”), and Michele
    M. Carey (“Mrs. Carey”) (collectively “Appellants”) appeal from the orders
    entered on June 26, 2014 by the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County,
    Civil Division. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
    We summarize the relevant facts and procedural history of this case as
    follows. On April 28, 2006, Robert J. Carey (“Mr. Carey”), as the sole owner
    of 106 Windridge Drive, West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania (“the
    property”), executed a note and mortgage in favor of New Century Mortgage
    Corporation. New Century Mortgage Corporation subsequently assigned the
    mortgage to U.S. Bank National Association (“U.S. Bank”). On September
    15, 2006, Mr. Carey executed a second mortgage on the property in favor of
    the Lehndorffs.    On November 1, 2006, Mr. Carey defaulted on the U.S.
    Bank mortgage.       On June 13, 2007, U.S. Bank filed this mortgage
    J-A09026-15
    foreclosure action against Mr. Carey, serving Mr. Carey on June 20, 2007.
    Four days later, on June 24, 2007, Mr. Carey executed a deed transferring
    title to the property from himself, individually, to both himself and Mrs.
    Carey, his wife.    This deed was acknowledged on June 27, 2007 and
    recorded with the Chester County Recorder of Deeds on August 31, 2007.
    Likewise, the Lehndorff’s mortgage was both acknowledged and recorded on
    June 27, 2007.
    On March 24, 2008, U.S. Bank filed a motion for summary judgment.
    On May 5, 2008, the trial court granted U.S. Bank’s motion for summary
    judgment and entered an in rem judgment in favor of U.S. Bank and against
    Mr. Carey.   On November 20, 2008, U.S. Bank purchased the property as
    the successful bidder at the sheriff’s sale (“the first sheriff’s sale”).   The
    sheriff’s deed was issued on February 25, 2009 and recorded on March 25,
    2009. U.S. Bank failed to provide notice to Mrs. Carey of the first sheriff’s
    sale, however, because U.S. Bank’s title company did not discover the deed
    transferring title to the property into both Mr. and Mrs. Carey’s names.
    Thus, on September 2, 2009, U.S. Bank filed a motion seeking to confirm
    the first sheriff’s sale and strike the June 24, 2007 deed transferring title of
    the property from Mr. Carey, individually, to both Mr. and Mrs. Carey. On
    December 4, 2009, the trial court denied U.S. Bank’s motion, and sua
    sponte set aside the first sheriff’s sale based on U.S. Bank’s failure to
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    provide notice to Mrs. Carey of the first sheriff’s sale. See Trial Court Order,
    12/4/09.
    On January 4, 2010, Mr. Carey appealed the trial court’s decision to
    set aside the first sheriff’s sale. See Notice of Appeal, 1/4/10. On March 3,
    2011, the Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s order setting aside the
    first sheriff’s sale.   See U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n v. Carey, 42 EDA 2010
    (Pa. Super. March 3, 2011) (unpublished memorandum). Mr. Carey filed a
    petition for allowance of appeal to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which
    it denied on May 1, 2012.
    On April 5, 2013, U.S. Bank filed and served upon Mr. and Mrs. Carey
    a praecipe for a new writ of execution and the affidavit required under Rule
    3129 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure to list the property for
    sheriff’s sale.   On July 2, 2013, U.S. Bank filed an amended affidavit
    pursuant to Rule 3129.1. Thereafter, on January 16, 2014, U.S. Bank again
    purchased the property at sheriff’s sale (“the second sheriff’s sale”).
    On February 4, 2014, however, prior to the issuance of the deed,
    Appellants filed a counseled joint petition to set aside the second sheriff’s
    sale, which sought to set aside that sheriff’s sale on the basis that the trial
    court should not have set aside the first sheriff’s sale. That same day, the
    trial court issued a rule upon U.S. Bank to show cause why Appellants were
    not entitled to the relief requested.    See Trial Court Order, 2/4/14.      On
    March 5, 2014, having received no answer from U.S. Bank by the rule return
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    date of February 24, 2014, Appellants filed a motion to make the rule
    absolute.
