HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-4087 EquityROBIN K. JONES,
Plaintiff
GLENN BURGESS,
Defendant
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL ACTION - EQUITY
NO. 01-4087 EQUITY TERM
IN RE: MOTION FOR A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
BEFORE OLER, J.
OPINION and ORDER OF COURT
OLER, J., July 3,2001.
In this replevin action Plaintiff is seeking the return of certain personal property
which she alleges is being wrongfully withheld by Defendant, with whom she formerly
resided. The action was filed in equity.
For disposition at this time is a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by
Plaintiff. The motion requests that the court
temporarily [enjoin Defendant] from further encumbering her
property, removing any from the premises [where he continues to
reside], selling, destroying, or otherwise disposing of in any way
said personalty until the replevin suit is resolved and further that [the
court] enter an order allowing a right of inspection and inventory so
that Plaintiff may secure a list of those items present at the . . .
residence and elsewhere.~
For the reasons stated in this opinion, the motion for a preliminary injunction will
be denied, without prejudice to certain other rights of Plaintiff.
Pl.'s Mot. Prelim. Inj. at 2.
DISCUSSION
A replevin action is an action at law rather than in equity. See McCarthy v. Bank,
283 Pa. Super. 328, 336 n.2, 423 A.2d 1280, 1284 n.2 (1980); Pa. R.C.P. 1071-1088.
"Actions at law cannot be a procedural vehicle for equitable relief. There is no authority
in the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure for equitable relief in a civil action at law."
Sandova! v. Maliver, 145 Pa. Commw. 439, 447 n.4, 603 A.2d 695, 699 n.4 (1992)
(motion for preliminary injunction in action at law said to be violative of Rules of Civil
Procedure).
On the other hand, the Rules of Civil Procedure do afford special protection to a
plaintiff in a replevin action, in the form of a writ of seizure, in appropriate
circumstances. See Pa. R.C.P. 1075 et seq. In addition, the Rules do not preclude the
institution of a separate action in equity where warranted. See Pa. R.C.P. 1079.1.
Based upon the foregoing, the following order will be entered:
ORDER OF COURT
AND NOW, this 3rd day of July, 2001, upon consideration of Plaintiff's complaint
in replevin, and Plaintiff' s motion for a preliminary injunction, and for the reasons stated
in the accompanying opinion, the action is transferred to the law side of the court and the
motion for a preliminary injunction is denied, without prejudice to Plaintiff' s right to seek
preliminary relief in the form of a writ of seizure to the extent permitted by Pennsylvania
Rules of Civil Procedure 1075 et seq., and to pursue a separate action in equity to the
extent permitted by Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1079.1.
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BY THE COURT,
Karl E. Rominger, Esq.
155 S. Hanover Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
Attorney for Plaintiff
Glenn Burgess
2B West Springville Road
Boiling Springs, PA 17007
Defendant, Pro Se
s/ J. Wesley Oler, Jr.
J. Wesley Oler, Jr., J.
~rc
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ROBIN K. JONES,
Plaintiff
Vo
GLENN BURGESS,
Defendant
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL ACTION - EQUITY
NO. 01-4087 EQUITY TERM
MOTION FOR A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
BEFORE OLER, J.
ORDER OF COURT
AND NOW, this 3rd day of July, 2001, upon consideration of Plaintiff's complaint
in replevin, and Plaintiff' s motion for a preliminary injunction, and for the reasons stated
in the accompanying opinion, the action is transferred to the law side of the court and the
motion for a preliminary injunction is denied, without prejudice to Plaintiff' s right to seek
preliminary relief in the form of a writ of seizure to the extent permitted by Pennsylvania
Rules of Civil Procedure 1075 et seq., and to pursue a separate action in equity to the
extent permitted by Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1079.1.
BY THE COURT,
Karl E. Rominger, Esq.
155 S. Hanover Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
Attorney for Plaintiff
J. Wesley Oler, Jr., J.
Glenn Burgess
2B West Springville Road
Boiling Springs, PA 17007
Defendant, Pro Se
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