An interlocutory order striking a joinder petition is final and appealable; however, identifying the order as interlocutory may allow the filing of an appeal nunc pro tunc.

Because the employer was uninsured, the claimant filed a claim petition against the Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund (Fund), which then filed a joinder petition against an insurance company, alleging they were the insurer at the time of injury. The Workers’ Compensation Judge granted the joinder petition, describing his decision as “interim/interlocutory” and stating it was not subject to appeal. The Fund did not file an appeal of this order. Ultimately, the judge granted the claim petitions filed against the employer and the Fund. The Fund appealed this decision to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, challenging the judge’s dismissal of the joinder petition filed against the insurance company. The Board dismissed the appeal, concluding that the Fund should have appealed the earlier order dismissing the joinder petition, which the judge described as interlocutory. According to the Board, the prior order was a final, appealable order; therefore, the Fund’s current appeal was late. The Fund appealed to the Commonwealth Court, which, overall, agreed with the Board. According to the court, case law and regulations suggest that a Workers’ Compensation Judge’s order striking a joinder petition is a final, appealable order because it disposes entirely of the issues set forth in the joinder petition. However, the court also pointed out that, in this case, the judge explicitly identified the decision and order as interlocutory and not subject to appeal. The court considered this to be relevant to the issue of timeliness that may have entitled the Fund to an appeal nunc pro tunc on the basis of a breakdown in the administrative process. The court remanded the case to give the Fund the opportunity to establish whether a breakdown in the administrative process occurred.

_{Case Law Alerts, 4^th Quarter, October 2016. Case Law Alerts is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2016 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.}