THE COURTS
LACKAWANNA COUNTY
Appeal and Adoption of Rules of Civil Procedure; 94 CIV 102
[33 Pa.B. 5698]
Order And Now, this 30th day of October, 2003, it is hereby Ordered and Decreed that, as per the following rescissions, amendments and revisions, Lacka. Co. R.C.P. 295 (Proceeding in Forma Pauperis in Civil Cases), 1018.2 (Civil Cover Sheet), 1531 (Injunctions), 3190--3193 (Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeals) and 4000 (Motion Practice for Discovery and Scheduling Matters) are hereby amended as follows:
1. The language of the following rules which appears in brackets and is bold face is rescinded and deleted from the amended rules;
2. The language of the following rules which appears in regular type and has not been bracketed or bold faced is not rescinded and shall remain part of the revised rules;
3. The language of the following rules which appears in bold face reflects new provisions which have been added to the amended rules;
4. The following repeals, amendments and adoptions shall become effective thirty (30) days from the date of their publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin as per Pa.R.Civ.P. 239;
5. Seven certified copies of the new Local Rules shall be filed with the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts;
6. Two certified copies of the new Local Rules and a computer diskette containing the text of the next Local Rules in either MS-DOS, ASCII, Microsoft Word or WordPerfect format shall be distributed to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin;
7. Once certified copy of the new Local Rules shall be filed with the Civil Procedural Rules Committee for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; and
8. These new Local Rules shall be available for public inspection and copying in the office of the Clerk of Judicial Records, Civil Division.
By the Court
CHESTER T. HARHUT,
President JudgeRule 295. Proceeding in Forma Pauperis in Civil Cases.
(a) Any party who is represented by counsel who certifies on the application or by separate document that the plaintiff is indigent, or any party who is represented by court-appointed counsel or by counsel furnished from a non-profit legal services organization providing free legal services to the indigent may apply to the court for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
(b) An application to proceed in forma pauperis shall be accompanied by a verified statement showing in detail the inability of such party to pay the fees and costs of ordinarily incident to the filing and processing of such action which shall be substantially in the following form:
(CASE CAPTION) ______ (Insert name of applicant) states under the penalties provided by 18 Pa.C.S. Section 4904 (unsworn falsification to authorities) that:
1. I am the ______ (plaintiff or defendant) in the above action and because of my financial condition am unable to pay the following fees and costs:
(state with particularity the relief requested)
2. My responses to the questions below relating to my ability to pay the fees and costs of prosecuting or defending this action are true and correct.
(a) Are you presently employed?
(1) If the answer is yes, state the amount of your salary or wages per month and give the name and address of your employer.
(2) If the answer is no, state the date of your last employment and the amount of the salary and wages per month which you received.
(b) Have you received within the past twelve months any income from a business, profession or other form of self-employment or in the form of rent payments, interest, dividends, pensions, annuities, social security benefits, support payments or other source?
If the answer is yes, describe each source of income, and state the amount received from each during the past twelve months.
(c) Do you own any cash or checking or savings account?
If the answer is yes, state the total amount of the items owned.
(d) Do you own any real estate, stocks, bonds, notes, automobiles, or other valuable property (excluding ordinary household furnishings and clothing)?
If the answer is yes, describe the property and state its approximate value and the amount of any encumbrances.
(e) List the persons, if any, who are dependent upon you for support and state your relationship to those persons.
(f) List all your debts and obligations.
3. I understand that a false statement or answer to any question in this verified statement will subject me to the penalties provided by law (misdemeanor of the second degree).
_________________
Signature of Applicant(c) Parties eligible to apply for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, as set forth in subsection (a) above, may also apply to the court for relief from payment of special or unusual expenses, i.e., those costs not related to filing and service of process. Such application shall also be accompanied by the verified statement required in subsection (b) above.
(d) The right to apply for leave to proceed in forma pauperis shall likewise be available to parties in any civil action commenced before the minor judiciary. Applications in such cases shall be brought to the [court of common pleas] presiding District Justice for disposition in the manner set forth in subparagraph (a) above.
Rule 1018.2. Civil Cover Sheet.
(a) All new civil actions commenced after January 1, 2004 are to be filed on 8 1/2" x 11" paper in the office of the Clerk of Judicial Records, First Floor, Lackawanna County Courthouse, 200 North Washington Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503, and any pleading or other filing which institutes a new civil action after January 1, 2004 must be accompanied by a duly completed Civil Cover Sheet in the form which is attached to the Appendix to these Local Rules as Form 6.
