THE COURTS

PART I.  GENERAL

[246 PA. CODE CH. 500]

Order Amending Rule 512 and Revising the Note to Rule 514 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for District Justices; No. 140; Magisterial Doc. No. 1; Book No. 2

[32 Pa.B. 6080]

   The Minor Court Rules Committee has prepared a Final Report explaining the amendments and revisions to the Notes to Rules 512 and 514 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for District Justices, effective July 1, 2003. These rule changes clarify that the plaintiff/landlord in a landlord and tenant case must appear at the hearing and give testimony, and that a district justice may not enter a default judgment in a landlord and tenant case. The changes also provide for minor technical or ''housekeeping'' amendments to these rules. The Final Report follows the Court's Order.

Order

Per Curiam:

   And Now, this 25th day of November, 2002, upon the recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee; the proposal having been published before adoption at 30 Pa.B. 6547 (December 23, 2000), and a Final Report to be published with this Order:

   It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rule 512 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for District Justices is amended, and the Note to Rule 514 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for District Justices is revised, in the following form.

   This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective July 1, 2003.

Annex A

TITLE 246.  MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES

PART I.  GENERAL

CHAPTER 500.  ACTIONS FOR THE RECOVERY OF POSSESSION OF REAL PROPERTY

Rule 512.  Hearings and Evidence.

   A.  The plaintiff must appear at the hearing and present testimony in an action for the recovery of possession of real property.

   B.  The district justice shall be bound by the rules of evidence, except that a bill, estimate, receipt or statement of account which appears to have been made in the regular course of business may be introduced in evidence by any party without affidavit or other evidence of its truth, accuracy or authenticity.

   Official Note: Subdivision A of this rule is intended to make clear that the district justice may not enter a default judgment in a possessory action, including a judgment for money only. The plaintiff must appear and give testimony to prove the complaint even when the defendant fails to appear for the hearing. See Rule 514A and Note. See also Section 503(a) of The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, 68 P. S. § 250.503(a). When the plaintiff fails to appear at the hearing, the district justice may continue the hearing for cause or dismiss the complaint without prejudice.

   [This] Subdivision B of this rule is the same as Rule 321 of the [trespass and assumpsit] civil action rules.

   Amended June 30, 1982, effective 30 days after July 17, 1982; amended November 25, 2002, effective July 1, 2003.

Rule 514.  Judgment.

*      *      *      *      *

   Official Note: Subdivision A of this rule requires that the plaintiff appear and give testimony to prove the complaint before the district justice can enter judgment against the defendant, even when the defendant fails to appear for the hearing. The district justice may not enter a default judgment in a possessory action, including a judgment for money only. See Rule 512A and Note. The various issues that the district justice must determine at the hearing include: whether notice to quit was given to the defendant in accordance with law or that no notice was required under the terms of the lease; the amount of rent due, if any; damages to the leasehold premises, if any; the amount found to constitute the monthly rental, and; the amount of the security deposit held by the landlord, if any.

   As to the notice to quit requirement, see Section 501 of The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, 68 P. S. § 250.501. See also Patrycia Bros., Inc. v. McKeefrey, 38 Pa. D. & C.2d 149 (Delaware County C.P. 1966).

   The separate entries provided in Subdivision A are made necessary as a result of the rental deposit provisions for appeal or certiorari contained in [Pa. R.C.P.D.J. Nos. 1008.B. and 1013.B.] Rules 1008B and 1013B, as well as the wage attachment provisions contained in [Act 5 of 1996] Section 8127 of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8127.

*      *      *      *      *

   Amended April 25, 1979, effective in 30 days; June 30, 1982, effective 30 days after July 17, 1982; amended effective Dec. 1, 1983; amended March 27, 1992, effective June 25, 1992 [The March 27, 1992, Order provided in part: ''In promulgating this Order, the Court recognizes that the District Justice Automation Project will be affected by said Rule changes and that, therefore, those Rules which affect the Project will become effective as the District Justice offices are brought on-line.'']; March 28, 1996, effective March 29, 1996; Note revised November 25, 2002, effective July 1, 2003.

