THE COURTS

Title 249--PHILADELPHIA RULES

PHILADELPHIA COUNTY

Final Day Backward Program: Procedure for Disposition of Major Jury Cases Filed on and After July 5, 1993 and Before January 2, 1995; General Court Regulation No. 96-2

[26 Pa.B. 4323]

   Upon due consideration of Rules of Court concerning the establishment of trial lists, the scheduling of pretrial conferences and the imposition of discovery deadlines (see Pa.R.C.P. 212, 4001, et seq., and Phila. Civ.R. *215 and *4003.4, et seq.) the Court of Common Pleas hereby establishes case management conferences, case management deadlines, settlement conference, pretrial conference and trial listing deadlines to properly and expeditiously resolve Major Jury cases (as hereinafter defined) filed on or after July 5, 1993 and before January 2, 1995, and designates this process as the ''Final Day Backward Program.''

   1.  Cases Subject to Case Management: All Major Jury cases commenced on or after July 5, 1993 and before January 2, 1995 shall be subject to this Order. A Major Jury case is a ''Civil Action--Action at Law'' wherein the damages claimed exceed the applicable Arbitration limits, and a jury demand has been timely made and perfected by the payment of the applicable jury listing fee.

   This General Court Regulation shall not apply to cases assigned to the following trial lists: ''Non-Jury'', ''Mass Tort'', ''Arbitration'', ''Arbitration Appeals'', ''Municipal Court Appeals'' or ''Agency Appeals''. This Regulation shall not apply to cases designated as Class Actions, unless Class certification is denied.

   2.  Case Management Conference: Beginning in October, 1996, pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 212, a Case Management Conference shall be scheduled for every Major Jury case in the Final Day Backward Program.

   Plaintiff shall serve a copy of the Order scheduling the Case Management Conference on all attorneys of record and any unrepresented party. When necessary, the Court may require Plaintiff to file an Affidavit of Service with the Prothonotary; but no such filing shall be routinely required.

   a.  Presiding Officer: The Case Management Conference shall be conducted by a Civil Case Manager designated by the Court, acting on behalf of the Judicial Team Leader for the Final Day Backward Program.

   b.  Issues to be Addressed: Pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 212(b), counsel shall address all relevant issues concerning service of process, venue, pleadings, discovery, possible joinder of additional parties, theories of liability, damages claimed and applicable defenses.

   c.  Failure to Proceed: If it appears from the information obtained at the Case Management Conference that any party has shown a lack of due diligence by failing to proceed with reasonable promptitude, the Civil Case Manager may schedule the matter for a conference or hearing before the Judicial Team Leader for the Final Day Backward Program. The Civil Case Manager may, by Rule to Show Cause, direct any party to proceed with pleadings in accordance with applicable Rules of Civil Procedure, including requiring Plaintiff to serve the initial pleading, to file a Complaint and serve same, or to file a Petition for Alternative Service. Any such Rule to Show Cause shall be returnable before the Team Leader for the Final Day Backward Program.

   d.  Transfer to Arbitration: If it appears from the information provided to the Civil Case Manager at the Case Management Conference that the amount at issue does not exceed the applicable arbitration limits, the Civil Case Manager shall refer the case to the Judicial Team Leader for the Final Day Backward Program for determination of whether the case should be transferred to Arbitration pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. No. 1021(d).

   3.  Case Management Order: At the conclusion of the Case Management Conference, a Case Management Order shall issue. The Case Management Order will be based upon the assignment of each case to a specific Case Management Track.

   The following Case Management Tracks are hereby established: Expedited Case Management Track, Standard Case Management Track, Complex Case Management Track and Extraordinary Case Management Track. Each case shall be assigned to a Case Management Track in accordance with the presumptive track assignment, established hereby and following hereto as ''Exhibit A''. For cause shown, the Case Manager may reassign the case to any appropriate Case Management Track.

   The Case Management Order shall establish the applicable deadlines for each particular case in accordance with the Presumptive Time Standards established hereby and following hereto as ''Exhibit D''. All cases assigned to the Extraordinary Case Management Track shall be scheduled for a conference before a Judge and deadlines shall be imposed upon consideration of the particular facts of the case.

   4.  Relief from Deadlines Set Forth in Case Management Order: Relief from the time requirements of any Case Management Order may be granted only by the Judicial Team Leader of the Final Day Backward Program. Any aggrieved party may file a Petition for Extraordinary Relief with the Prothonotary, Second Filing Unit, prior to the deadline that is sought to be changed. The Petition shall be in the form following hereto as ''Exhibit B''. Any adverse party shall have ten (10) days after the filing of the Petition for Extraordinary Relief to file a Response with the Prothonotary, Second Filing Unit. The Response shall be in the form following hereto as ''Exhibit C''. The parties may not extend any Case Management deadline by agreement, without Court approval, obtained by Petition for Extraordinary Relief.

   5.  Settlement Conference: A settlement conference will be expeditiously scheduled on any case in which counsel concur that such a conference may be productive. Such requests shall be made in writing to the Judicial Team Leader for the Final Day Backward Program.

