collateral order doctrine in Pennsylvania

2026Melvin v. Doe, 836 A.2d 42, 46-47 (Pa. 2003) (citations omitted). -3- the Supreme Court rejected the Chiluttis’ argument that, “because they may incur a substantial loss of money in litigating this action in arbitration, the trial court’s order compelling arbitration meets the requirements of the third prong of the collateral order doctrine.” See id. at 833-834.

2025“As an exception to the rule of finality, the doctrine is to be interpreted narrowly, and ‘each prong of the collateral order doctrine must be clearly present before an order may be considered collateral.’” Vaccone v. Syken, 899 A.2d 1103, 1106 (Pa. 2006) (superseded on other grounds by Pa. R.A.P. 1114(b)(7)) (quoting Melvin v. Doe, 836 A.2d 42, 47 (Pa. 2003)).

2026See Shearer v. Hafer, 177 A.3d 850, 856-57 (Pa. 2018) (recognizing the collateral order doctrine as an exception to the general rule).

2026As to the first prong of the collateral order test, our Supreme Court has explained that “[a]n order is separable from the main cause of action if it can be resolved without an analysis of the merits of the underlying dispute and if it is entirely distinct from the underlying issue in the case.” Shearer v. Hafer, 177 A.3d 850, 858 (Pa. 2018) (emphasis added).

2026As Chief Justice Todd has made abundantly clear, we are to “construe the collateral order doctrine narrowly . . . to avoid piecemeal determinations and the consequent protraction of litigation.” Rae v. Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association, 977 A.2d 1121 , 1129 (Pa. 2009) (quoting Sullivan v. Philadelphia, 107 A.2d 854, 855 (Pa. 1954)).

2025We must also be mindful that “the collateral order rule’s three-pronged test must be applied independently to each distinct legal issue over which an appellate court is asked to assert jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 313.” Rae, 977 A.2d at 1130.

2023As a means to reinforce and support the final order rule, however, this Court has concluded that the collateral order doctrine must be narrowly construed, and, before application thereof, “every one of its three prongs [must] be clearly present,” especially considering that a party may seek permission to appeal an interlocutory—i.e., non-final—order pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 312, Pa.R.A.P. 312. 3 Rae, 977 A.2d at 1126 (citing Melvin v. Doe, 836 A.2d 42, 47 (Pa. 2003), and Geniviva v. Frisk, 725 A.2d 1209 , 1214 & n.5 (Pa. 1999)); Shearer, 177 A.3d at 858 . 3 Pennsylv

2022See In re Barnes Foundation, 871 A.2d 792, 794 (Pa. 2005) (“Pennsylvania law does allow for an appeal as of right from an order denying intervention in circumstances that meet the requirements of the collateral order doctrine.”); Geniviva v. Frisk, 725 A.2d 1209, 1214 (Pa. 1999) (explaining that, for a right to be too important to be denied review for purposes of the collateral order doctrine, the right must be “deeply rooted in public policy going beyond the particular litigation at hand”).

2024In Ben, our Supreme Court determined that an order compelling an agency to produce its investigative files pertaining to complaints filed against a dentist was appealable under the collateral order exception to a final order. 729 A.2d at 552 .

2022Irreparable Loss “The remaining prong of the collateral order doctrine requires us to consider whether . . . if the review is postponed until final judgment in the case, the claim will be irreparably lost.” Ben, 729 A.2d at 552 .

2026We acknowledge that this Court is to construe “the collateral order doctrine narrowly so as to avoid undue corrosion of the final order rule and to prevent delay resulting from piecemeal review of trial court decisions.” K.C. v. L.A., 128 A.3d 774, 778 (Pa. 2015) (citations and quotation marks omitted).

2025Notwithstanding, Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 313(b), otherwise known as the collateral order doctrine[] . . . provides that an interlocutory order is collateral and, therefore, immediately appealable, if it is: “[1] separable from and collateral to the main cause of action where [2] the right involved is too important to be denied review and [3] the question presented is such that if review is postponed until final judgment in the case, the claim will be irreparably lost.” K.C. v. L.A., 128 A.3d 774, 777 (Pa. 2015) [quoting Pa.R.A.P. 313(b)].

2025“Absent the satisfaction of all three prongs of the collateral order test, this Court has no jurisdiction to consider an appeal of an otherwise non-final -5- order.” Spanier v. Freeh, 95 A.3d 342, 345 (Pa. Super. 2014) (citation omitted).

