J.M.S.-M. v. D.L.M. ( 2018 )

J-S55003-18
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
J.M.S.-M. : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
Appellant :
:
:
v. :
:
:
D.L.M., III : No. 620 EDA 2018
Appeal from the Order January 23, 2018
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
Civil Division at No(s): No. OC1200429
BEFORE: OLSON, J., STABILE, J., and FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.
JUDGMENT ORDER BY OLSON, J.: FILED NOVEMBER 08, 2018
Appellant, J.M.S.-M (“Mother”) appeals from the January 23, 2018 order
transferring this action from the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
to the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County. We affirm.
Prior to addressing the issues Mother raises on appeal, we must first
determine whether she has preserved those issues for our review. See Cook
v. Cook, 186 A.3d 1015, 1026-1027 (Pa. Super. 2018). “Our law is
unequivocal that the responsibility rests upon the appellant to ensure that the
record certified on appeal is complete in the sense that it contains all of the
materials necessary for the reviewing court to perform its duty.” Ignelzi v.
Ogg, Cordes, Murphy & Ignelzi, LLP, 160 A.3d 805, 808 (Pa. Super. 2017),
appeal denied, 174 A.3d 1030 (Pa. 2017) (citation omitted). The failure of an
appellant to comply with Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1921 by
J-S55003-18
ensuring all necessary documents are included in the certified record results
in the appellant waiving his or her challenges to the trial court’s order.
Kessler v. Broder, 851 A.2d 944, 950 (Pa. Super. 2004), appeal denied, 868
A.2d 1201 (Pa. 2005) (citation omitted).
The certified record is devoid of any factual details regarding this case.
There is no complaint seeking custody. There is no custody order. The first
document that appears in the certified record is a petition to transfer
jurisdiction. However, without the custody complaint and custody order, it is
impossible to determine what jurisdiction Mother sought to have transferred
or whether the trial court’s action in relation to the petition was correct. As
Mother’s failure to ensure that a complete certified record was transmitted to
this Court has hampered our review of this case, we conclude that Mother
waived all of her appellate issues and we affirm the trial court’s order.1
Order affirmed.
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1We may not sua sponte raise the issue of standing under Pennsylvania
Rule of Appellate Procedure 501. In re Duran, 769 A.2d 497, 501 n.2 (Pa.
Super. 2001). Nevertheless, we note that had D.L.M., III raised the issue
before this Court, we would have held that Mother was not an aggrieved
party under Rule 501 and would have dismissed the appeal on that basis.
Mother wanted the custody case to be handled in Delaware County. She got
what she wanted.
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J-S55003-18
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 11/8/18
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