Pennsylvania Bulletin

PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 00-1275

THE COURTS

LUZERNE COUNTY

Order Adopting Rules for Compulsory Arbitration; No. 4767-C 2000

[30 Pa.B. 3773]

Order

   Now This 11th day of July, 2000, Luzerne County Rules of Court No. 1301 is hereby repealed effective January 1, 2001. The annexed Luzerne County Rules of Court Nos.1301, Arbitration, 1302. Appointment of the Board, 1303.Hearing. Notice, 1306. Return and Entry of Award, 1308. Appeal. Praecipe for Trial List, are adopted effective January 1, 2001.

   It is further ordered that the District Court Administrator shall file seven (7) certified copies of this Rule with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, two (2) certified copies to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, one (1) certified copy to the Civil Procedural Rules Committee, one (1) certified copy to the Judicial Council of Pennsylvania Statewide Rules Committee, and one (1) copy to the Luzerne Legal Register for publication in the next issue.

   It is further ordered that these local rules shall be kept continuously available for public inspection and copying in the Prothonotary's Office.

By the Court

JOSEPH M. AUGELLO,
President Judge

Rule 1301.  Arbitration.

   All civil actions and actions in replevin in which the amount in controversy, exclusive of interest and costs, is FIFTY THOUSAND ($50,000.00) DOLLARS or less shall be submitted to and heard and decided by a Board of Arbitrators pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. Sec. 7361 and Pa.R.C.P. 1301 et seq.

Rule 1302.  Appointment of the Board.

   (a)  On praecipe of either counsel of by agreement of reference, a board of arbitrators shall be appointed by the prothonotary in sequential order from the list of qualified arbitrators submitted by the district court administrator. The prothonotary's list of such appointments shall be open to public inspection. An original and a number of copies of the praecipe or agreement sufficient to serve all members of the board and all parties of record, or their counsel, shall be given to the prothonotary.

   (b)  Arbitrators shall be members of the bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in good standing and on active status who are residents of Luzerne County and members of the Wilkes Barre Law and Library Association and who have indicated to the district court administrator their willingness and desire to serve by filing with the district court administrator a written statement to that effect.

   The name of any attorney appearing on the prothonotary's list of qualified arbitrators may be removed by the district court administrator when the prothonotary's records indicate an attorney's failure to withdraw after appointment, as provided by section (d) of this rule, or any attorney's absence or failure to appear twice after appointment at any scheduled hearing; and the attorney's name shall not again be placed on the list of arbitrators except by order of court.

   If an arbitrator fails to appear within the 10 minutes after the scheduled time of hearing, the arbitrator shall be disqualified, and the prothonotary shall immediately appoint a replacement irrespective of the arbitrator's place on the list.

   (c)  Notice of appointment: The prothonotary shall note on the praecipe or agreement of reference, the names of the arbitrators so appointed, and the time and place of hearing and the prothonotary shall mail a copy thereof to each member of the board of arbitrators and to each party of record, or their counsel within ten (10) days after filing of the praecipe or agreement.

   (d)  Withdrawal after Appointment: Within five (5) days of receipt of notice of appointment to a board of arbitrators, an arbitrator who desires to be excused on account of illness or incapacity, or who pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1302 would be disqualified shall notify the prothonotary, whereupon the next qualified arbitrator shall be appointed from the sequential list. Notice of the substitution of an arbitrator shall be given to the arbitrators, and parties of record or their counsel.

   (e)  Appointment after Disqualification: An arbitrator who is disqualified for appointment to a particular board shall be appointed to the next board for which the arbitrator is qualified.

   (f)  Compensation: Each member of a board of arbitrators who has signed the report or signs a dissent shall receive as compensation for services a fee of one hundred twenty-five ($125.00) dollars. If a matter is referred to a judge of the court pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1303(b)(2) or if the matter is resolved by agreement of the parties without a hearing, each member of the board who appears shall receive as compensation fifty ($50.00) dollars. In cases requiring hearings of unusual duration or involving questions of unusual complexity, the court, on petition of the members of the board and for cause shown, may allow additional compensation. The court may also, on petition of any party to a case, on cause shown and to prevent injustice, reduce the amount of such compensation or disallow compensation entirely. The members of a board shall not be entitled to receive their fees until after filing a report with the prothonotary. When the same is filed, the prothonotary shall issue an order for payment of such fees which shall be immediately paid from county funds as in the case of all other county debts. Fees paid to arbitrators shall not be taxed as costs nor follow the award as other costs.

Rule 1303.  Hearing. Notice.

   (a)(1)  All cases subject to arbitration shall be scheduled for hearing at the Luzerne County Courthouse on a date to be fixed by the prothonotary which date shall not be less than forty (40) days and no more than sixty (60) days from the filing of the praecipe for appointment of a board of arbitrators. Continuances shall be approved by the court, however, if all parties consent the chair may grant one continuance of a scheduled hearing. Cases set for hearing may not be continued by the chair for more than sixty (60) days from the date scheduled unless by order of court upon cause shown. In the event the hearing is not held on the continued date, and no further continuance is granted by the court, the case shall be stricken from the arbitration list and the arbitrators shall be discharged by order of court.

   (2)  The written notice of hearing shall include the following statement:

   ''This matter will be heard by a board of arbitrators at the time, date and place specified but, if one or more of the parties is not present at the hearing, the matter maybe heard at the same time and date before a judge of the court without the absent party or parties. There is no right to a trial de novo on appeal from a decision entered by a judge.''

   (b)(2)  If one or more parties is not ready, and if all parties present consent, the motion's judge or such other judge selected by the district court administrator shall determine if the court should hear the matter or whether the matter should proceed in arbitration. If the court is to hear the matter, it shall be heard on the same date as the scheduled arbitration hearing.

Rule 1306.  Return and Entry of Award.

   Within seven (7) days after hearing the board shall make its report and award signed by all or a majority of the members. The prothonotary shall enter the same of record and give immediate notice thereof to the parties or their attorneys.

Rule 1308.  Appeal. Praecipe for Trial List.

   Appeals from an award of the board of arbitrators shall be ordered on the trial list on praecipe of either party.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 00-1275. Filed for public inspection July 28, 2000, 9:00 a.m.]

No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.

This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.