The Road Not Taken Leads to Forfeiture of an Appeal

In a recent decision, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania reiterated that there are “no exceptions” to the deadline for filing a notice of appeal from a trial court’s final judgment.  In this recent case, the appellant’s attorney purportedly sent his notice of appeal to the clerk’s office by Federal Express overnight delivery the day before it was due-but the clerk’s office did not receive or docket it the next day.  The appeal therefore was untimely and was quashed by the Superior Court.  Not lost on that court was the fact that the attorney’s office was less than 40 miles from the clerk’s office and nothing prevented him from driving to the courthouse to personally file his notice of appeal in a timely manner.

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