Ridgid Fire Sprinkler Service, Inc. v. Chaiken

WIEAND, Judge:

Ridgid Fire Sprinkler Service, Inc. has appealed from an order of the trial court opening a judgment obtained by default against Selma Chaiken. Because Mrs. Chaiken’s petition to open was not timely filed and because she failed to offer a reasonable excuse for her default, we conclude that it was an abuse of discretion to open the judgment. Therefore, we reverse.

A petition to open a default judgment is an appeal to the court’s equitable powers. Boyle v. Horstman, 311 Pa.Super. 109, 113, 457 A.2d 518, 520 (1983); Provident Credit Corp. v. Young, 300 Pa.Super. 117, 123, 446 A.2d…