THE COURTS

SOMERSET COUNTY

Consolidated Rules of Court; No. 41 Misc. 2002

[32 Pa.B. 2756]

Adopting Order

   And Now, this 15th day of May, 2002, it is hereby Ordered:

   1.  The following designated Somerset County Rule of Civil Procedure (Som.R.C.P.), copy of which is attached hereto, is adopted as a rule of this Court, effective thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin:

Som.R.C.P. 1915.4 Scheduling Of Custody Hearings.

   2.  The following designated Somerset County Rules of Civil Procedure (Som.R.C.P.) are amended to read in their entirety, as reflected in copies of Rules attached hereto, effective thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin:

   Som.R.C.P. 1910.51. Notice Of Intent To Report To Consumer Credit Agency.

   Som.R.C.P. 1910.60. Review of Domestic Relations
Orders.

   3.  Som.R.C.P. 1910.12, paragraph E., relating to procedure for scheduling of hearings before the Domestic Relations Hearing Officer, is amended to read as follows, effective thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

   4.  The Somerset County Court Administrator shall:

   A.  File seven (7) certified copies of this Order and the following Rules with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

   B.  Distribute two (2) certified copies of this Order and the following Rules to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

   C.  File one (1) certified copy of this Order and the following Rules with the Pennsylvania Civil Procedural Rules Committee and one (1) certified copy of this Order and the following Rules with the Pennsylvania Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee.

   D.  File proof of compliance with this Order in the docket for these Rules, which shall include a copy of each transmittal letter.

By the Court

EUGENE E. FIKE, II,   
President Judge

Som.R.C.P. 1910.12.

   D.  If an agreement for support is reached at the conference, the written Order and recommendation referred to in Som.R.C.P. 1910.11(d) shall be transmitted to the Court in accordance with established assignment and Motions Judge practice. Upon receipt of the written Order and recommendation, the Judge shall either approve the recommendation and enter the Order, or disapprove the recommendation. Upon approval, the Domestic Relations Section shall promptly distribute a copy of the Order to each party and counsel.

   E.  If the parties do not reach agreement at the conference, or if the responding party does not appear at the conference, the Conference Officer shall submit to the Court, in accordance with established assignment and Motions Judge practice, a recommended Interim Order, to be entered by the Court as required by Pa.R.C.P. 1910.12, and unless the parties advise the Domestic Relations Section that a hearing is not requested, the case shall be

scheduled for a hearing before the Hearing Officer. However, the parties, also, shall retain the option of agreeing to the Interim Order, and if the Domestic Relations Section is so notified in writing prior to the hearing, the hearing will be canceled and the Interim Order will be entered as the final Order.

   F.  When a hearing is to be scheduled before the Hearing Officer, the Domestic Relations Section shall schedule the hearing, issue a scheduling order, and distribute a copy thereof to all parties and counsel.

Domestic Relations

Som.R.C.P. 1910.51. Notice Of Intent To Report To Consumer Credit Agency.

   The notice to be given to a support obligor of intent to report arrearages to a consumer credit agency, pursuant to the provisions of 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 4303(a)(2), shall be in the following form:

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SOMERSET COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
DOMESTIC RELATIONS SECTION

         Plaintiff Name:
         Defendant Name:
         Defendant SSN:
         Docket Number:
         PACSES Case Number:
         Other State ID Number:
         Please note:  All correspondence must include the PACSES Case Number.

NOTICE OF CREDIT BUREAU REPORTING

Dear

   By the authority of Federal, 42 U.S.C. Section 666, and State Law, 23 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(2), the Domestic Relations Section of Somerset County is empowered to report information regarding your support account(s) to any consumer credit bureau. From this point forward this agency will be providing a report of the amount of arrears you owe as support to credit bureaus monthly. Once the arrears have been paid, a report will be sent to the credit bureaus effectively terminating the reporting. The delinquency was calculated based on the balance at the end of the previous month which was $ _____ . This balance may have been adjusted since that date. The amount of your arrears are $ _____  as of ______ .

   You have the right to contest the accuracy of the information to be provided within twenty (20) days of the date appearing on Notice. To contest the information, you must, in writing or in person, state your objections. The information that can be contested is name, SSN, address, or balance due. The objections must be received by this office within the twenty (20) day period. If you do not contest the accuracy of the information within the specified time frame or pay the balance due in full, informa-tion about your arrears will begin to be reported to the credit bureau.

Sincerely,

Support

Som.R.C.P. 1910.60. Review Of Domestic Relations Orders.

   A.  When a right of review is not provided otherwise by statute or rule of court, a person or entity aggrieved by an order or other action of the Domestic Relations Section shall have the right to contest the order or action by filing a written request for review with the Domestic Relations Section within ten (10) days after the entry of the order or other action. Upon receipt of the written request for review, the Domestic Relations Section shall schedule a conference before a Conference Officer to determine whether the order or other action was properly taken. Promptly after the conference, the Domestic Relations Conference Officer shall issue a decision either upholding or reversing the order or action.

   B.  A person or entity may appeal from a decision by the Domestic Relations Conference Officer, by filing a notice of appeal with the Domestic Relations Section, within ten (10) days after entry of the decision by the Domestic Relations Conference Officer. Hearing will then be scheduled before the Permanent Hearing Officer in accordance with the procedure for scheduling hearings challenging support orders. After hearing, the Permanent Hearing Officer shall promptly issue recommendation and proposed order for approval by the Court.

   C.  A person or entity may file exceptions to the order entered on the Permanent Hearing Officer's recommendation, by filing exceptions with the Domestic Relations Section, within ten (10) days after entry of the order. Argument on the exceptions will be scheduled in accordance with the procedure for scheduling exceptions to support orders.

Custody

Som.R.C.P. 1915.4. Scheduling Of Custody Hearings.

   When a custody case is ready to be scheduled for hearing, the case will be placed on the next available civil trial list as a nonjury case for scheduling pursuant to Som.R.J.A. 1020. Counsel for the parties shall appear at the Call of the Civil Trial List pursuant to Som.R.J.A. 1022. Hearings will be placed on the civil trial schedule prepared pursuant to the provisions of Som.R.J.A. 1023, if time is available during the trial session. If time is not available during the trial session, the hearing will be scheduled as soon as reasonably practical. If the case cannot be scheduled prior to the next civil trial session, the case will automatically be placed on the next civil trial list.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 02-979. Filed for public inspection June 7, 2002, 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.

---