2024The collateral-order rule is “a specialized, practical application of the general rule that only final orders are appealable as of right.” Spanier v. Freeh, 95 A.3d 342, 345 (Pa. Super. 2014).

2026In so doing, the High Court distinguished the facts of that case from the facts involved in Pridgen v. Parker Hannifin Corp., 905 A.2d 422, 427 (Pa. 2006), adhered to on reargument, 916 A.2d 619 (Pa. 2007), which we discuss infra, and expressly rejected the proposition that the potential expenditure of substantial litigation expenses is sufficient to meet the third prong of the collateral order doctrine.

2026That statutory procedure, however, is not available in common law arbitration proceedings because Section 7321.24 is not listed in Section 7342(a) as a provision of the Revised Statutory Arbitration Act that is applicable to common law arbitration. [J-59-2025] - 10 In an attempt to avoid this result, the Chiluttis rely on this Court’s decision in Pridgen v. Parker Hannifin Corporation, 905 A.2d 422 (Pa. 2006), for the proposition that a party’s potential “substantial loss” of money in litigating a claim is sufficient to meet the third prong of the collateral order doctrine.9 They submit that,

2014After Commonwealth v. Harris, 612 Pa. 576 , 32 A.3d 243 (2011), I had thought that orders requiring disclosure over and against the assertion of a privilege would be appealable as of right, without the necessity of episodic review of each of the requirements of the collateral order doctrine.

2014After Commonwealth v. Harris, 612 Pa. 576 , 32 A.3d 243 (2011), I had thought that orders requiring disclosure over and against the assertion of a privilege would be appealable as of right, without the necessity of episodic review of each of the requirements of the collateral order doctrine.

2025“As an exception to the rule of finality, the doctrine is to be interpreted narrowly, and ‘each prong of the collateral order doctrine must be clearly present before an order may be considered collateral.’” Vaccone v. Syken, 899 A.2d 1103, 1106 (Pa. 2006) (superseded on other grounds by Pa. R.A.P. 1114(b)(7)) (quoting Melvin v. Doe, 836 A.2d 42, 47 (Pa. 2003)).

2024“As an exception to the rule of finality, the doctrine is to be interpreted narrowly, and ‘each prong of the collateral order doctrine must be clearly present before an order may be considered collateral.’” Vaccone v. Syken, 899 A.2d 1103, 1106 (Pa. 2006) (superseded on other grounds by Pa. R.A.P. 1114(b)(7)) (quoting Melvin v. Doe, 836 A.2d 42, 47 (Pa. 2003)).

2026The importance prong of the collateral order doctrine “considers whether the order involves rights deeply rooted in public policy going beyond the particular litigation at hand.” Commonwealth v. Williams, 86 A.3d 771, 782 (Pa. 2014).

2023With respect to the second prong of the collateral order doctrine, “a right is important if ‘the interests that would go unprotected without immediate appeal are significant relative to the efficiency interests served by the final order rule.’” Id. at 779 (quoting Commonwealth v. Williams, 86 A.2d 771, 782 (Pa. 2014)).

2025Carlino v. East Brandywine, L.P. v. Brandywine Village Associates, 260 A.3d 179, 194 (Pa. Super. 2021) (“The first prong, separability, occurs when we can address the issue surrounding the disputed order without analyzing the ultimate issue in the underlying case.”) (citation omitted); see also Commonwealth v. Blystone, 119 A.3d 306, 312 (Pa. 2015) (“With respect to the first prong of - 13 - the collateral order doctrine, an order is separable from the main cause of action if it can be resolved without an analysis of the merits of the underlying dispute.”) (cleaned up).

2020With regard to the first prong of the collateral order doctrine, an order is separable from the main cause of action if it is ‘entirely distinct from the underlying issue in the case’ and if ‘it can be resolved without an analysis of the merits of the underlying dispute.’ Commonwealth v. Blystone, . . . 119 A.3d 306, 312 ([Pa.] 2015) (internal quotation marks omitted).

2023Therefore, they have not satisfied the third prong of the collateral order test. -8- J-E01003-23 In its discussion of the collateral order doctrine, the Majority quotes our Supreme Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Wells, 719 A.2d 729 (Pa. 1998), in which the Court recognized that Rule 313 “sets forth a narrow exception to the general rule that only final orders are subject to appellate review.” Majority Opinion at 7 (quoting Wells, 719 A.2d at 730).

