Rule Text
In addition to the provisions of any Rule of Civil Procedure or Act of Assembly authorizing the prothonotary to enter judgment upon praecipe of a party and except as otherwise provided by Rule 1042.72(e)(3), the prothonotary shall, upon praecipe of a party:
(1) enter judgment upon a nonsuit by the court, the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge following a trial without jury, if
(a) no timely post-trial motion is filed; or
(b) one or more timely post-trial motions are filed and the court does not enter an order disposing of all motions within one hundred twenty days after the filing of the first motion. A judgment entered pursuant to this subparagraph shall be final as to all parties and all issues and shall not be subject to reconsideration;
(2) enter judgment when a court grants or denies relief but does not itself enter judgment or order the prothonotary to do so.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 227.4 adopted October 19, 1983, effective January 1, 1984, 13 Pa.B. 3629; amended July 28, 1995, effective January 1, 1996, 25 Pa.B. 3337; amended September 24, 1997, effective January 1, 1998, 27 Pa.B. 5245; amended December 16, 2003, effective July 1, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 9; amended September 17, 2004, effective December 1, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 5351; amended November 2, 2007, effective January 1, 2008, 37 Pa.B. 6201. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (306106).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
After a trial ends, the court clerk (called the prothonotary) can officially record the final judgment based on a request from one of the parties. This happens in a couple of specific situations.
First, if no one files a post-trial motion after the verdict or decision, the clerk can record the judgment. If someone does file a post-trial motion, but the judge does not rule on it within 120 days, the clerk can still record the judgment. Once the judgment is recorded this way, it is final and cannot be reopened or reconsidered.
Second, if a judge grants or denies something in a case but does not formally write up the judgment or tell the clerk to record it, a party can ask the clerk to go ahead and record it anyway.
Basically, this rule keeps cases from getting stuck. It gives parties a way to get a final, official judgment on the record even when the court has not taken that last step on its own.
Committee Notes
If a motion for delay damages has been filed, judgment may not be entered until that motion is decided or otherwise resolved. See Rule 238(c)(3)(i).
Rule 1042.72(e)(3) prohibits the entry of judgment in a medical professional liability action if a motion for post-trial relief under Rule 227.1 is pending with respect to the ground that a damage award for noneconomic loss is excessive.
See Rule 236 requiring the prothonotary to give notice of the entry of an order or judgment and Rule 237 requiring notice of filing of praecipe for judgment. For illustrative Rules of Civil Procedure specifically authorizing entry of judgment by the prothonotary on praecipe of a party, see Rules 1037, 1659, 3031(a), and 3146.