    On March 10, 2014, U.S. Bank filed its answers to the Appellants’ joint
    petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale and motion to make the rule
    absolute.    On March 14, 2014, Appellants filed a motion to quash as
    untimely U.S. Bank’s answer to the joint petition to set aside the second
    sheriff’s sale.   On May 2, 2014, U.S. Bank filed a response to Appellants’
    motion to quash. On June 26, 2014, the trial court denied Appellants’ joint
    petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale. That same day, the trial court
    also denied Appellants’ motion to make the rule to show cause absolute and
    the motion to quash.
    On July 9, 2014, Appellants filed a motion for reconsideration of the
    trial court’s June 26, 2014 orders, which the trial court denied on July 17,
    2014. On July 25, 2014, Appellants filed a timely notice of appeal from the
    trial court’s June 26, 2014 orders. On July 30, 2014, the trial court ordered
    Appellants to file a concise statement of the errors complained of on appeal
    pursuant to Rule 1925(b) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure.
    On August 20, 2014, Appellants filed a timely Rule 1925(b) statement.
    On appeal, Appellants raise the following issues for our review and
    determination1:
    1
    We reordered the issues raised by Appellants for ease of review.
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    1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion
    and/or committed errors of law by denying a petition
    to set aside [the] second sheriff’s sale of [the]
    property where the exclusive procedures for setting
    aside the first sheriff’s sale were neither invoked by
    any party in interest nor followed by the trial
    court[?]
    2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion
    and/or committed errors of law by denying a petition
    to set aside [the] second sheriff’s sale of [the]
    property where the first [sheriff’s] sale was properly
    conducted, the resulting [sheriff’s] deed is valid and
    neither has ever been contested by any of the
    parties?
    3. Whether the trial court abused its discretion
    and/or committed errors of law by denying a petition
    to set aside [the] second sheriff’s sale of [the]
    property where the trial court had no authority to
    sua sponte set aside the first [sheriff’s] sale[?]
    4. Whether the trial court abused its discretion
    and/or committed errors of law by declaring that a
    prior order of the trial court and a memorandum
    opinion affirmation of that order acted as the “law of
    the case” to deny a petition to set aside [the second
    sheriff’s] sale brought by parties in interest who had
    never before been parties to the litigation?
    5. Whether the trial court abused its discretion
    and/or committed errors of law by denying a motion
    to make a rule absolute and a motion to quash as
    untimely an answer to a petition to set aside the
    [second sheriff’s] sale where [U.S. Bank] failed to
    file a timely answer according to the rule to show
    cause and local rules of procedure?
    Appellants’ Brief at 7-8.
    As a preliminary matter, both the trial court and U.S. Bank challenge
    Appellants’ standing to bring this appeal because they were not parties to
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    the original foreclosure action and never petitioned to intervene. See Trial
    Court Opinion, 9/17/14, at 3 n.6; U.S. Bank’s Brief at 12-13.         Based on
    Merrill Lynch Mortg. Capital v. Steele, 
    859 A.2d 788
    , 789-90 (Pa. Super.
    2004), we conclude Appellants had standing to bring this appeal. In Merrill
    Lynch, we explained:
    It is black letter law that “as a general policy ... ‘a
    party seeking judicial resolution of a controversy in
    this Commonwealth must, as a prerequisite,
    establish that he has standing to maintain the
    action.’” In re Hickson, [] 
    821 A.2d 1238
    , 1243
    ([Pa.] 2003) (quoting Bergdoll v. Kane, [] 83-84,
    
    731 A.2d 1261
    , 1268 ([Pa.] 1999)). A party has
    standing if he is aggrieved, i.e., he can show a
    substantial, direct, and immediate interest in the
    outcome of the litigation. 
    Id. Similarly, to
    set aside
    a sheriff’s sale, one must be a “party in interest.”
    Pa.R.C.P. 3132.
    In the present case, it is uncontested that Appellant
    was the record owner of the property at the time she
    petitioned to set aside the sheriff’s sale. She had
    paid for the property, and the deed to her was
    recorded on October 31, 2002. She filed the petition
    on November 7, 2002, after the deed was recorded.
    In contrast, as of that date, REO had not yet
    received a sheriff’s deed. As record owner of the
    property, Appellant obviously has a real, substantial,
    and direct interest in avoiding the transfer of the
    property to REO.
    
    Id. at 789-90.
