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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 21-152

THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES

LANCASTER COUNTY

Amendment of Local Rule of Civil Procedure; CI-20-00089

[51 Pa.B. 543]
[Saturday, January 30, 2021]

Administrative Order

 And Now, this 6th day of January 2021, it is hereby Ordered that the following Local Rule of Civil Procedure of the Court of Common Pleas of the 2nd Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Lancaster County, is amended as indicated, to be effective thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 The Lancaster County District Court Administrator is Ordered to do the following:

 1. File one (1) copy to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts via email to adminrules@pacourts.us.

 2. File two (2) paper copies and one (1) electronic copy in a Microsoft Word format only to bulletin@palrb.us with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 3. Publish these Rules on the Lancaster County Court website at www.court.co.lancaster.pa.us.

 4. Incorporation of the local rule into the set of local rules on www.court.co.lancaster.pa.us within thirty (30) days after the publication of the local rule in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 5. File one (1) copy of the local rule in the appropriate filing office for public inspection and copying.

By the Court

DAVID L. ASHWORTH, 
President Judge

Rule 208.3(c). Discovery Motions Court.

 A. Purpose of Rule. It is the intention of this Rule that discovery motion practice be expedited and that discovery motions and responses be concise.

 B. Discovery Motions Judge. Every discovery motion shall be presented to the Discovery Motions Judge. Discovery Motions Court shall be held at 1:30 p.m. on Friday afternoons as scheduled by the Discovery Motions Judge. The District Court Administrator shall publish notice of the location, dates, times, and cases listed for Discovery Motions Court on the Court Case Schedule (http://courtcal.co.lancaster.pa.us/CourtAdmin.Public/).

 C. Contents of Motion. Every discovery motion shall contain the following:

 1. A concise statement describing the nature of the case.

 2. A concise statement of the status of any discovery procedure involved.

 3. A copy of the discovery request and response, if any, in dispute.

 4. A statement of the relief requested and a citation to the statute, procedural rule or other authority for the relief requested.

 5. A statement identifying all other parties and their counsel, with mailing addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses.

 6. If necessary, a request for the suspension of discovery until the dispute is resolved.

 7. A certification that the parties, after reasonable effort, are unable to resolve the dispute.

 8. A proposed rule or order.

 D. Notice and Service.

 1. A copy of the discovery motion, along with notice of when it will be presented, shall be served upon all parties no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday preceding the scheduled court date. Discovery motions shall not be filed or presented to the Court in any fashion other than to the Discovery Motions Judge. The moving party shall present an original and one copy of the motion to the Court.

 2. If service of the motion is made by first class mail, the mailing must be postmarked no later than Friday preceding the scheduled court date. In the event of a Monday holiday, service, if sent by mail, shall be postmarked by the preceding Thursday. Hand delivery of the motion may be made until 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday preceding the scheduled court date. The parties may serve discovery motions by email, provided that receipt of the email by all other parties is confirmed by the serving party. The serving party shall attach proof of service to the discovery motion. Failure to serve the motion and notice shall be grounds for dismissal.

 E. Briefs. Briefs are not permitted unless directed by the Court.

 F. Responses. Any party may submit a response to the discovery motion. The response shall not exceed five pages. The response shall be presented to the Court and served on all parties or their counsel on the scheduled court date. Affidavits, discovery responses, references to depositions, transcripts or other documents responsive to the discovery motion shall not be included in the response but may be referenced during oral argument.

 G. Scheduling. Arguments on discovery motions shall be scheduled at ten minute intervals. Counsel seeking to list a motion for argument shall contact the Discovery Motions Judge chambers no later than [5:00 p.m.] noon on the Tuesday immediately preceding the requested court date by telephone or email to dmc@co.lancaster.pa.us. The assignment of all discovery motions to an argument date and time will be made by the Discovery Motions Judge. A list of cases scheduled for argument [will be sent via email by the Discovery Motions Judge by the close of business on the Wednesday preceding the scheduled argument date to all parties or their counsel] may be viewed on the Court's online Case Scheduling Calendar (http://courtcal.co.lancaster.pa.us/CourtAdmin.Public/).

 H. Filing. All orders signed in the courtroom shall be returned to counsel for filing with the Prothonotary. It shall be the responsibility of the attorney receiving the order to promptly file the order and receive a date stamped copy. Orders shall not be effective and enforceable until they are clocked in and docketed by the Prothonotary. If the discovery motions court does not rule on a matter in the courtroom but instead chooses to take the matter under advisement, chambers shall ensure the filing of any subsequent order.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 21-152. Filed for public inspection January 29, 2021, 9:00 a.m.]


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