FINAL REPORT¹

Amendments and Revisions to the Notes to Pa. R.C.P.D.J. Nos. 512 and 514

DEFAULT JUDGMENT PROHIBITED IN ACTIONS FOR THE RECOVERY OF POSSESSION OF REAL PROPERTY (''LANDLORD/TENANT'' ACTIONS)

   On November 25, 2002, effective July 1, 2003, upon the recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee,² the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania amended or revised the Notes to Rules 512 and 514 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for District Justices.³

I.  Background

   The Committee undertook a review of the issue of the entry of default judgments in landlord/tenant actions on its own initiative, recognizing a need for clarification in the rules that default judgments should be prohibited in these cases. The prohibition against default judgments in landlord/tenant cases has for some time been referred to in the Note to Rule 504, but the Committee felt that the prohibition should be more prominently announced in the rules. The Committee noted that the statewide district justice computer system (DJS) does permit the entry of a disposition of default judgment in landlord/tenant actions, and that many district courts routinely enter this disposition when a defendant fails to appear for a landlord/tenant hearing. The Committee learned that many such dispositions are entered in the DJS every year. Accordingly, the Committee recommended amendments or revisions to the Notes to Rules 512 and 514 as described below.

   In considering how to clarify the prohibition of default judgments in landlord/tenant actions, the Committee first considered whether such a prohibition is necessary and whether it is appropriately pronounced by procedural rule. The question was raised as to why it is necessary to hold a perfunctory hearing when the defendant fails to appear. The Committee acknowledged that if a plaintiff/landlord seeks a only money judgment the matter would be filed as a regular civil action, and not as a landlord/tenant action. As such, if the defendant fails to appear, there would be no need for a hearing, the plaintiff/landlord need not appear, and the district justice may enter judgment by default against the defendant/tenant. It is the Committee's opinion, however, that where the landlord seeks possession of real property there are certain determinations that the district justice must make, as discussed below, requiring a hearing and the presence of the landlord, regardless of whether or not the tenant appears. The Committee wishes to stress that such a hearing is often informal in nature, and can be held even if the tenant does not appear. In stating that there may be no default judgment in landlord/tenant cases, it is not the Committee's intent to suggest that the defendant must be present before judgment may be entered; rather, only that the landlord must appear and give testimony before judgment may be entered.

   In its analysis, the Committee reviewed the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 and the existing rules to conclude that a hearing is necessary. First, the Committee looked to the statutory language of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, 68 P. S. § 250.101 et seq. Section 503(a) of the Act states, inter alia:

(a)  On the day and at the time appointed or on a day to which the case may be adjourned, the justice of the peace shall proceed to hear the case. If it appears that the complaint has been sufficiently proven, the justice of the peace shall enter judgment against the tenant: . . . .

68 P. S. § 250.503(a) (emphasis added). This statutory language suggests that a hearing is necessary for the plaintiff to sufficiently prove the landlord/tenant complaint.

   Secondly, Rule 514 contains language similar to that found in 68 P. S. § 250.503(a). Rule 514A states, inter alia:

A.  If it appears at the hearing that the complaint has been proven, the district justice shall enter judgment against the defendant that the real property be delivered up to the plaintiff and shall enter judgment by separate entries: . . . .

Pa. R.C.P.D.J. No. 514 (emphasis added). The language of this rule, like that in the statute, suggests that a hearing is necessary for the plaintiff to sufficiently prove the landlord/tenant complaint.

   As mentioned above, when a landlord seeks possession of real property, existing Rule 514 requires that the district justice make and record certain determinations on the transcript or the notice of judgment. These determinations include:

   *  a determination of the amount of rent due, if any, as of the date of the hearing;

   *  a determination of the amount of damages for unjust detention and physical damages to the property, if any, and;

   *  the monthly rent amount, as is needed by the common pleas prothonotary to properly process an appeal.

   Also, the district justice must determine:

   *  whether notice to quit was given to the tenant in accordance with law or that no notice was required under the terms of the lease, because without proper notice to quit or waiver thereof the district justice lacks jurisdiction over the landlord/tenant action;⁴

   *  whether possession is sought because of non-payment of rent or because of some other breach of the lease, so as to determine whether the provisions of Pa.R.C.P.D.J. No. 518⁵ apply to the case, and;

   *  a determination of the security deposit amount, as is needed to properly establish the money portion of the judgment.

   The determinations listed above cannot necessarily be ascertained from the face of the complaint, and therefore can be made only after hearing testimony from the landlord. The Committee notes that if the district justice does not hold a hearing to take testimony from the landlord as needed to make these determinations, court staff may be preparing notices of judgment with no judicial determination of these issues.

   Further, the Committee notes that landlords are required to appear for all landlord/tenant hearings anyway, since there is no requirement that tenants give notice of their intention to defend as in regular civil actions.⁶ As such, these amendments do not place any additional burden on the landlord.

