A company not registered to do business in Pennsylvania has until the verdict—and no later—to salvage what would otherwise be an invalid lawsuit given the state's ban on suits brought by unregistered companies, the state Superior Court has ruled.

The court clarified case law on the issue, ruling that while the ability to sue can be preserved if a certificate of authority to do business as a foreign corporation is obtained before the case is over, it cannot be obtained after the verdict. In Drake Manufacturing v. Polyflow, it was obtained during post-trial motions. The trial court ruled its acceptance of the certificate during post-trial motions was in line with case law that said such certificates could be obtained “during the pendency of the litigation.”

But the Superior Court, in a precedential decision authored by Judge Patricia H. Jenkins, said the court agreed with that concept as long as the certificate of authority was submitted into evidence before the verdict.