Judge Nealon of Lackawanna County Reviews the Current Status of the Law in Pennsylvania on Proper, Timely Service of Process

In the case of Doherty v. Burnham, No. 2024-CV-3829 (C.P. Lacka. Co. March 24, 2025 Nealon, J.), the court denied a Defendant’s Preliminary Objections in the nature of a demurrer seeking to dismiss a premises liability action on the grounds that the Plaintiffs failed to effectuate service of original process prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations.

According to the Opinion, this matter arises out of a slip and fall event that occurred on July 3, 2022. The Plaintiffs commenced this lawsuit by filing a Writ of Summons on June 11, 2024, which was about a month before the statute of limitations expired.

The Plaintiff delivered the original process to the Lackawanna County Sheriff to be served. The Sheriff filed a Return of Service indicating that he was unable to serve the Defendant at the address provided given that the Defendant no longer resided at that address.

At that point, the Plaintiff’s attorney immediately undertook efforts to locate the Defendant’s current address. Once the Plaintiff’s attorney discovered the new address for the Defendant, Plaintiff's counsel reissued the Writ of Summons and re-delivered the Writ to the Sheriff for service. This Defendant was then served on August 21, 2024.

In the Preliminary Objections, the Defendants asserted that the Plaintiff failed to serve the Defendant within the thirty (30) day time period required by the Rules of Civil Procedure and given that service of process was not completed until after the expiration of the statute of limitations. The court noted that, in this case, forty-nine (49) days had passed between the expiration of the statute of limitations and the date service was completed.

The Plaintiffs countered with the argument that they exercise diligent efforts to complete service of process. The Plaintiffs also noted that they properly reissued the Writ of Summons and had additionally notified the Defendant’s carrier of the commencement of the suit by Writ.

In his Opinion, Judge Terrence R. Nealon of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas provide a thorough recitation of the current status of Pennsylvania law relative to the proper completion of service of original process.

After reviewing that law and applying the same to the facts before him, Judge Nealon ruled that the Plaintiffs had presented evidence that they had diligently attempted to complete service in a timely fashion and that the Plaintiff did not engage in any conduct evincing any intent to stall the judicial machinery the Plaintiff had put in place by filing suit.

As such, the Defendant’s Preliminary Objections were overruled.

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.


Source: “Scranton Judge’s Ruling Clarifies Efforts Plaintiffs Must Undergo To Serve Defendants on Time,” By Aleeza Furman of The Legal Intelligencer (March 25, 2025).