2023Therefore, they have not satisfied the third prong of the collateral order test. -8- J-E01003-23 In its discussion of the collateral order doctrine, the Majority quotes our Supreme Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Wells, 719 A.2d 729 (Pa. 1998), in which the Court recognized that Rule 313 “sets forth a narrow exception to the general rule that only final orders are subject to appellate review.” Majority Opinion at 7 (quoting Wells, 719 A.2d at 730).

2023Such information is made confidential per federal statute” (citations omitted)); J.S. v. Whetzel, 860 A.2d 1112, 1117 (Pa. Super. 2004) (finding that a defense witness’s privacy interest in the information contained in federal 1099 tax forms raised a “sufficiently important public policy concern” for purposes of the collateral order doctrine).

2022However, directing Appellant, a limited partnership, to disclose this specific information is distinguishable from the facts presented in the cases cited above, which directed particular individuals to provide, broadly, years of tax returns and other documents showing their entire “financial worth.” See Cooper, 905 A.2d at 485 ; Cabot Oil, 241 A.3d at 1197 ; Merithew, 869 A.2d at 1042 ; J.S., 860 A.2d at 1117 . - 13 - Accordingly, we conclude Appellant has not established the second prong of the collateral order doctrine — that the underlying discovery order “involves a right too important to

2020“The collateral order doctrine is an exception to the general rule that all appeals must await final judgment.” Id. at 362 (emphasis omitted). “[W]hether an order is appealable as a collateral order under Rule 313 is [therefore] an issue of [the] Court’s jurisdiction to entertain an appeal of such an order.” Commonwealth v. Kennedy, 876 A.2d 939, 943 (Pa. 2005); see also Shearer 7 The Family Court contends that “[a]lthough the trial [c]ourt has now certified this matter for [] immediate appeal, the appealability of the . . . [t]rial [c]ourt’s denial of summary judgment pursuant to the collater

2011See Commonwealth v. Kennedy, 583 Pa. 208, 231-32 , 876 A.2d 939, 953-54 (2005) (Saylor, J., concurring). 1 Nevertheless, I supported the application of the collateral order doctrine based on Pennsylvania precedent.

2021See Fried v. Fried, . . . 501 A.2d 211, 214 ([Pa.] 1985) (order must satisfy all three criteria to be immediately appealable under collateral order exception). [ ] In Commonwealth v. Johnson, . . . 705 A.2d 830, 834 (Pa. 1998), the Court adopted the reasoning of Flanagan v. United States, 465 U.S. 259 . . . (1984), and held that a pretrial order removing trial counsel in a criminal case does not satisfy the collateral order exception, and thus, is not immediately appealable. [P]ostponing review of a disqualification order until final judgment would not cause a criminal defendant’s right to cou

2016See Commonwealth v. Haag, 809 A.2d 271, 282-283 (Pa. 2002) (a PCRA petitioner has a rule-based right to effective assistance of PCRA counsel); Commonwealth v. Rigg, 84 A.3d 1080, 1085 (Pa. Super. 2014) (“where the new issue is one concerning PCRA counsel's representation, a petitioner can preserve the issue by including -6- J-S65023-16 that claim in his [Pa.R.Crim.P.] 907 response or raising the issue while the PCRA court retains jurisdiction”); see also In re N.B., 817 A.2d 530 (Pa. Super. 2003) (denial of mother’s motion to change appointed counsel in a dependency proceeding was not appealab

2017Under the collateral order doctrine as set forth in Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 313, “an order is immediately appealable if (1) it is separable from and collateral to the main cause of action; (2) the right involved is too important to be denied review; and (3) the question presented is such that if review is postponed until final judgment in the case, the claimed right will be irreparably lost.” In re N.B., 817 A.2d 530, 534 (Pa. Super. 2003) (citing Pugar v. Greco, 483 Pa. 68 , 394 A.2d 542, 545 (1978)) (footnote omitted); see Pa.R.A.P. 313.

2017Under the collateral order doctrine as set forth in Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 313, “an order is immediately appealable if (1) it is separable from and collateral to the main cause of action; (2) the right involved is too important to be denied review; and (3) the question presented is such that if review is postponed until final judgment in the case, the claimed right will be irreparably lost.” In re N.B., 817 A.2d 530, 534 (Pa. Super. 2003) (citing Pugar v. Greco, 483 Pa. 68 , 394 A.2d 542, 545 (1978)) (footnote omitted); see Pa.R.A.P. 313.

2024See Jacksonian, 862 A.2d at 1280 (explaining that, in determining whether the importance prong of the collateral order doctrine is met, “it is not sufficient that the issue be important to the particular parties…[.

