“[U]nless all indispensable parties are made parties to an action, a court is powerless to grant relief. . . . Thus, the absence of such a party goes absolutely to the court’s jurisdiction.”
How later courts described this case
- “[U]nless all indispensable parties are made parties to an action, a court is powerless to grant relief. . . . Thus, the absence of such a party goes absolutely to the court’s jurisdiction.”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
[J-79-2024]
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
MIDDLE DISTRICT
BLACK POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT : No. 68 MAP 2024
PROJECT, POWER INTERFAITH, MAKE :
THE ROAD PENNSYLVANIA, ONEPA : Appeal from the Order of the
ACTIVISTS UNITED, NEW PA PROJECT : Commonwealth Court at No. 283
EDUCATION FUND, CASA SAN JOSÉ, : MD 2024 dated August 30, 2024.
PITTSBURGH UNITED, LEAGUE OF :
WOMEN VOTERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, : SUBMITTED: September 4, 2024
AND COMMON CAUSE PENNSYLVANIA :
:
:
v. :
:
:
AL SCHMIDT, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY :
AS SECRETARY OF THE :
COMMONWEALTH, PHILADELPHIA :
COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, AND :
ALLEGHENY COUNTY BOARD OF :
ELECTIONS :
:
:
APPEAL OF: REPUBLICAN PARTY OF :
PENNSYLVANIA AND REPUBLICAN :
NATIONAL COMMITTEE :
ORDER
PER CURIAM
AND NOW, this 13th day of September, 2024, the order of the Commonwealth
Court is VACATED. The Commonwealth Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to
review the matter given the failure to name the county boards of elections of all 67
counties, and because the joinder of Al Schmidt, in his official capacity as Secretary of
the Commonwealth, did not suffice to invoke the Commonwealth Court’s original
jurisdiction. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 761(a)(1); see also Penn. State Educ. of Ass’n ex rel.
Wilson v. Com., Dept. of Comm. and Econ. Dev., 50 A.3d 1263, 1277 (Pa. 2012) (“In
determining whether a party is indispensable, the basic inquiry remains ‘whether justice
can be done in the absence of a third party.’”); Sprague v. Casey, 550 A.2d 184, 189 (Pa.
1988) (“[U]nless all indispensable parties are made parties to an action, a court is
powerless to grant relief. . . . Thus, the absence of such a party goes absolutely to the
court’s jurisdiction.”) (citation omitted). The request for extraordinary jurisdiction pursuant
to 42 Pa.C.S. § 726 is DENIED.
Justice Wecht files a dissenting statement in which Chief Justice Todd and Justice
Donohue join.
[J-79-2024] - 2