Moyer, R. v. Shaffer, R. ( 2023 )

J-S32004-23
2023 PA Super 239RACHEL MARIE MOYER : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
Appellant :
:
:
v. :
:
:
RYAN PATRICK SHAFFER : No. 422 MDA 2023
Appeal from the Order Entered January 4, 2023
In the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County Civil Division at No(s):
22-15501
BEFORE: DUBOW, J., KUNSELMAN, J., and NICHOLS, J.
OPINION BY DUBOW, J.: FILED: NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Appellant, Rachel Marie Moyer, appeals from the January 4, 2023 order
that dismissed with prejudice the second petition for protection from abuse
(“PFA petition”) that Appellant filed against Appellee, Ryan Patrick Shaffer,
pursuant to the Protection From Abuse (“PFA”) Act, 23 Pa.C.S. §§ 6101-22).
Upon review, we vacate and remand.
The relevant procedural history follows. On August 24, 2022, Appellant
filed an initial PFA petition against Appellee, which the trial court ultimately
dismissed without prejudice on September 6, 2022, after Appellant failed to
appear at a scheduled hearing regarding the petition.
On November 16, 2022, Appellant filed a second PFA petition, including
the same allegations of abuse averred in the first PFA petition. On the same
day, the trial court conducted an ex parte hearing, granted Appellant a
temporary PFA order, and scheduled a final hearing.
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On January 3, 2023, after several continuances, the trial court held a
final hearing on Appellant’s second PFA petition. Appellee made an oral
motion to dismiss Appellant’s second PFA petition because it averred identical
allegations to Appellant’s first PFA petition, which the trial court previously
dismissed. The trial court dismissed Appellant’s petition with prejudice,
concluding on the record that “in order to have a new petition filed there has
to be new allegations so that we are not continuing to reargue the same
allegations over and over again. . . [Appellant] did have an opportunity to
appear on [September 6, 2022] and she voluntarily chose not to pursue her
petition. I am dismissing the [second PFA] petition.” N.T. Hearing, 1/3/23,
at 11. On January 4, 2023, the trial court issued an order dismissing
Appellant’s second PFA with prejudice.
On January 30, 2023, Appellant timely appealed.1 The trial court did
not order Appellant to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement. On May 10, 2023,
the trial court issued a Rule 1925(a) opinion.
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1 On January 4, 2023, the same day that the trial court dismissed Appellant’s
second PFA petition, Appellant filed a motion for reconsideration. On January
6, 2023, the PFA court ordered the parties to submit briefs and scheduled a
hearing on the motion. On February 7, 2023—34 days after the trial court
dismissed Appellant’s second petition—the court granted reconsideration, held
a hearing on the merits, and denied Appellant’s second PFA petition. Because
Appellant had filed a timely notice of appeal from the January 4, 2023 order
and the trial court did not expressly grant Appellant’s motion for
reconsideration within 30 days of the January 4, 2023 order, the trial court
did not have jurisdiction to grant reconsideration, conduct a hearing, and issue
an order denying Appellant’s second PFA petition on the merits. See Pa.R.A.P.
1701 (explaining that after an appeal is taken, the trial court may no longer
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Appellant raises the following issues for our review:
1. Whether the trial court erred as a matter of law by treating
[Appellant]’s case as if the previous filing had been
dismissed with prejudice[] when it had been dismissed
without prejudice?
2. Whether the trial court erred as a matter of law when it
dismissed the [PFA] petition without holding a timely
hearing?
Appellant’s Br. at 7 (reordered for ease of disposition).
In a PFA action, this Court reviews the trial court's legal conclusions for
an error of law or an abuse of discretion. Custer v. Cochran, 933 A.2d 1050,
1053-54 (Pa. Super. 2007) (en banc). A trial court does not abuse its
discretion for a mere error of judgment; rather, an abuse of discretion is found
“where the judgment is manifestly unreasonable or where the law is not
applied or where the record shows that the action is a result of partiality,
prejudice, bias, or ill will.” Mescanti v. Mescanti, 956 A.2d 1017, 1019 (Pa.
Super. 2008) (citation omitted).
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proceed in the matter unless, inter alia, an order expressly granting
reconsideration of such order is filed in the trial court within 30 days);
Cheathem v. Temple University Hosp., 743 A.2d 518, 520-21 (Pa. Super.
1999) (a trial court must expressly grant reconsideration within the time
allowed for filing an appeal, in order to toll the time for taking an appeal; an
order fixing a hearing date does not toll appeal period because it does not
expressly grant reconsideration). Accordingly, the trial court’s proceedings
and orders issued after Appellant filed the January 30, 2023 notice of appeal
constitute a legal nullity, which this Court will not consider in our analysis of
the instant appeal.