2024“All three elements must be satisfied to permit review of an interlocutory appeal under the collateral order rule.” Jacksonian v. Temple University Health System Foundation, 862 A.2d 1275, 1279 (Pa. Super. 2004).

2009To hold otherwise would allow the collateral order doctrine to swallow up the final order rule causing litigation to be interrupted and delayed by piecemeal review of trial court decisions." Watson v. City of Philadelphia, 665 A.2d 1315, 1318 (Pa.Cmwlth.1995).

2009To hold otherwise would allow the collateral order doctrine to swallow up the final order rule causing litigation to be interrupted and delayed by piecemeal review of trial court decisions.” Watson v. City of Philadelphia, 665 A.2d 1315, 1318 (Pa.Cmwlth.1995).

2025See Pa.R.Crim.P. 587(b)(6); Pa.R.A.P. 313, cmt. (citing Commonwealth v. Brady, 508 A.2d 286, 289-91 (Pa. 1986) (allowing an immediate appeal from the denial of a motion to dismiss based on double jeopardy under the collateral order doctrine where the trial court does not make a finding of frivolousness)).

2020See Commonwealth v. Brady, 508 A.2d 286, 288 (Pa. 1986) (holding that a non-frivolous appeal from the denial of a motion to dismiss on double jeopardy grounds involves a right deeply rooted in public policy because the denial potentially undermined the constitutional “right to be free from a second prosecution . . . for the same offense”) (internal quotations and citations omitted); Alston, 2020 WL 2703059 at *3 (holding that the second prong of the collateral order doctrine was satisfied because the issue “involve[d] constitutional rights to compulsory process, due process, equal protection,

2022Id. at 650 . -9- As to the first prong, a panel of this Court acknowledged at length the complicated nature of dependency matters, specifically visitation, and stated: We leave for another day the resolution of what constitutes the cause of action in a dependency matter, and whether a permanency review order placing restrictions on a parent's visitation is separable from the main cause of action, because the instant case is dispositive on the last two prongs of the collateral order test.

2020To invoke the collateral order doctrine, each of the three prongs identified in the rule’s definition must be clearly satisfied.” J.M., 219 A.3d at 655 , citing In re W.H., 25 A.3d 330, 335 (Pa.Super. 2011). - 26 - J.

2026See T.M. v. Elwyn, Inc., 950 A.2d 1050, 1058 (Pa. Super. 2008) (stating that materials involving sensitive mental health information “implicates the -7- ‘importance’ prong of the collateral order doctrine because the privacy rights involved are deeply rooted in public policy”); see also Commonwealth v. Kyle, 533 A.2d 120, 131 (Pa. Super. 1987) (“the purpose of the psychologist- client privilege is to aid in the effective treatment of the client by encouraging the patient to disclose information fully and freely without fear of public disclosure.”).

2025See also Yocabet v. UPMC Presbyterian, 119 A.3d 1012, 1029 (Pa.Super. 2015) (directing creation of privilege log and ordering that “any documents identified on said log must be reviewed in camera by either the trial court or the master to determine whether those materials are discoverable”); T.M. v. Elwyn, Inc., 950 A.2d 1050, 1063 (Pa.Super. 2008) (vacating discovery ____________________________________________ 7 Ultimately, the Fisher Court quashed the appeal, holding that it did not satisfy the collateral order doctrine because it was “an appeal from an interlocutory order that has not comp

2021Rule 313 codified the three-part collateral order doctrine first formulated by the United States Supreme Court in Cohen, as an exception to the final order rule in cases where lower courts’ decisions do not terminate the case, yet “finally determine claims of right separable from, and collateral to, rights asserted in the action, too important to be denied review and too independent of the cause itself to require that appellate consideration be deferred until the whole case is adjudicated.” Cohen, 337 U.S. at 546 ; see also Shearer, 177 A.3d at 855-58 (tracing the evolution of the collateral o

2020However, in Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corporation, 337 U.S. 541, 546 (1949), our United States Supreme Court, acknowledging the harshness of the final order rule in certain situations, explicitly recognized an exception to the rule through the collateral order doctrine, which permitted the appeal of a narrow class of orders which address claims of right “separable from, and collateral to, rights asserted in the action, too important to be denied review and too independent of the cause [of action] itself to require that appellate consideration be deferred until the whole case is adjud

2019See Shearer v. Hafer, 177 A.3d 850, 856 (Pa. 2018) (noting that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court first “embraced the collateral order doctrine as a matter of Pennsylvania law” in 1975, in the case of Bell v. Beneficial Consumer Discount Co., 348 A.2d 734 (Pa. 1975)). -9- 313; and appeals that may be taken from certain distribution orders by the Orphans’ Court Division, Pa.R.A.P. 342.

