So let’s say you found a legal representative to bring suit in Pennsylvania state court for your animal attack related injuries. And, you file suit within the two year statute of limitations. All you need is evidence in court, right?
Wrong.
- Filing the lawsuit (praecipe or complaint) generally tolls (satisfies) the statute of limitations.
- However, simply filing suit is not enough.
- The plaintiff must perform a good-faith effort to serve the defendant with the lawsuit.
- Otherwise, a judge may dismiss the lawsuit well short of trial, even if suit had been filed within the statute of limitations.
- The judge may look closely at the plaintiff’s conduct to determine whether it had been “reasonable.”
The courts have followed Lamp over the years, requiring the plaintiff to prove actual diligence when attempting to serve the suit. See Gussom v. Teagle, 247 A.3d 1046, 1048 (Pa. 2022).
Recent Case
In Trinkle v. Herndon, No. 8078-CV-2023 (C.P. Monroe Co. March 25, 2025, Zulick, J.), a judge granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss a case, based solely on Plaintiff’s delay in serving the lawsuit in a personal injury claim. There, the court scrutinized the Plaintiff’s efforts after filing suit. Here’s the timeline:
- Plaintiff suffered an injury on December 3, 2021, requiring suit to be filed by December 4, 2023.
- Plaintiff filed suit on December 4, 2023.
- The Sheriff’s Office attempted to serve the Defendant at their last known address on December 28, 2023, but service was unsuccessful.
Sounds good so far, right? Not so fast.
The Trinkle court noted the absence of activity on the docket until May 8, 2024, when the Court issued an order requiring the Plaintiff to seek special service by August 6, 2024, as there was no record of successful service. The Plaintiff’s attorney then filed a Praecipe to Reissue the suit on September 10, 2024. Plaintiff served the Defendant on September 24, 2024. Following this, the Defendant filed Preliminary Objections seeking dismissal based on the statute of limitations.
Reasons Versus Excuses For Delay of Service
Ultimately, the Trinkle Court noted that while the Plaintiff filed suit on the last day of the statute of limitations, they failed to demonstrate a good faith effort to effectuate service thereafter.
Plaintiff’s counsel cited medical issues and a staff error regarding the Sheriff’s Affidavit as reasons for the delay. However, the Court’s Case Management Order on May 8, 2024 had explicitly notified the Plaintiff that service was incomplete and directed them to complete service or file for special service by August 6, 2024. The Court found that the Plaintiff did not adhere to this order.
As a result, the Court concluded that the case was time-barred by the statute of limitations and ordered its dismissal.
In conclusion, the rule is basically: filing a lawsuit in Pennsylvania is just the first step. However, the plaintiffs must follow up by making a diligent effort to serve the defendant via proper service of process (not just actual notice) to ensure the case remains viable within the statute of limitations time frame.
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