In a decision that found a three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court in an internal debate over how far is too far when it comes to enforcing procedural rules, a slander suit by a Florida attorney against a Mercer County senior judge remains in play because the judge raised an immunity defense in the wrong filing.
The appeals court, ruling 2-1 to reverse a trial court decision tossing the case, said defendant Francis J. Fornelli, a senior judge on the Mercer County Court of Common Pleas, improperly raised his judicial immunity defense in preliminary objections, rather than in a new matter as required by Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1030.