   Finally, the Committee noted that the recommended amendments are intended to simply clarify and insert existing practice into the rules. Again, the Committee notes that the Note to Rule 504 already states ''there can be no default judgment in these possessory actions . . . .'' Pa. R.C.P.D.J. No. 504, Note.

II.  Discussion of Rule Changes

A.  Default Judgments in Landlord/Tenant Actions

   Having concluded that a hearing is required before a district justice can enter judgment for the plaintiff in a possessory action, and therefore that default judgment should be prohibited, the Committee went on to discuss the most appropriate way in which to incorporate this into the rules. As previously stated, the Note to Rule 504 already states that ''. . . there can be no default judgment in these possessory actions . . . .'' Pa. R.C.P.D.J. No. 504, Note. The Committee considered an amendment to Rule 504, but ultimately focused its attention on Rule 512, relating to hearings and evidence. The Committee decided that Rule 512 should be divided into two parts. Subdivision A will now read, ''The plaintiff must appear at the hearing and present testimony in an action for the recovery of possession of real property.'' Subdivision B will contain the existing language of the rule. A sentence has also been added to the Note to clarify that the district justice may not enter a default judgment, including a judgment for money only.

   The Committee also decided that the Note to Rule 514, relating to judgment, should be revised to make clear that default judgments are not permitted, and to cross reference Rule 512 with regard to this prohibition. Also, in the Note to Rule 514, the Committee recommended a new first paragraph to not only clarify that the plaintiff must appear and give testimony, but also to clarify the various issues that the district justice must determine, at the hearing, before the district justice can enter judgment for the plaintiff. With regard to the notice to quit requirement, the Committee recommended that a cross reference to Section 501 of the Landlord and Tenant Act, and a reference to Patrycia Bros., Inc. v. McKeefrey, 38 Pa. D. & C.2d 149 (Delaware County C.P. 1966), be added.

B.  Clarification Regarding Failure of Plaintiff to Appear for Landlord/Tenant Hearing

   In the Note to Rule 512, the Committee recommended a revision to clarify the proper procedure when the plaintiff fails to appear at a landlord/tenant hearing. While this procedure is made clear in civil actions by Rule 319, relating to failure of a party to appear at the hearing, there is no analogous rule in the 500 Series, nor did the Committee believe that such a rule would be necessary. The recommended revision to the Note, however, would simply clarify that when the plaintiff fails to appear at the hearing, the district justice may continue the hearing for cause or dismiss the complaint without prejudice.

C.  Technical and ''Housekeeping'' Amendments

   In conjunction with the substantive changes discussed above, the Committee identified a number of technical and ''housekeeping'' amendments needed in Rules 512 and 514. In the notes to both rules, the Committee recommended minor changes to correct citation form and to make references to other rules more consistent.

______

   ¹ The Committee's Final Report should not be confused with the official Committee Notes to the Rules. Also, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania does not adopt the Committee's Notes or the contents of the Committee's explanatory Final Reports.

   ² Recommendation No. 1 Minor Court Rules 2002.

   ³ Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Order No. 140, Magisterial Docket No. 1, Book No. 2 (November 25, 2002).

   ⁴ In support of this, the Committee recommended that Section 501 of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, 68 P. S. § 250.501, and Patrycia Bros., Inc. v. McKeefrey, 38 Pa. D. & C.2d 149 (Delaware County C.P. 1966), be cited in the Note to Rule 514.

   ⁵ Rule 518 provides, ''[a]t any time before actual delivery of the real property is made in execution of the order for possession, the defendant may, in a case for the recovery of possession solely because of failure to pay rent, satisfy the order for possession by paying to the executing officer the rent actually in arrears and the costs of the proceedings.'' Pa.R.C.P.D.J. No. 518 (Emphasis added).

   ⁶ Pa.R.C.P.D.J. No. 305(4), relating to regular civil actions, provides for a notice to the defendant that states, inter alia, ''(a) If you [the defendant] intend to enter a defense to the complaint, you should so notify this office immediately. . . . (c) YOU MUST APPEAR AT THE HEARING AND PRESENT YOUR DEFENSE. UNLESS YOU DO, JUDGMENT MAY BE ENTERED AGAINST YOU BY DEFAULT.'' Rule 504, relating to landlord/tenant actions, also provides for a notice to the defendant, but requires no notice of intent to defend, and does not expressly refer to judgment by default.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 02-2215. Filed for public inspection December 13, 2002, 9:00 a.m.]

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