THE COURTS
FAYETTE COUNTY
Local Rules 201, 201.1, 202, 203, 204, 205.2, 206.1, 206.4, 208.2, 208.3, 211, 211.1, 211.2, 211.3, 214, 1028, 1034, 1035.2; Civil Division; No. 1289 of 2004
[34 Pa.B. 3401]
Order And Now, this 8th day of June, 2004, pursuant to the Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 239, it is hereby ordered that Local Rules 211, 211.1, 211.2, and 211.3 are hereby rescinded; Local Rules 201, 201.1, 202, 203, 204 and 214 are hereby amended, and new Local Rules 205.2, 206.1, 206.4, 208.2, 208.3, 1028, 1034, 1035.2 are hereby promulgated, to read as follows. These revisions shall become effective on July 26, 2004.
The Prothonotary is directed as follows:
(1) Seven certified copies of the Local Rules shall be filed with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts
(2) Two certified copies and diskette of the Local Rules shall be distributed to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
(3) One certified copy of the Local Rules shall be sent to the State Civil Procedural Rules Committee.
(4) One certified copy shall be sent to the Fayette County Law Library and the Editor of the Fayette Legal Journal.
(5) These revisions shall also be published on the website of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (www.aopc.org).
By the Court
CONRAD B. CAPUZZI,
President Judge
Fayette County Local Rules--Civil FCR 201 Case Assignment
(a) All civil cases, not including family court matters, filed in the Prothonotary's Office shall be assigned to a Judge as set forth in FCR 201.1. The Prothonotary shall notify the assigned Judge of the assignment upon the filing of the initial responsive pleading of any defendant. The assigned Judge's name shall be placed on all subsequent pleadings by counsel under the number and term of the case.
(b) If pending cases which arise from the same transaction or occurrence are assigned to different Judges, the Court, on its own motion or the motion of any party, may order the cases consolidated before the Judge assigned to the first case filed.
FCR 201.1 Random Assignment
Civil cases set forth in FCR 201(a) shall be assigned randomly by the Prothonotary's computer system to a Judge. Those cases which have not yet been assigned and require an emergency determination as provided in FCR 208.3(a)(3) will be immediately assigned randomly by the Prothonotary's computer system, after the President Judge approves the case as being in compliance with FCR 208.3(a)(3).
FCR 202 Status Conference
As to cases filed on or after the effective date of FCR 201(a), the assigned Judge shall schedule a status conference no sooner than thirty (30) days after the initial responsive pleading to the complaint is filed.
FCR 203 Case Management Order
(a) At the FCR 202 status conference, the assigned Judge shall enter a case management order which may include the following:
(1) a date for discovery to be completed;
(2) referral to arbitration of all cases when the amount actually in controversy does not exceed the jurisdictional limits of arbitration. The Court shall set forth the estimated length of time for the arbitration hearing in the referral order;
(3) a date for all dispositive motions, including motions for summary judgment and for judgment on the pleadings, to be filed;
(4) a pretrial conference date; and
(5) the earliest trial date on which the case may be tried pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 212.1(a).
FCR 204 Presentation of Applications for Court Action
(a) All applications for Court action, including motions, petitions, and those other applications specifically listed in Pa.R.C.P. 208.1 (b)(1) and (2), shall be presented to the Court by following the Motions Court procedure set forth in FCR 208.3(a). As used herein, the term ''motion'' shall include every type of motion, petition, or other application for action by the Court, and shall be designated as either ''Priority'' or ''Routine,'' presentation of the latter not requiring the presence of the parties or counsel for either side. By definition, a ''priority'' motion is one which may be subject to contest or is so unusual as to require discussion or explanation, while ''routine'' motions include all other applications, such as uncontested matters to which the parties have consented in writing, requests for hearing, or requests for later argument.
(b) All motions filed and served pursuant to FCR 208.3(a)(1) shall include a Certificate of Service, signed by the party's attorney, or the party if unrepresented, setting forth the date and manner of service (personal delivery, mail, facsimile), and the names, addresses and phone numbers of the persons served.
Example:
I hereby certify that I am this day serving the within document upon the persons and in the manner indicated below.
1. Service by certified mail, return receipt requested:
(Name of person served) ______ , ______ Phone Number ______ Address2. Service by facsimile at FAX number ______ : (Name of person served) ______ , ______ Phone number ______ Address
3. Service in person:
(Name of person served) ______ , ______ Phone number ______ AddressDate: ______ Signature ______
FCR 205.2 Filing Legal Papers with the Prothonotary
(a) The caption of every pleading or other legal paper, with the exception of original process, shall set forth immediately below the docket number the name of the assigned judge.
FCR 206.1 Petition, Definition, Content and Form
(a) In addition to petitions to open and for non pros, petition practice shall also be applicable to petitions to transfer venue on grounds of forum non conveniens.
FCR 206.4 Rule to Show Cause
(c) Fayette County hereby adopts Pa.R.C.P 206.5 as the procedure governing Rules to Show Cause. The issuance of Rules to show Cause will be discretionary with the Court upon presentation of a petition seeking the same.
(1) A petition for a Rule shall be presented to the assigned judge as a Priority Motion in accordance with FCR 208.3(a).