2019See Shearer v. Hafer, 177 A.3d 850, 856 (Pa. 2018) (noting that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court first “embraced the collateral order doctrine as a matter of Pennsylvania law” in 1975, in the case of Bell v. Beneficial Consumer Discount Co., 348 A.2d 734 (Pa. 1975)). -9- 313; and appeals that may be taken from certain distribution orders by the Orphans’ Court Division, Pa.R.A.P. 342.

2025Gas Works, 921 A.2d 80, 87-88 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2007) (trial court order granting, subject to certain conditions, preliminary approval to proposed class action settlement agreement failed to meet the importance prong of the collateral order doctrine).

2017“Narrow application prevents the collateral order rule from subsuming the fundamental general precept that only final orders are appealable and from causing litigation to be interrupted and delayed by piecemeal review of trial court decisions.” Township of Worcester v. Office of Open Records, 129 A.3d 44, 55 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2016) (quoting Brophy v. Philadelphia Gas Works & Philadelphia Facilities Management Corp., 921 A.2d 80, 87 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2007)).

2024See Parker, 173 A.3d at 297-98 ; see also Commonwealth 8 v. Sabula, 46 A.3d 1287, 1293 (Pa. Super. 2012) (concluding order denying defendant’s motion to compel enforcement of pre-arrest agreement between Commonwealth and defendant was not appealable as collateral order under Ben).1 For example, in Parker, the Superior Court concluded that an order denying a criminal defendant’s pretrial motion in limine for the production of a sex offense victim’s confidential medical, psychological, and therapy records was not a collateral order and quashed the appeal.

2016Commonwealth v. Sabula, 46 A.3d 1287, 1293 (Pa. Super. 2012) (citation omitted). -3- J-A02009-16 Our Supreme Court has held that an order denying defense counsel’s request to withdraw in a collateral proceeding is not immediately appealable under the collateral order doctrine.

2022Therefore, we must independently consider whether the collateral order doctrine has been satisfied.”); Berkeyheiser v. A Plus Investigations, Inc., 936 A.2d 1117, 1123-24 (Pa. Super. 2007) (“Pennsylvania courts have held that discovery orders involving potentially confidential and privileged materials are immediately appealable as collateral to the principal action.”).

2015The second prong of the collateral order test-mandates that^the order “must involve rights deeply rooted in public policy going beyond the particular litigation at hand.” Berkeyheiser, 936 A.2d at 1123 .

2016Williams, 86 A.3d at 780 ; see also In re Estate of Stricker, 602 Pa. 54 , 977 A.2d 1115, 1119 (2009) (“The [collateral order] doctrine is to be construed narrowly to preserve the integrity of the general rule that only final orders may be appealed; thus, the requirements for a collateral order are applied relatively stringently.”); Rae v. Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Ass’n, 602 Pa. 65 , 977 A.2d 1121 , 1126 (2009) (“To buttress the final order rule, we, too, have concluded the collateral order doctrine is to be construed narrowly, and we require every one of its three prongs be clearly pres

2016Ass’n, 602 Pa. 65 , 78-79, 977 A.2d 1121 , 1129 (2009) (discussing the general final judgment rule and the status of the collateral order doctrine as a narrow exception which must be measured against the substantial downsides of piecemeal litigation).

2011The collateral order doctrine “conveys the right to appeal ..., provided that the party appealing has satisfied the three-pronged prerequisite: (1) the order must be separable from and collateral to the main cause of action; (2) the right involved must be too important to be denied review; and (3) if review is postponed, the claim will be irreparably lost.” Commonwealth v. Dennis, 580 Pa. 95 , 859 A.2d 1270, 1277 (2004); Pa.R.A.P. 313(b).

2011The collateral order doctrine “conveys the right to appeal ..., provided that the party appealing has satisfied the three-pronged prerequisite: (1) the order must be separable from and collateral to the main cause of action; (2) the right involved must be too important to be denied review; and (3) if review is postponed, the claim will be irreparably lost.” Commonwealth v. Dennis, 580 Pa. 95 , 859 A.2d 1270, 1277 (2004); Pa.R.A.P. 313(b).