    Here, like Merrill Lynch, each of the Appellants had a recorded
    interest in the property at the time they petitioned to set aside the second
    sheriff’s sale.   Therefore, Appellants have a real, substantial, and direct
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    interest in avoiding transfer of the property to U.S. Bank. Accordingly, we
    conclude Appellants had standing to petition to set aside the second sheriff’s
    sale and appeal the trial court’s decision to deny that petition.
    Turning our attention to the issues raised by Appellants, we begin by
    addressing Appellants’ first four issues together as each deals with
    Appellants’ argument that the trial court erred in denying their petition to set
    aside the second sheriff’s sale on the basis that the first sheriff’s sale was
    improper. “Equitable considerations govern the trial court’s decision to set
    aside a sheriff’s sale.   This Court will not reverse the trial court’s decision
    absent an abuse of discretion.” Bank of Am., N.A. v. Estate of Hood, 
    47 A.3d 1208
    , 1211 (Pa. Super. 2012) (citations omitted).         Appellants’ chief
    complaint is that the trial court abused its discretion by denying their
    petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale because it did not follow the
    appropriate procedures for setting aside the first sheriff’s sale pursuant to
    Rule 3132 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.2        See Appellants’
    Brief at 13-27, 31-34.
    2
    Rule 3132, which governs setting aside sheriff’s sales, provides:
    Upon petition of any party in interest before delivery
    of the personal property or of the sheriff’s deed to
    real property, the court may, upon proper cause
    shown, set aside the sale and order a resale or enter
    any other order which may be just and proper under
    the circumstances.
    Pa.R.C.P. 3132.
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    Appellants argue that the trial court erred because it set aside the first
    sheriff’s sale after delivery of the sheriff’s deed to U.S. Bank. 
    Id. at 14-18.
    Additionally, Appellants contend that the trial court abused its discretion in
    setting aside the first sheriff’s sale because that sale was properly
    conducted, the resulting sheriff’s deed is valid, and neither the sale nor the
    sheriff’s deed has ever been contested by any of the parties. 
    Id. at 18-22.
    Thus, Appellants assert that the trial court had no authority to sua sponte
    set aside the first sheriff’s sale.   
    Id. at 23-27.
       Furthermore, Appellants
    claim that the trial court’s decision to set aside the first sheriff’s sale solely
    on the basis that U.S. Bank did not notify Mrs. Carey of the first sheriff’s
    sale, when she did not challenge that sale, was improper. 
    Id. at 19.
    The trial court determined that the law of the case doctrine precluded
    it from setting aside the second sheriff’s sale on the basis that it improperly
    set aside the first sheriff’s sale. Trial Court Opinion, 9/17/14, at 9-10. The
    law of the case doctrine sets forth various rules that “embody the concept
    that a court involved in the later phases of a litigated matter should not
    reopen questions decided by another judge of that same court or by a higher
    court in the earlier phases of the matter.” Morgan v. Petroleum Prods.
    Equip. Co., 
    92 A.3d 823
    , 827 (Pa. Super. 2014) (quoting Ario v. Reliance
    Ins. Co., 
    980 A.2d 588
    , 597 (Pa. 2009)).         “The law of the case doctrine
    dictates that upon a second appeal, an appellate court may not alter the
    resolution of a legal question previously decided by the same appellate
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    court.”   Signora v. Liberty Travel, Inc., 
    886 A.2d 284
    , 290 (Pa. Super.
    2005).    Departure from the law of the case doctrine is permitted “‘only in
    exceptional circumstances such as where there has been an intervening
    change in the controlling law, a substantial change in the facts or evidence
    giving rise to the dispute in the matter, or where the prior holding was
    clearly erroneous and would create a manifest injustice if followed.’”     
    Id. (quoting Commonwealth
    v. Starr, 
    664 A.2d 1326
    , 1332 (Pa. 1995)).
