Larocca v. WCAB (The Pittsburgh Press)

In Larocca v. Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board (The Pittsburgh Press), 140 Pa. Commw. 192, 592 A.2d 757 (Pa. Cmwlth.), petition for allowance of appeal denied, 529 Pa. 659, 604 A.2d 251 (1991), a pro se claimant sent a letter to this Court requesting the necessary forms to file an appeal. Pursuant to IOP 211, the chief clerk sent the requested documents and advised the claimant that she had thirty days to file a proper petition for review. The claimant then filed a petition for review within the provided time period. The employer filed a motion to quash alleging that IOP 211 impermissibly extended the period of time in which to file an appeal. Id. The employer argued that this was prohibited by Pa. R.A.P. 105(b). Id. The Court determined that while the claimant had not filed a proper petition for review, the timely filing of a communication advising of the intent to appeal was sufficient to toll the appeal period. Id. Further, we noted that Pa. R.A.P. 1503 also allowed amendment, for the purposes of clarification, on improvidently filed appeals. Id. Therefore, the Court concluded that it was allowable for this Court to extend the time period to perfect the appeal pursuant to IOP 211. Id.