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In her first issue, Appellant avers that the trial court erred as a matter
of law when it applied the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel to
dismiss Appellant’s second PFA petition. Appellant’s Br. at 12. Appellant
argues that because the first PFA petition was not adjudicated on the merits
and was dismissed without prejudice, neither doctrine barred the claims in
Appellant’s second PFA petition. Id. at 12, 14-19. We agree.
“Application of the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel is a
question of law requiring de novo review and the scope of review is plenary.”
K.D. v. E.D., 267 A.3d 1215, 1223 (Pa. Super. 2021).
“The doctrine of res judicata applies to prevent litigants from bearing
the burden of re-litigating the same issues with the same parties, and to
promote judicial economy.” E.K. v. J.R.A., 237 A.3d 509, 521 (Pa. Super.
2020) (citation omitted). Res judicata, or claim preclusion, bars the re-
litigation of a previously litigated claim or cause of action when the following
elements are the same across both actions: the identity of (1) the thing sued
upon; (2) the cause of action; (3) persons and parties to the action; and (4)
the quality or capacity of the parties suing or being sued. K.D. v. E.D., 267
A.3d at 1224. Essentially, “[u]nder the doctrine of res judicata, a judgment
on the merits in a prior suit bars a second suit on the same cause of
action[.]” Wilmington Tr., Nat'l Ass'n v. Unknown Heirs, 219 A.3d 1173,
1179 (Pa. Super. 2019) (emphasis added). “The dominant inquiry under
those elements, then, is whether the controlling issues have been decided in
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a prior action, in which the parties had a full opportunity to assert their rights.”
E.K. v. J.R.A., 237 A.3d at 521 (citation omitted)
Collateral estoppel, also referred to as issue preclusion, is a broader
concept than res judicata and “operates to prevent a question of law or issue
of fact which has once been litigated and fully determined in a court of
competent jurisdiction.” Vignola v. Vignola, 39 A.3d 390, 393 (Pa. Super.
2012) (emphasis added and citation omitted). Collateral estoppel applies if:
(1) the issue decided in the prior case is identical to one
presented in the later case; (2) there was a final judgment
on the merits; (3) the party against whom the plea is
asserted was a party or in privity with a party in the prior
case; (4) the party or person privy to the party against
whom the doctrine is asserted had a full and fair
opportunity to litigate the issue in the prior proceeding
and (5) the determination in the prior proceeding was
essential to the judgment.
E.K. v. J.R.A., 237 A.3d at 521 (emphasis added and citation omitted).
As explained above, both res judicata and collateral estoppel require
that an initial action result in a final judgment on the merits before either
doctrine can be applied to bar a second action raising similar claims or issues.
Instantly, Appellant’s first PFA petition was not adjudicated on the merits.
Rather, it was dismissed without prejudice because Appellant failed to appear
at the hearing. As such, the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel
do not apply to bar Appellant’s second PFA petition and the trial court erred
as a matter of law when the court dismissed Appellant’s second PFA petition
with prejudice.
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In her second issue, Appellant avers that the trial court erred when it
failed to hold a hearing on Appellant’s second PFA petition. Appellant’s Br. at
13-14. We agree.
The PFA Act states unequivocally: “[w]ithin ten business days of the
filing of a petition under this chapter, a hearing shall be held before the court,
at which the plaintiff must prove the allegation of abuse by a preponderance
of the evidence.” 23 Pa.C.S. § 6107(a) (emphasis added). This Court has
held that under the PFA Act, evidentiary hearings are mandatory because the
statutory use of the word “shall” mandates that a trial court conduct such a
hearing. Burke ex rel. Burke v. Bauman, 814 A.2d 206, 208 (Pa. Super.
2002). Accordingly, we agree that the trial court erred when it failed to hold
an evidentiary hearing on Appellant’s second PFA petition.
In conclusion, because Appellant’s first PFA petition was not adjudicated
on the merits, the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel do not apply
to bar her from raising the same claims or issues in her second PFA petition.
Thus, we conclude that the trial court committed reversible error when it failed
to conduct an evidentiary hearing as required by 23 Pa.C.S. § 6107(a) and
dismissed Appellant’s second PFA petition with prejudice. We, therefore,
vacate the order and instruct the trial court to conduct an evidentiary hearing
on Appellant’s second PFA petition.2
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2 We are cognizant of the fact that
the trial court conducted an evidentiary
hearing on February 7, 2023, and ultimately denied Appellant’s second PFA
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Order vacated. Case remanded with instructions. Jurisdiction
relinquished.
Judgment Entered.
Benjamin D. Kohler, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 11/17/2023
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petition on the merits. However, as discussed above, the trial court was
without jurisdiction to do so. Therefore, the evidentiary hearing and
subsequent order denying the second PFA petition are both legal nullities. As
such, we are constrained to order a new hearing and disposition on the merits.
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