    We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying
    Appellants’ petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale. As we mentioned
    above, Mr. Carey already appealed and this Court decided, the issue of
    whether the trial court erred in setting aside the first sheriff’s sale. In its
    Memorandum, this Court explained:
    Here, [U.S. Bank] did not follow the petition
    procedure; indeed, [U.S. Bank] did not seek to set
    aside the sheriff’s sale. Instead, [U.S. Bank] filed a
    petition attempting to seek confirmation of the
    sheriff’s sale by the trial court. When the trial court
    had the propriety of the sheriff’s sale before it, it also
    had the considerations of fraud and lack of authority
    before it. At that time, it found an impropriety
    therein, a lack of notice[,] which the trial court found
    to be offensive to the fundamental rights of due
    process. While we are aware that the party whose
    rights were abridged, Carey’s wife, did not mount
    such a claim, we do not find this aspect of the case
    to be dispositive. This Court, in First E. Bank, N.A.
    v. Campstead, Inc., 
    637 A.2d 1364
    (Pa. Super.
    1994), found a sheriff’s sale without proper notice to
    all affected parties to be “defective.” 
    Id. at 1367.
                 We cannot say that the trial court abused its
    discretion in setting aside a defective sheriff’s sale
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    when it was called upon to examine the propriety of
    that sale.
    U.S. Bank, 42 EDA 2010, at 2-3.
    Thus, had the trial court set aside the second sheriff’s sale on the basis
    that it improperly set aside the first sheriff’s sale, it would have reopened a
    question that a higher court had decided in the earlier phases of the matter
    in violation of the law of the case doctrine. See 
    Morgan, 92 A.3d at 827
    .
    We likewise cannot provide Appellants the relief requested as we cannot
    alter the resolution of a legal question previously decided by the same
    appellate court in the same case.          See 
    Signora, 886 A.2d at 290
    .
    Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Appellants’
    petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale.
    Appellants argue that the law of the case doctrine does not apply to
    them because this Court’s prior decision regarding the trial court’s set aside
    of the first sheriff’s sale was an unpublished memorandum, and therefore
    non-precedential, and because Appellants were not parties to that appeal.
    Appellants’ Brief at 31. Additionally, Appellants assert that the trial court’s
    order setting aside the first sheriff’s sale was clearly erroneous and would
    create a manifest injustice if followed. 
    Id. at 31-32.
    These arguments also do not entitle Appellants to any relief. The law
    of the case doctrine clearly states that when an appellate court has
    considered and decided a question submitted to it upon appeal, that court
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    will not in a subsequent appeal, in another phase of the same case, reverse
    its previous ruling. Block v. Bilinski, 
    823 A.2d 970
    , 972 (Pa. Super. 2003).
    This is exactly what Appellants seek for us to do in this case. The fact that
    the prior decision from this Court was an unpublished memorandum is
    immaterial.    Furthermore, Appellants cite no case law to support the
    proposition that the law of the case doctrine does not apply to them because
    they were not parties to the prior appeal.       Moreover, Appellants fail to
    explain how the decision to set aside the first sheriff’s sale would create a
    manifest injustice on the Appellants’ interest in the property.        To the
    contrary, there is no perceivable difference between the first and second
    sheriff’s sales other than the time at which each sale occurred; the same
    party (U.S. Bank) purchased the property at each sale. Therefore, we have
    no basis on which to conclude that an exception to the law of the case
    doctrine applies.
    For their fifth issue on appeal, Appellants argue that the trial court
    abused its discretion by denying their motion to make the trial court’s rule to
    show cause absolute and their motion to quash as untimely U.S. Bank’s
    answer to Appellants’ petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale. 3
    3
    On June 26, 2014, the trial court issued two orders in this case, one
    denying Appellants’ petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale and the
    other denying Appellants’ motions to make the rule to show cause absolute
    and to quash as untimely U.S. Bank’s answer to Appellants’ petition to set
    aside the second sheriff’s sale. See Trial Court Orders, June 26, 2014.
    Appellants’ notice of appeal stated that they were appealing the orders
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    Appellants’ Brief at 34-36. Appellants assert that because U.S. Bank did not
    timely file its answer, both the Pennsylvania and Chester County Rules of
    Civil Procedure required the trial court to make the rule absolute and grant
    Appellants’ joint petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale. 
    Id. The record
    reflects that the trial court’s rule to show cause required
    U.S. Bank to file an answer within twenty days and stated that Rule 206.7(a)
    of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure would govern Appellants’ joint
    petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale.     Trial Court Order, 2/4/14.
