While somewhat on the order of “Aside from that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?” two Pennsylvania Superior Court decisions, both handed down on Nov. 8, at least provided the basis for this article on appellate practice. These are: Farrell v. Regola, ___ A.3d ___, No. 566 WDA 2015, (Pa. Super. Nov. 8), and Nobles v. Staples, ___ A.3d ___, 2016 (Pa. Super. Nov. 8). Both discuss recurrent points that should be of interest to appellate practitioners in Pennsylvania, particularly on the civil side.
Collateral Order Appeals
Farrell involved an attempt to take discovery of privileged information, and thus the application of the collateral order doctrine. The plaintiff in a wrongful death/suicide action sought discovery of: the defendant’s psychotherapy records concerning the incident, and certain notes the defendant had made at his counsel’s direction. After considerable procedural skirmishing, the trial judge ordered that the disputed documents be produced for in camera judicial review. The defendant appealed.