(b) No summons, complaint, pleading or other document used to commence a new civil action after January 1, 2004 will be accepted for filing by the Clerk of Judicial Records unless it is accompanied by a duly completed Civil Cover Sheet.
Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County
Civil Cover Sheet
FOR CLERK OF JUDICIAL RECORDS USE ONLY
_________________
Docket Number:
PLAINTIFF'S NAME DEFENDANT'S NAME PLAINTIFF'S ADDRESS DEFENDANT'S ADDRESS PLAINTIFF'S NAME DEFENDANT'S NAME PLAINTIFF'S ADDRESS DEFENDANT'S ADDRESS PLAINTIFF'S NAME DEFENDANT'S ADDRESS PLAINTIFF'S ADDRESS DEFENDANT'S ADDRESS TOTAL NUMBER OF
PLAINTIFFSTOTAL NO. OF
DEFENDANTSCOMMENCEMENT OF ACTION
Complaint Petition Action Notice of Appeal
Writ of Summons Transfer from other jurisdictionsAMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY
In Excess of Jurisdictional
Amount?
Yes NoCOURT PROGRAMS
Arbitration Jury Non-Jury Petition Minor Court Appeal Statutory Appeals
Other:CASE TYPE AND CODE (SEE INSTRUCTIONS) STATUTORY BASIS FOR CAUSE OF ACTION (SEE INSTRUCTIONS) REMARKS: TO THE CLERK OF JUDICIAL RECORDS:
Please enter my appearance on behalf of Plaintiff;
Papers may be served at the address set forth below:NAME OF PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY OR PRO SE
PLAINTIFFADDRESS PHONE NUMBER FAX NUMBER SUPREME COURT IDENTIFICATION NO. E-MAIL ADDRESS SIGNATURE DATE
LACKAWANNA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
CIVIL COVER SHEET INSTRUCTIONSAn attorney or pro se party filing a document commencing any type of civil action shall file a properly completed Civil Cover sheet. Copies of the Civil Cover Sheet shall be attached to service copies of the document commencing the action.
PARTIES
Regardless of the type of action, the initiating party or parties shall be designated as Plaintiff or Plaintiffs and the responding party or parties shall be designated as Defendant or Defendants. Names of individuals shall be listed as last name, first name, middle initial. Full names of agencies and corporations shall be provided. Spouses shall be listed as separate parties unless the claim of one spouse is limited to a claim for consortium in which case the designation, et ux. or et vir shall be used. Where there are more than three plaintiffs or defendants, a supplemental form listing the additional parties shall be attached to the Cover Sheet.
The section labeled ''Remarks'' is for procedural matters only. These may include such matters as related cases where consolidation might be advisable. Matters such as expected difficulty with service of process or the status of settlement discussions do not belong in this section.
CASE TYPE AND CODE DESIGNATION
FAM Family Court MCT Minor Court Appeal LAG Local Agency Appeal LAG/MVS Motor Vehicle Suspension LAG/ZB Zoning Board Appeal LAG/O Other Agency Appeals PCP Proceedings commenced by Petition CNT Contract cases TORT/AB Assault & Battery TORT/LS Libel & Slander TORT/FR Fraud TORT/BF Bad Faith TORT/WCP Wrongful Use of Civil Process TORT/O Other torts NGL/MVA Motor Vehicle Accident NGL/NF No-Fault Benefits L NGL/PI Personal Injury NGL/PREM Premises Liability NGL/PROD Product Liability NGL/TT Toxic Tort NGL/O Other Negligence Action M MLP/D Dental Malpractice MLP/L Legal Malpractice MLP/M Medical Malpractice MLP/O Other Malpractice EQ Equity RP Real Property RP/EJ Ejectment RP/QT Quiet Title RP/MF Mortgage Foreclosure RP/ML Mechanic's Lien RP/PRT Partition PP Personal Property Actions STATUTORY CAUSE OF ACTION
If the action is commenced pursuant to statutory authority, the specific statute must be identified with full citation.
PENDING CASES
Previously filed related cases must be identified by caption and docket number whether or not consolidated.
Rule 1531. Injunctions.
No application for an injunction will be considered by the court unless the factual reasons are set forth specifically and in detail. The pleading of conclusions will not be sufficient. If an application for an injunction is considered, the court will issue an order for a hearing to be scheduled by the Court Administrator pursuant to Pa.R.Civ.P. 1531. [within five days of presentation of the application or within three days when required by Pa. R.C.P. 1531(f)(1).] Requests for immediate hearings will be granted upon approval of the court if it finds that extraordinary and urgent circumstances exist which require an immediate hearing.
