Rule Text
(a) Appellate jurisdiction petitions for review.—The court may affirm, modify, vacate, set aside, or reverse any order brought before it for review, and it may remand the matter and direct the entry of such appropriate order, or require such further proceedings as may be just under the circumstances.
(b) Original jurisdiction petitions for review.—Where the petition for review raises questions that formerly were determinable in an action in equity, replevin, mandamus, or quo warranto, or for a declaratory judgment or upon a petition for a writ of certiorari or prohibition, or in another similar plenary action or proceeding, the court may grant the relief heretofore available in any such plenary action or proceeding.
(c) Money damages.—Money damages arising out of tort or contract claims may not be granted under this chapter (except on review of determinations of the Board of Claims or similar agencies), but relief granted under paragraph (b) of this rule may include any damages to which the petitioner is entitled which are claimed in the petition, which are ancillary to the matter, and which may be granted by a court.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 1561 amended December 29, 1977, effective January 29, 1978, 8 Pa.B. 133; amended December 30, 1978, 8 Pa.B. 3802; amended May 16, 1979, effective September 30, 1979, 9 Pa.B. 1740; amended July 8, 2004, effective 60 days after adoption, 34 Pa.B. 3862; amended May 15, 2007, effective immediately, 37 Pa.B. 2492; amended January 7, 2020, effective August 1, 2020, 50 Pa.B. 505. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (389966) to (389967).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When you ask a Pennsylvania appeals court to review a case, the court has broad power over what it can do with the outcome. It can uphold the original decision, change it, throw it out, or send the case back to a lower court or agency with instructions on what to do next.
The court can also grant many types of legal relief depending on what kind of case it is. For example, if your case involves a government agency acting improperly or a dispute over rights or property, the court can step in and order the kind of relief that courts have traditionally given in those types of cases.
There is one important limit on money. If you want to sue for money because someone broke a contract or hurt you (a tort claim), you generally cannot get that money through this type of court review. The exception is if you are appealing a decision from the Board of Claims or a similar agency. The court can award some money if it is directly tied to the main issue in your case and you asked for it in your original petition.
Committee Notes
Paragraph (a) is based on 42 Pa.C.S. § 706 (disposition of appeals).
Paragraph (b) is based on 42 Pa.C.S. § 708(e) (single form of action), which provides that 1 Pa.C.S. § 1504 (statutory remedy preferred over common law) does not limit the jurisdiction of a court over a petition for review proceeding, but to the extent applicable limits the relief available, and 42 Pa.C.S. § 5105(d)(2) (scope of appeal). Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 102, statutory references to ‘‘appeal’’ include proceedings on petition for review. The paragraph is intended to make clear that the petition for review is a generic pleading that will permit the court to consider simultaneously all aspects of the controversy.
Paragraph (c) is intended to make clear that the petition for review does not encompass trespass or assumpsit actions, but that an appeal may reach tort or contract matters adjudicated by a government unit as contemplated by Section 2(h) of the Judiciary Act Repealer Act, 42 P.S. § 20002(h). As to ancillary statutory damages, see 42 Pa.C.S. § 8303 (action for performance of a duty required by law).
