Also known as: allogatur · allowed
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A grant of permission to appeal. The term historically signaled that a writ or pleading was allowed and continues in use in Pennsylvania to authorize review by a higher court.
Adrian and Amelia took title to farmland as joint tenants under a conveyance that satisfied the requirements of Restatement (First) of Property § 66(a). After a lower court held the estate invalid, Adrian petitioned the state supreme court. The court granted allocatur to decide whether the form of concurrent ownership was permitted.
Atlas Ventures and Apollo Energy were each held fully liable for a single harm caused by independent tortious acts. The trial court entered judgment against only one defendant. The injured party sought allocatur to determine whether a single action could proceed against one or both under the applicable joinder rule.
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Audrey received need-based benefits and was notified of termination without an evidentiary hearing. The intermediate court upheld the procedure. Audrey petitioned for allocatur to obtain review of whether due process required notice, confrontation rights, and an impartial decisionmaker before benefits could end.
After Alfred's death, his surviving spouse sought a family allowance under the probate code. The estate argued the allowance could not exceed one year when claims remained unpaid. The spouse requested allocatur to clarify the duration and priority of the allowance during administration.
Artemis Logistics operated a nonconforming warehouse that a new zoning ordinance required to cease after a reasonable period. The company challenged the amortization schedule as a taking. The appellate court denied review, prompting a petition for allocatur on whether the ordinance provided adequate time given the owner's investment.
Avalon Pharmaceuticals filed a complaint that the defendant moved to make more definite under Rule 12(e). The district court ordered a revised pleading within fourteen days. Avalon sought allocatur to test whether the original complaint was so ambiguous that a responsive pleading could not reasonably be prepared.
Allocatur continues in use in Pennsylvania to indicate that a higher court has granted permission to appeal a lower court decision.
The term is Law Latin for "it is allowed" and historically signaled that a writ, bill, or pleading had been permitted.
A special allocatur is an allowance of a writ, such as a writ of error, that is legally required in certain cases before the writ may issue.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court uses the term allocatur when it grants permission to appeal, as it did to address the degree of force required to prove forcible compulsion in a rape prosecution.
…complaint in intervention is dismissed. In all other respects, the judgment of the District Court is affirmed. Costs are allowed to the appellee. It is so ordered. [For concurring opinion of MR. CHIEF JUSTICE BURGER, see post , p. 207.] [For concurring opinion of MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS, see post , p. 209.] [For…