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Buchleitner v. Perer2/14/2002
Petition for Reargument Filed February 28, 2002. Petition for Reargument Denied April 9, 2002.
EUGENE C. BUCHLEITNER, AN INDIVIDUAL, APPELLANT
v.
ALAN H. PERER, AN INDIVIDUAL, AND SWENSEN & PERER, APPELLEES
Appeal from the Order dated February 11, 2000 In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Civil, No. GD 98-13303
Before: Johnson, Todd, and Kelly, JJ.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: Kelly, J.
Appellant, Eugene C. Buchleitner, asks us to review the trial court's order granting summary judgment in favor of Appellees and dismissing with prejudice Appellant's Dragonetti Act cause of action for wrongful use of civil proceedings at 42 Pa.C.S.A. ยง 8351, based solely upon the release executed in a prior federal court case. Specifically, Appellant inquires whether his dismissal from the federal case on summary judgment constitutes a "favorable outcome" for purposes of his present cause of action, where the remaining defendants in the federal case subsequently entered into a settlement and release and included Appellant in the settlement agreement as a named defendant, but where Appellant alleges he did not consent or contribute to the settlement.
We hold that what effect the remaining defendants' settlement in the federal case should have on Appellant's present cause of action is a material question of fact and not a proper basis upon which to grant Appellees' motion for summary judgment. We further hold that if Appellant's dismissal from the federal court case by virtue of summary judgment is determined to be a "favorable outcome," then that outcome did not become final until the entire federal case concluded. Thus, the statute of limitations applicable to Appellant's cause of action for wrongful use of civil proceedings began to run upon final disposition of the federal action. We are also satisfied that the allegations contained in Appellant's complaint set forth sufficient facts and suggest reasonable inferences to support a prima facie showing that Appellees wrongfully pursued the federal case against Appellant. The better resolution of this matter is to put Appellant to his burden of proof in further proceedings. Accordingly, we vacate the order granting summary judgment and remand the matter to the trial court.
The facts and procedural history relevant to this appeal are as follows. Appellant was the principal of a high school when a student charged one of her high school teachers with sexually inappropriate conduct on three occasions: November 3, 1992, November 5, 1992, and February 7, 1993. Although Appellant had become the principal of the high school in August 1992, he claimed he first heard of these allegations on February 24, 1993, when he received a report from a school guidance counselor. On March 2 and 3, 1993, Appellant met with the student and members of her family, sought and received advice from the attorneys for the school district, and promptly initiated an investigation.
The student retained Appellees as counsel. On November 2, 1994, she initiated a civil rights action in federal court, naming the school district, Appellant, and others as defendants. Following Appellant's deposition, Appellees refused to discontinue or dismiss him from the case. As discovery concluded and the federal case progressed toward trial, Appellant moved for summary judgment on November 20, 1995. Appellees opposed Appellant's motion for summary judgment, which was ultimately granted on June 10, 1996. In its memorandum opinion disposing of Appellant's summary judgment motion, t
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