Rule 4000. Motion Practice for Discovery and Scheduling Matters.
(a) Any court order regarding discovery, including orders involving sanctions and pre-trial deadlines for the completion of discovery, the exchange of expert reports, the filing of case dispositive motions, and other scheduling matters prior to the filing of a Certificate of Readiness, which a party seeks pursuant to any provisions of Pa.R.Civ.P. 4001 through 4020 or any provisions of the Rules of Civil Procedure of the court of common pleas of Lackawanna County pertaining to discovery or scheduling orders shall be sought by the presentation [to the court] of a motion in compliance with the provisions of Lacka. Co.R.C.P. 206.1, 4000.1 and 4019.
Rule 3190. Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeal
(a) A real estate tax assessment appeal from a decision of the Lackawanna County Board of Assessment Appeals as to the amount of assessment for real estate tax purposes or as to exemption of real estate from payment of real estate taxes shall be captioned ''Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeal'' and shall be filed with the Clerk of Judicial Records within the time prescribed by statute.
(b) A Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeal shall contain the following:
(1) Caption designating the named party taking the appeal as Appellant, the Lackawanna County Board of Assessment Appeals as Appellee, and if Appellant is a taxing authority it shall join the owner of the real estate involved as of course as a party in the assessment appeal by designating such named owner in the caption as Respondent.
(2) Brief description of the subject real estate, its location, name and address of the owner, and municipality and school district wherein the real estate is located.
(3) Nature of and reasons for the appeal.
(4) Reference to the decision of Lackawanna County Board of Assessment Appeals (Board) from which the appeal is taken. A copy of the Board's notice of decision shall be attached as an exhibit.
(5) Verification consisting of a verified statement as ''verified'' is defined in Pa.R.Civ.P. No. 76.
(c) Appellant shall serve copies of the appeal by certified or registered mail upon the Board at its official office and, unless named as the appellant, upon the Board of County Commissioners of Lackawanna County and upon the legislative governing body of the municipality and the board of school directors of the school district wherein the real estate is located at their respective official offices or, in the absence of an official office, at the last known address of the secretary of said body and upon the respondent owner of the real estate at said owner's last known address.
(d) Appellant shall file with the Clerk of Judicial Records within ten (10) days of the filing of the Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeal, proof of service of copies thereof consisting of a verified statement (as ''verified'' is defined in Pa.R.Civ.P. No. 76) that service was made by certified or registered mail, with the sender's receipt for certified or registered mail attached thereto.
(e) No response is required to be made by Appellee or by the County, municipality, school district or Respondent owner of real estate served with copy of Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeal.
Rule 3191. Intervention.
(a) The County, municipality, or school district not named as Appellant may intervene as of course during pendency of the appeal by filing a Notice of Intervention with Clerk of Judicial Records.
(b) Notice of Intervention shall contain the name of the intervening party designated as intervenor in the caption, and shall set forth that such identified party is intervening.
(c) Intervenor shall serve copies of Notice of Intervention by certified or registered mail upon Appellant, Appellee, any Respondent owner and any other intervening parties of record.
(d) Intervenor shall file with the Clerk of Judicial Records within ten (10) days of the filing of Notice of Intervention, proof of service of copies thereof consisting of a verified statement (as ''verified'' is defined in Pa.R.Civ.P. No. 76) that service was made by certified or registered mail, with the sender's receipt for certified or registered mail attached thereto.
(e) No response is required to be made by any party served with copy of Notice of Intervention.
Rule 3192. Discovery.
(a) Pa. R.C.P. Nos. 4001 et seq. and Lackawanna Co. R.C.P. 4000 et seq. addressing Depositions and Discovery shall be applicable to real estate tax assessment appeals, unless otherwise ordered by the court.
Rule 3193. Pretrial Status Conference.
(a) The court sua sponte or upon application of a party shall schedule a pretrial status conference. Notification of conference need be given by the court only to Appellant, Appellee, Respondent owner if any, and such other parties who have intervened of record.
(b) Each party of record shall file with the Clerk of Judicial Records, a Pretrial Status Conference Memorandum and serve a copy thereof on the trial judge at least seven (7) days prior to the date of scheduled conference along with proof of service of copies thereof upon parties of record by personal service or by regular mail. Proof of service shall consist of a verified statement as ''verified'' is defined in Pa.R.Civ.P. No. 76.
(c) Pretrial Status Conference Memorandum shall contain a summary statement of facts, stipulations desired, witnesses expected to be called, exhibits expected to be offered, legal issues, and special problems presented, if any.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 03-2224. Filed for public inspection November 21, 2003, 9:00 a.m.]
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