County of Somerset, PA v. A.F. DeLuca, Somerset County Treasurer

── County of Somerset, PA v. A.F. DeLuca, Somerset County Treasurer ── Court: Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania Date: May 12, 2026 Author: Wojcik. Fizzano Cannon Category: General IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA County of Somerset, Pennsylvania : by and through its Board of : Commissioners, Commissioner : Gerald Walker, Commissioner : Colleen R. Dawson, and : Commissioner Pamela A. Tokar-Ickes : : v. : No. 336 C.D. 2023 : Argued: November 5, 2025 Anthony F. DeLuca, : Somerset County Treasurer, : : Appellant : BEFORE: HONORABLE RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, President Judge HONORABLE PATRICIA A. McCULLOUGH, Judge HONORABLE ANNE E. COVEY, Judge HONORABLE MICHAEL H. WOJCIK, Judge HONORABLE CHRISTINE FIZZANO CANNON, Judge HONORABLE LORI A. DUMAS, Judge HONORABLE MATTHEW S. WOLF, Judge OPINION NOT REPORTED MEMORANDUM OPINION BY JUDGE WOJCIK FILED: May 12, 2026 Anthony F. DeLuca, Somerset County Treasurer (Treasurer), appeals the per curiam order of a three-judge panel of the Somerset County Court of Common Pleas (County and trial court, respectively) denying his post-trial motions1 1 “[A] trial court’s order at the conclusion of a trial, whether the action is one at law or in equity, cannot become final for purposes of filing an appeal until the court decides any timely post- trial motions or they are denied by operation of law [under] Pa.R.Civ.P. 227.4(b).” Triple Crown Corporation, Inc. v. Lower Allen Township, 327 A.3d 748, 754 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2024) (citation omitted). following trial on his and the County’s crossclaim for declaratory and injunctive relief, and entering judgment in favor of the County and against the Treasurer regarding the disposition of investment funds pursuant to the relevant provisions of The County Code2 and the Second Class County Code (SCCC).3 We affirm. The facts in this case are undisputed. This matter involves a dispute between the County’s Board of Commissioners (Commissioners) and Treasurer4 2 Formerly, The County Code, Act of August 9, 1955, P.L. 323, as amended, 16 P.S. §§101- 3000.3903. The County Code was repealed by Section 5(2) of the Act of May 8, 2024, P.L. 50, No. 14, effective July 8, 2024 (Act 14), which incorporated the freestanding County Code provisions into Title 16 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. A similar act is now found in The County Code at 16 Pa. C.S. §§101-17509. Indeed, as our Supreme Court has explained: Act 14 incorporated the freestanding County Code into Title 16 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. To effectuate those changes the General Assembly repealed [T]he County Code in its entirety . . . . However, aside from a few substantive changes not relevant here, Act 14 was generally intended to affect a “continuation” of [T]he County Code, despite its repeal. See id. at §6; id. at §(6)(1) (“Except as otherwise provided in 16 Pa. C.S. Pts. I, II, III and IV, all activities initiated under [T]he County Code shall continue and remain in full force and effect and may be completed under 16 Pa. C.S. Pt. I, II, III, or IV.”); id. at §6(2) (“Except as provided in paragraph (3), any difference in language between 16 Pa. C.S. Pts. I, II, III and IV and [T]he County Code is intended only to conform to the style of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes and is not intended to change or affect the legislat