    Rule 206.7(a), which governs procedure after the issuance of a rule to show
    cause, provides that “[i]f an answer is not filed, all averments of fact in the
    entered on June 26, 2014. See Notice of Appeal, 7/25/14. U.S. Bank
    asserts that the order denying Appellants’ motions to make the rule to show
    cause absolute and to quash as untimely U.S. Bank’s answer to Appellants’
    petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale is interlocutory and not
    appealable. U.S. Bank’s Brief at 22.
    Generally, taking one appeal from two orders is not acceptable practice and
    discouraged.     Sulkava v. Glaston Finland Oy, 
    54 A.3d 884
    , 888
    (Pa. Super. 2012).       However, “an appeal of a final order subsumes
    challenges to previous interlocutory decisions[.]” Betz v. Pneumo Abex,
    LLC, 
    44 A.3d 27
    , 54 (Pa. 2012). Thus, Appellants’ appeal from the order
    denying their petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale, which is a final
    order pursuant to Rule 341(b)(1) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate
    Procedure, see, e.g., Bank of 
    Am., 47 A.3d at 1209
    , subsumed the order
    denying Appellants’ motions to make the rule to show cause absolute and to
    quash as untimely U.S. Bank’s answer to Appellants’ petition to set aside the
    second sheriff’s sale. Moreover, Appellants’ arguments relating to those two
    orders relate directly to the trial court’s decision to deny their petition to set
    aside the second sheriff’s sale, and we would need to consider them even if
    Appellants had only appealed the order denying their petition to set aside
    the second sheriff’s sale. Therefore, we decline to quash the appeal based
    on U.S. Bank’s argument.
    - 12 -
    J-A09026-15
    petition may be deemed admitted for the purposes of this subdivision and
    the court shall enter an appropriate order.”      Pa.R.C.P. 206.7(a) (emphasis
    added).   Importantly, Rule 206.7(a) does not require that the trial court
    make the rule absolute. The explanatory comment to Rule 206.7(a) states
    that “[t]he rule provides some flexibility by giving the court discretion to
    consider an answer not timely filed.”          Pa.R.C.P. 206.7(a), Explanatory
    Comment.
    In further support of their argument, Appellants also rely on Rule
    206.4(c)(4) of the Chester County Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides:
    If no answer has been timely filed, the petitioning
    party, not less than five (5) days after the rule
    return date, may move to have the rule made
    absolute, granting the prayer of the petition, and the
    Court may consider such petition as unopposed and
    grant such motion as of course.
    C.C.R.C.P. 206.4(c)(4) (emphasis added).
    Although U.S. Bank admittedly untimely filed its answer to Appellants’
    joint petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale and the trial court’s rule to
    show cause, the trial court, given the discretionary language of Pa.R.C.P.
    206.7(a) and C.C.R.C.P. 206.4(c)(4), chose to accept U.S. Bank’s late
    filings. The trial court explained:
    We must be slow to reject the cause of litigants in
    pro forma fashion since the failure of counsel to
    provide for technical compliance is a matter
    deserving of judicial review and of the exercise of
    judicial discretion. Here, [U.S. Bank] contends that
    due to a clerical oversight it did not learn of the filing
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    of the Petition and therefore file an answer in the
    requisite time period for so doing. ([U.S. Bank]’s
    Answer to [Appellants’] Mot. to Make Rule Absolute,
    3/10/14, at 2). Because [U.S. Bank] filed its answer
    shortly after the learning of the oversight, equity
    requires the [c]ourt to exercise its discretion and
    consider the answer to the Petition as timely filed
    and the Petition as opposed. As [Appellants] are not
    parties to this action; they cannot adequately
    establish prejudice. Granting [Appellants’] Motion
    would only result in a waste of judicial economy and
    undue expense on [U.S. Bank]. Thus, the [c]ourt
    chose to exercise its judicial discretion in accepting
    the late filing and denying [Appellants’] Motion to
    Make Rule Absolute.        Accordingly, [Appellants’]
    argument to the contrary is devoid of merit.
    Trial Court Opinion, 9/17/14, at 5. We agree.
