Attorney was recently successful on a Petition for Writ of Mandamus, which resulted in the court compelling the Prothonotary to enter judgment of non pros in favor his client, a contract healthcare provider in the correctional setting

Attorney was recently successful on a Petition for Writ of Mandamus, which resulted in the court compelling the Prothonotary to enter judgment of non pros in favor his client, a contract healthcare provider in the correctional setting. A prisoner filed a state court lawsuit maintaining that his Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment was violated when improper adjustments to his psychotropic medications were made causing him to experience severe withdrawal symptoms. Because the plaintiff’s claims sounded in allegations of medical professional liability, at least in part, a non pros judgment was sought due to plaintiff’s failure to timely file certificates of merit to support his claims. The county Solicitor directed the Prothonotary to not accept the filing of the non pros judgment due to a lack of clarity as to the nature of the Plaintiff’s causes of action. After the Solicitor informally refused to retract his directions, which were erroneous under the State Rules of Civil Procedure considering that the plaintiff did not file a motion for determination as to whether certificates of merit were required to be filed in response to the attorney's Notice of Intent to take non pros judgment, a Petition for Writ of Mandamus was filed. The Court agreed with the attorney and ordered the entry of non pros judgment.