   In all cases, a settlement conference may be scheduled by the Court.

   6.  Pretrial Memorandum: All counsel and unrepresented parties shall file a Pretrial Memorandum as required by the Case Management Order. The Pretrial Memorandum shall contain: A concise summary of the nature of the case, or defense; a list, by name and address, of all witnesses the party anticipates calling at trial; a pre-numbered list of all exhibits which the party intends to offer into evidence at trial; the Plaintiff shall list an itemization of the injuries or damages sustained, and all special damages claimed, by category and amount; and Defendant shall identify the applicable insurance carrier, together with applicable limits of liability.

   The Pretrial Memorandum shall be served upon all counsel and unrepresented parties contemporaneously with filing. Counsel should expect witnesses and exhibits not listed in the Pretrial Memorandum to be precluded at trial.

   7.  Pretrial Conference. In every case, a Pretrial Conference shall be scheduled by the Court. At the conclusion of the Pretrial Conference, a Pretrial Order controlling the conduct of trial may be entered.

   8.  Trial Date: At the conclusion of the Pretrial Conference, a date shall be established by which the case shall be deemed by the Court to be ready for trial. Cases in the Expedited and Standard Tracks may be placed in a ready pool status, subject to assignment for trial upon twenty-four (24) hours notice.

   No continuance requests shall be entertained, except in accordance with Pa.R.C.P. 216, and subject to Pa.R.C.P. 217.

   9.  Failure to Appear for Scheduled Conferences: Attendance at all conferences scheduled by the Court is mandatory. If Plaintiff fails to appear, the case may be nonprossed without further notice. In the event any other party fails to appear, the conference shall be held in their absence and sanctions may be imposed. All requests to reschedule conferences shall be made in writing to the Judicial Team Leader for the Final Day Backward Program with copies to all parties.

   10.  Team Leader: The Administrative Judge of the Trial Division shall from time to time designate a Judicial Team Leader who shall be responsible for the Final Day Backward Program.

   This General Court Regulation is promulgated in accordance with the April 11, 1986 Order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District, No. 55, Judicial Administration, Docket No. 1, Phila. Civ. *51 and Pa.R.C.P. 239, and shall become effective immediately. As required by Pa.R.C.P. 239, the original regulation shall be filed with the Prothonotary in a docket maintained for General Court Regulations issued by the Administrative Judge of the Trial Division; and copies shall be submitted to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, the Legislative Reference Bureau and the Civil Procedural Rules Committee. Copies of the regulation shall also be submitted to Legal Communications, Ltd., The Legal Intelligencer, Jenkins Memorial Law Library and the Law Library for the First Judicial District.

JOHN W. HERRON,   
Administrative Judge

JURY CASE MANAGEMENT TRACK CRITERIA
	Number of	Management	Disposition
Case Type	Parties	Track	Within
Marine Employment/Wrongful Discharge Assault, Battery Premises Liability, Slip & Fall Other Personal Injury Torts to Land Motor Vehicle Property Damage Other Personal Property Damage Motor Vehicle Accident Insurance, Declaratory Judgment Negotiable Instruments Recovery of Overpayment Contracts for Goods Other Contract Foreclosure Rent, Lease, Ejectment Title to Real Property Garnishment of Land Other Consumer or Credit	<=4	Expedited	<8 months
Marine Employment/Wrongful Discharge Assault, Battery Premises Liability, Slip & Fall Other Personal Injury Torts to Land Motor Vehicle Property Damage Other Personal Property Damage Motor Vehicle Accident Insurance, Declaratory Judgment Negotiable Instruments Recovery of Overpayment Contracts for Goods Other Contract Foreclosure Rent, Lease, Ejectment Title to Real Property Garnishment of Land Other Consumer or Credit	>4	Standard	<8 months
Fraud Truth in Lending	Any number	Standard	<8 months
Construction Contracts Airplane/Aviation Toxic Waste, Contamination & Environmental All Professional Malpractice Toxic Tort Personal Injury Stockholders' Suits Libel, Slander, etc. Motor Vehicle Product Liability Product Liability Product Liability Property Damage Contract Product Liability	Any Number	Complex	<15 months

Figure 1                                             Exhibit ''A''

TIME STANDARDS BY TRACK
Case Event	Expedited	Standard	Complex	Extraordinary
Case Management Conference	All time periods are calculated from the month in which the Case Management Conference is held.
Discovery Complete	4 months	4 months	8 months
Plaintiff Expert Reports	4 months	4 months	9 months
Defendant Expert Reports	5 months	5 months	11 months
Motions Filed	5 months	5 months	11 months
Settlement/Mediation Status Conf.	6 months	6 months	12 months
Pretrial Memo 15 days prior to pretrial conference
Pretrial Conference	7 months	7 months	13 months
Trial	8 months	8 months	15 months

Rev. 8/22/96                                             Exhibit ''D''
 

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 96-1470. Filed for public inspection September 6, 1996, 9:00 a.m.]

 

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