    Appellants filed and served their joint petition to set aside the second
    sheriff’s sale on February 4, 2014. On that same date, the trial court issued
    a rule upon U.S. Bank to show cause why Appellants were not entitled to the
    relief they requested, with a return date of February 24, 2014. Trial Court
    Order, 2/4/14.   On March 5, 2014, Appellants filed a motion to make the
    rule absolute pursuant to the Chester County Rules of Civil Procedure
    206.4(c)(4). On March 10, 2014, U.S. Bank filed its answer to Appellants’
    joint petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale and its answer to
    Appellants’ motion to make the rule absolute.
    Given the discretionary nature of the applicable rules of civil
    procedure, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in
    accepting U.S. Bank’s late filing and treating Appellants’ joint petition to set
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    aside the second sheriff’s sale as opposed.     Rule 126 of the Pennsylvania
    Rules of Civil Procedure makes clear:
    The rules shall be liberally construed to secure the
    just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every
    action or proceeding to which they are applicable.
    The court at every stage of any such action or
    proceeding may disregard any error or defect of
    procedure which does not affect the substantial
    rights of the parties.
    Pa.R.C.P. 126.    Appellants have failed to assert any prejudice that they
    sustained by U.S. Bank’s failure to file its answer to the joint petition to set
    aside the second sheriff’s sale and the rule to show cause only fourteen days
    after the rule return date and five days after Appellants filed their motion to
    make the rule absolute. As there is no indication that the trial court’s action
    here affected Appellants’ substantive rights, see 
    id., this argument
    does not
    entitle Appellants to any relief.
    Appellants further argue that they are entitled to relief under Chester
    County Rule of Civil Procedure 206.4(c)(3), which provides:
    All well-pled factual averments in a petition upon
    which a rule to show cause has been granted, or in
    preliminary objections endorsed with a notice to
    plead and properly containing averments to fact,
    shall be deemed admitted unless an answer
    specifically denying the same is filed on or before the
    close of court within twenty days after service of the
    petition upon the respondent(s), or such shorter
    time as the court may have allowed, or, in the case
    of preliminary objections, on the date on which an
    answer to the preliminary objections is due pursuant
    to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.
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    C.C.R.C.P. 206.4(c)(3).     Appellants assert that Rule 206.4(c)(3) entitles
    them to relief because U.S. Bank admittedly filed its answer to the joint
    petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale and rule to show cause late.
    Appellants’ Brief at 35-36. This argument is unavailing as U.S. Bank readily
    acknowledged the untimeliness of its answer and the trial court accepted
    U.S. Bank’s answer in spite of its tardiness.       Moreover, while local Rule
    206.4(c)(3) mandates the admission of the fact that U.S. Bank’s answers
    were untimely, it does not compel the trial court to make the rule absolute
    and grant Appellants’ petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale.            See
    C.C.R.C.P. 206.4(c)(3).
    This local rule also conflicts with the language of Pa.R.C.P. 206.7(a),
    which states that averments of fact in the petition to set aside a sheriff’s sale
    may be deemed admitted if no answer is filed.                Pa.R.C.P. 206.7(a).
    C.C.R.C.P. 206.4(c)(3), conversely, states that factual averments in a
    petition upon which a rule to show cause has been granted, “shall be
    deemed admitted unless an answer specifically denying the same is filed …
    within twenty days after service of the petition[.]” C.C.R.C.P. 206.4(c)(3).
    This Court has held that local rules must not “abridge, enlarge or modify”
    the substantive rights of a party. Sanders v. Allegheny Hosp.-Parkview
    Div., 
    833 A.2d 179
    , 183 (Pa. Super. 2003) (quotations and citations
    omitted);   see   also    Pa.R.C.P.   239(b)(1)   (“Local   rules   shall   not    be
    inconsistent with any general rule of the Supreme Court or any Act of
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    Assembly.”).      Therefore, this argument does not entitle Appellants to any
    relief.
    The trial court did not err in accepting U.S. Bank’s untimely answer to
    the rule to show cause why the trial court should not grant Appellants’ joint
    petition to set aside the second sheriff’s sale.       Because this is the sole
    argument Appellants make in support of their claim that the trial court erred
    in denying Appellants’ motion to make the rule absolute and their motion to
    quash U.S. Bank’s answer to Appellants’ joint petition to set aside the
    second sheriff’s sale, Appellants are not entitled to any relief.
    Orders affirmed.
    Judgment Entered.
    Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
    Prothonotary
    Date: 5/19/2015
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