Today the Pa Commonwealth Court held that New Life Church waived all issues on appeal by failing to file post-trial motions. The impact of the decision is that a former church building located at 2826 through 2846 N. 9th Street in Philadelphia will be demolished by the City of Philadelphia.
At issue on appeal was whether an injunction hearing was a "trial" for purposes of Pa Rule of Civil Procedure 227.1. If it was a trial then post-trial motions were required to be filed to preserve issues for appeal. If it wasn't a trial then rule 227.1 was inapplicable. The Pa Commonwealth Court found that the injunction hearing was a trial. Thus the church waived all issues on appeal by failing to file post-trial motions. The city can now proceed to demolish the old church building.
The lesson to be learned is that when in doubt file a post-trial motion. There is no harm. The harm is greater if you don't file one as compared to filing one when not required.
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