Johnson v. Leffring

• Citation: 211 Pa.Super. 84,235 A.2d 435
• Parties: Jethro JOHNSON a/k/a Jethro Burch, Appellant, v. Arthur LEFFRING and Kathryn Leffring.
• Decision Date: 16 November 1967
• Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania

235 A.2d 435

211 Pa.Super. 84

Jethro JOHNSON a/k/a Jethro Burch, Appellant, v. Arthur LEFFRING and Kathryn Leffring.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

November 16, 1967.

Jay Meyers, Philadelphia, for appellant.

Charles J. Bogdanoff, Philadelphia, for appellees.

Before ERVIN P.J., and WRIGHT, WATKINS, MONTGOMERY, JACOBS, HOFFMAN and SPAULDING, JJ.

MONTGOMERY Judge:

On July 6 1964 the appellant Jethro Johnson caused a judgment to be entered in his favor against the appellees, then husband and wife, in default of an appearance in an action of trespass for damages due to injuries sustained by appellant from falling on the sidewalk of property owned by the appellees as tenants by the entirety. Subsequently, in 1966 the appellees petitioned to open that judgment but it was denied. We affirmed by a per curiam order filed October 19, 1966. See 208 Pa.Super. 768, 223 A.2d 126.

Thereafter early in 1967 counsel for the appellees petitioned the lower court for permission to withdraw their appearance for Kathryn Leffring for the reason that she was then divorced from Arthur Leffring, which situation might create a conflict of interests. A hearing on that petition was held before Hon. Frank J. Montemuro, Judge, on February 14, 1967 at which Mrs. Leffring appeared and testified that she had been a patient in Norristown State Hospital, a mental hospital, at the time the judgment was entered, and also that her husband had secured the divorce when she was confined there. Upon receiving this testimony, and without completing the hearing he was then conducting, Judge Montemuro ordered that the hospital records be secured and submitted to him, which was done in the form of a letter dated February 20, 1967, written by Dr. Arthur D. Boxer, presumably associated with the Norristown State Hospital. The letter was addressed to Judge Montemuro and read:

'Re: Mrs. Kathryn Leffring, G 11, 940

Dear Judge Montemuro:

The above named patient was hospitalized at Norristown State Hospital from July 17, 1964, until November 12, 1966. Her diagnosis was Involuntional Psychotic Reaction with depressed and paranoid features; however, with medication the patient enjoyed complete remission from her illness.

At the time that divorce was pending from her husband, a conference was held to determine her competency with regard to the ability to enter into a relationship with a lawyer to handle her husband's divorce proceedings against her. On November 22, 1965, she was judged competent to enter into divorce proceedings and secondly, she was judged competent to enter into a contractual relationship with an attorney.

I hope this information will be helpful to you.'

Judge Montemuro ordered it made part of the record and thereupon, without further hearing or argument, 'on our own motion', entered an order striking off the judgment entered against Mrs. Leffring. The appeal from that order is now before us.

Judge Montemuro, in his opinion, assigns as the reasons for his action (1) that since service of process was made...