An April 2010 ruling of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania reinstated the personal injury claims of 2 Philadelphia car accident victims. A lawsuit was filed by a PA car crash attorney against an individual who was believed to be the owner and driver of the car that caused the MVC. During the discovery process of the litigation, the lawyer obtained information which led him to believe that someone else may have been driving the defendant’s car at the time of the crash.
A Motion to Amend the Complaint was filed requesting the Court’s permission to join this other person as an additional defendant. The Motion was filed before the expiration of the 2 year Statute of Limitations. The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge denied the Motion and discontinued the lawsuit marking it ‘disposed.’ The personal injury lawyer filed an Appeal which was granted. The trial court had no authority to dismiss the Complaint on its own initiative. In addition, there was no proof of prejudice to the original defendant. Meadows v. Goodman, 993 A.2d 99 (Pa. Super. 2010)
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