[31 Pa.B. 6534]
[Continued from previous Web Page]
FORM 4
Pre-Trial Order (1) Jurisdiction. A statement as to the nature of the action and the authority under which the jurisdiction of the court is invoked.
(2) Facts. A comprehensive written stipulation of all uncontested facts in such form that it can be read to the jury as the first evidence at trial.
(a) These facts should include all matters capable of ascertainment, such as ownership, agency, dimensions, physical characteristics, weather conditions, road surfaces, etc. Approximations and estimates which are satisfactory to counsel will be accepted by the judge.
(b) No facts should be denied unless opposing counsel expects to present contrary evidence on the point at trial, or genuinely challenges the fact on credible grounds.
(c) The facts relating to liability and to damages are to be separately stated.
(d) The parties shall reach agreement on uncontested facts even though relevancy is disputed; if such facts are ruled admissible, they need not be proved.
(e) The parties shall also set forth their respective statements of facts which are in dispute, separating those referring to liability from those referring to damages.
(3) Damages or Other Relief. A statement of damages claimed or relief sought.
(a) A party seeking damages shall list each item claimed under a separate descriptive heading (personal injury, wrongful death, loss of profits, survival, loss of wages, deprivation of civil rights, punitive damages, false imprisonment, libel, slander, property damage, pain, suffering, past and future medical expense, balance due under contract, performance due under a contract, interest, etc.) shall provide a detailed description of each item, and state the amount of damages claimed.
(b) A party seeking relief other than damages shall list under separate paragraphs the exact form of relief sought with precise designations of the persons, parties, places, and things expected to be included in any order providing relief.
(4) Legal Issues. Under separate paragraphs, each legal issue that must be decided and the principal constitutional, statutory, regulator, and decisional authorities relied upon.
(5) Witnesses. Under separate headings, and under separate headings for liability and damages, the names and addresses of all witnesses whom the plaintiff, defendant, and third-parties actually intend to call at trial.
(a) Witnesses shall be listed in the order they will be called. Each witness shall be identified and there shall be a brief statement of the evidence which the witness will give.
(b) A detailed summary of the qualifications of each expert witness shall be submitted. This summary shall be in such form that it can be read to the jury when the expert takes the stand to testify.
(c) Only those witnesses listed will be permitted to testify at trial, except to prevent manifest injustice.
(d) Failure to call at trial any listed witness shall not be a proper subject of jury argument unless justified by the record of the case exclusive of pre-trial conference statements or the pre-trial order.
(e) Whenever practicable, a hypothetical question to be propounded to any expert witness shall be prepared in advance for submission to the court and parties in sufficient time as not to delay the trial. If impracticable at this stage, counsel shall arrange for its submission at a later time during trial.
(6) Exhibits. A schedule of all exhibits to be offered in evidence at trial, together with a statement of those agreed to be admissible and the grounds for objection to any not so agreed upon.
(a) The exhibits shall be serially numbered without any designation as to whether they are being offered by plaintiff or defendant. The exhibits shall be physically marked before trial in accordance with the schedule.
(b) Where testimony is expected to be offered as to geographical location, building, structure, waterway, highway, road, walkway, or parcel of real estate, plaintiff shall furnish an exhibit in such form that it can be used in the courtroom as an aid to oral testimony.
(i) Except in those cases where the issues require the use of exact scale, the exhibit may be a simple single-line, hand-drawn sketch.
(ii) In most instances, it will not be necessary that the exhibit be to scale or contain other than reasonably accurate features of the geographical characteristics involved.
(iii) If of adequate size and clarity, this exhibit may be an existing drawing, plan, or blueprint.
(c) Except for unusual circumstances, it is expected that the authenticity or genuineness of all exhibits, including non-documentary items, documents, photographs, and data from business records from sources other than parties to the litigation will routinely be stipulated to and will be received in evidence if relevant. Counsel likewise are expected to agree upon the use of accurate extracts from or summaries of such records. Life expectancy tables, actuary tables, and other similar statistical tabular data routinely and regularly used in litigation in the Commonwealth's courts should also normally be stipulated to.
(d) At trial, counsel shall furnish a copy of each exhibit to the judge.
(7) Legal Issues and Pleadings. Special comments regarding the legal issues or any amendments to the pleadings not otherwise set forth.
(8) Trial Time. An estimate of the number of trial days required, separately stated for liability and damages.
(9) Discovery Evidence and Trial Depositions. Each discovery items and trial deposition to be offered into evidence.
(a) Where the videotape or deposition of a witness is to be offered in evidence, counsel shall review it so that there can be eliminated irrelevancies, side comments, resolved objections, and other matters not necessary for consideration by the trier of fact. Counsel shall designate by page the specific portions of deposition testimony and by number the interrogatories which shall be offered in evidence at the trial. To serve this end all videotape depositions will be accompanied by a typewritten deposition of the same testimony.
(b) Depositions and interrogatories to be used for cross-examination or impeachment need not be listed or purged.
FORM 5
Court of Common Pleas
County of Lackawanna
CERTIFICATE OF READINESS
CIVIL TRIAL LISTING ACTION
NUMBER
__________
__________ACTION__________ALL CIVIL CASES SHALL BE ASSIGNED TO A JUDGE FOR TRIAL BY THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR UPON THE
FILING OF A CERTIFICATE OF READINESS IN THE FOLLOWING FORM:__________ TYPE OF TRIAL REQUESTED
[ ] Jury [ ] Non-Jury [ ] Arbitration
ESTIMATED TIME
______ DAYS
DATE PREPARED
________________PLAINTIFF(S) __________DEFENDANT(S) __________ADDITIONAL DEFENDANTS(S) __________ I CERTIFY THAT ALL DISCOVERY IN THE CASE HAS BEEN COMPLETED; ALL NECESSARY PARTIES AND WITNESSES WILL BE AVAILABLE; SERIOUS SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED; ALL DEPOSITIONS FOR USE AT TRIAL HAVE BEEN COMPLETED OR SCHEDULED; NO CASE DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS ARE PENDING NOR DOES ANY PARTY CONTEMPLATE THE FILING OF SAME; NO CERTIFICATE OF READINESS HAS BEEN FILED WITHIN THE PAST 24 HOURS BY ANY PARTY OR LAWYER OF RECORD IN THIS CASE; THE CASE IS READY IN ALL RESPECTS FOR TRIAL; THAT A COPY OF THIS CERTIFICATE OF READINESS HAS BEEN SERVED ON ALL COUNSEL HAVING AN INTEREST IN THE CASE NO LESS THAN 15 DAYS PRIOR TO THE FILING; NO PARTY OR COUNSEL OBJECTS TO THE FILING OF THIS CERTIFICATE OF READINESS. __________DATE SERVED __________SIGNATURE OF TRIAL COUNSEL __________COUNSEL WHO WILL ACTUALLY TRY THE CASE
_______________________________________________ FOR THE PLAINTIFF(S)
ADDRESS
TEL. NUMBER FOR THE DEFENDANT(S)
ADDRESS
TEL. NUMBER FOR THE ADDITIONAL DEFENDANT(S) TEL. NUMBER __________ CASE ASSIGNED TO JUDGE ______ STATUS CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR _________________ AT ______ .M. IMPORTANT NOTICE: FILE CERTIFICATE WITH THE CLERK OF
JUDICIAL RECORDS, LACKAWANNA
COUNTY COURTHOUSE, SCRANTON, PACJR-CV-2
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 01-2125. Filed for public inspection November 30, 2001, 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.
