Opinion
No. 2341 EDA 2020
10-15-2021
Larissa C. CONNELLY v. Thomas P. CONNELLY, Jr., Appellant
Non-Precedential Decision
See Pa. Superior Court Internal operating Procedures, § 65.37 before citing
Quashed. Case remanded. Jurisdiction relinquished.
-------- Notes: 1 Recent changes to our Rules of Appellate Procedure provide that, "[i]n an appeal of a custody action where the trial court has used the full name[s] of the parties in the caption, upon application of a party and for cause shown, an appellate court may exercise its discretion to use the initials of the parties in the caption based upon the sensitive nature of the facts included in the case record and the best interests of the child." Pa.R.A.P. 904(b)(2); see also Pa.R.A.P. 907 ("Unless an appellate court exercises its discretion, upon application of a party and for cause shown, to use the initials of the parties in an appeal of a custody action, the prothonotary of the appellate court shall docket an appeal under the caption given to the matter in the trial court."). These changes to our Rules were approved on October 22, 2020 and became effective January 1, 2021. In this case, no party applied to this Court to use initials in the caption. Hence, in the absence of a request, we use the parties' names in the caption "as they appeared on the record of the trial court at the time the appeal was taken." Pa.R.A.P. 904(b). We will, however, refer to the minor involved in this custody dispute by her initials, or as "the Child" throughout our decision so as to protect her identity.