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Transfer of erroneously filed matters - 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5103

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     § 5103.  Transfer of erroneously filed matters.
        (a)  General rule.--If an appeal or other matter is taken to
     or brought in a court or magisterial district of this
     Commonwealth which does not have jurisdiction of the appeal or
     other matter, the court or magisterial district judge shall not
     quash such appeal or dismiss the matter, but shall transfer the
     record thereof to the proper tribunal of this Commonwealth,
     where the appeal or other matter shall be treated as if
     originally filed in the transferee tribunal on the date when the
     appeal or other matter was first filed in a court or magisterial
     district of this Commonwealth. A matter which is within the
     exclusive jurisdiction of a court or magisterial district judge
     of this Commonwealth but which is commenced in any other
     tribunal of this Commonwealth shall be transferred by the other
     tribunal to the proper court or magisterial district of this
     Commonwealth where it shall be treated as if originally filed in
     the transferee court or magisterial district of this
     Commonwealth on the date when first filed in the other tribunal.
        (b)  Federal cases.--
            (1)  Subsection (a) shall also apply to any matter
        transferred or remanded by any United States court for a
        district embracing any part of this Commonwealth. In order to
        preserve a claim under Chapter 55 (relating to limitation of
        time), a litigant who timely commences an action or
        proceeding in any United States court for a district
        embracing any part of this Commonwealth is not required to
        commence a protective action in a court or before a
        magisterial district judge of this Commonwealth. Where a
        matter is filed in any United States court for a district
        embracing any part of this Commonwealth and the matter is
        dismissed by the United States court for lack of
        jurisdiction, any litigant in the matter filed may transfer
        the matter to a court or magisterial district of this
        Commonwealth by complying with the transfer provisions set
        forth in paragraph (2).
            (2)  Except as otherwise prescribed by general rules, or
        by order of the United States court, such transfer may be
        effected by filing a certified transcript of the final
        judgment of the United States court and the related pleadings
        in a court or magisterial district of this Commonwealth. The
        pleadings shall have the same effect as under the practice in
        the United States court, but the transferee court or
        magisterial district judge may require that they be amended
        to conform to the practice in this Commonwealth. Section
        5535(a)(2)(i) (relating to termination of prior matter) shall
        not be applicable to a matter transferred under this
        subsection.
        (c)  Interdivisional transfers.--If an appeal or other matter
     is taken to, brought in, or transferred to a division of a court
     to which such matter is not allocated by law, the court shall
     not quash such appeal or dismiss the matter, but shall transfer
     the record thereof to the proper division of the court, where
     the appeal or other matter shall be treated as if originally
     filed in the transferee division on the date first filed in a
     court or magisterial district.
        (d)  Definition.--As used in this section "tribunal" means a
     court or magisterial district judge or other judicial officer of
     this Commonwealth vested with the power to enter an order in a
     matter, the Board of Claims, the Board of Property, the Office
     of Administrator for Arbitration Panels for Health Care and any
     other similar agency.
     (Apr. 28, 1978, P.L.202, No.53, eff. 60 days; Dec. 20, 1982,
     P.L.1409, No.326, eff. 60 days; Nov. 30, 2004, P.L.1618, No.207,
     eff. 60 days)

        2004 Amendment.  Act 207 amended subsecs. (a), (b) and (d).
     See sections 28 and 29 of Act 207 in the appendix to this title
     for special provisions relating to applicability and
     construction of law.
        Saved from Suspension.  Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure
     for District Justices No. 1082, as amended April 25, 1979,
     provided that section 5103(a) shall not be deemed suspended or
     affected. Rules 1001 through 1082 relate to appellate
     proceedings with respect to judgments and other decisions of
     district justices in civil matters.
        Cross References.  Section 5103 is referred to in sections
     708, 5503 of this title.

Last modified: November 27, 2007