(i) Those petitions which show no merit on their face or which can be determined by a short presentation by the respective attorneys in Motions Court will be disposed of without a formal factfinding procedure.
(ii) If it appears to the Court that formal factfinding is necessary to the disposition of the Rule, the Court will set a date for argument subsequent to the filing of an Answer and the taking of any necessary discovery.
(2) In the event that the Court grants the Rule to Show Cause, an order to that effect will be issued in accordance with Pa. R.C.P. 206.5, setting forth the time mandates for the Respondent's Answer and any depositions required prior to argument.
(i) Said order will also indicate the date set for argument on the matter.
(ii) The Petitioner for the Rule must provide notice of the entry of this order to all parties within seven (7) business days of the entry thereof.
(3) A request for a stay of execution pending disposition of a petition to open may be ordered upon presentation of said petition.
FCR 208.2 Motions
(c) All motions and other applications for Court action must set forth a specific citation to relevant constitutional provisions, case law, statutory provisions or rules that provide the Court's authority to grant the relief requested. Said citation shall be placed on the Certificate of Presentation, which form appears in Paragraph 7 of FCR 208.3(a).
(d) All motions and other applications for Court action presented as uncontested require certification as such, if no joinder has been attached.
(e) Any motion relating to discovery must contain a certification that counsel has conferred or attempted to confer with all interested parties in order to resolve the matter without court action.
FCR 208.3 Motions Court Procedure
(a) In order to provide a uniform means of presenting to the Court all matters which require action by the Court, Motions Court will be held daily at 9:00 o'clock A.M. in the courtroom of the Motions Judge. The name of the assigned Motions Judge for each day shall be published periodically in the Fayette County Legal Journal.
(1) The Court Administrator shall maintain a Motions Docket and shall make daily entries of all motions filed and the disposition thereof.
(2) All motions shall be accompanied by a Certificate of Presentation as set forth in FCR 208.3(a)(7).
(3) The moving party shall file the original motion, Certificate of Presentation, and any attachments in the appropriate office before presentment in Motions Court. An original proposed order, a copy of the Certificate of Presentation and motion, assembled in that order, shall be delivered to the Court Administrator and every other party of record. Such copies and notice shall be given so as to be received at least two (2) business days before presentation in Motions Court, unless there are emergency circumstances specified in the motion requiring presentation within a shorter time.
(4) All priority motions will be presented to the assigned Judge in Motions Court.
(5) The Court Administrator shall assign any motion not otherwise assigned to a Judge for disposition.
(6) Failure to accurately provide the information required by paragraph (7) below may result in the matter not being listed for Motions Court.
(7) The Certificate of Presentation shall be substantially in the following form:
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
: : : : : NO. ____ OF ____
CERTIFICATE OF PRESENTATION 1. The undersigned, ______ , represents ______ , the moving party herein.
2. The attached motion will be presented in Motions Court on ______ , ______ , 20 ____ at 9:00 o'clock A.M.
3. The attached motion shall be classified as a Routine/Priority motion as defined in the preceding Rule entitled Presentation of Applications for Court Action. (If the motion is Routine, parties or counsel are not required to be present in Motions Court.)
4. Judge ______ has been assigned or has previously ruled on a matter relevant to this motion. (See attached relevant ruling.)
5. The SPECIFIC citation for the Court's authority to grant the relief requested is ______ .
6. Estimated time for hearing or argument to resolve the motion on its merits: ______ .
Respectfully submitted,
_________________Date: ______
FCR 214 Trials
(a) There shall be four (4) Sessions of Civil Jury Trial terms each year, beginning respectively on the third Monday of January, April, July, and October, unless otherwise specifically ordered.
(b) The jury selection day shall be the first day of the Civil Jury Trial term, and such other days as the Court may direct.
(c) Non-jury and equity trials shall be scheduled at the pretrial conference.
(d) As to any civil jury trial, unless the assigned Judge directs otherwise, a trial date and a jury selection date shall be determined at the pretrial conference.
FCR 1028 Preliminary Objections
(c) Preliminary objections shall be presented in Motions Court as a Routine Motion within ten (10) days after the date for filing an amended pleading pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1028(a)(1) or a response is due from the non-moving party, accompanied by a proposed order for the Court's use in setting the date and time for argument.
(i) Unless otherwise ordered, the brief of the moving party shall be served on all parties and the assigned Judge within fifteen (15) days from the presentation of the motion pursuant to FCR 208.3(a); and the briefs of all responding parties shall be served on all other parties and the assigned Judge within fifteen (15) days after service of the moving party's brief. A certificate of service shall be filed with the Prothonotary, the brief itself need not be filed.
(ii) Failure to comply with the briefing schedule may result in the denial of oral argument or such other sanctions as are appropriate.
FCR 1034 Judgment on the Pleadings
(a) A Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings shall be presented in Motions Court as a Routine Motion within ten (10) days after the date on which a response is due from the non-moving party, accompanied by a proposed order for the Court's use in setting the date and time for argument.
(i) Unless otherwise ordered, the brief of the moving party shall be served on all parties and the assigned Judge within fifteen (15) days from the presentation of the motion pursuant to FCR 208.3(a); and the briefs of all responding parties shall be served on all other parties and the assigned Judge within fifteen (15) days after service of the moving party's brief. A certificate of service shall be filed with the Prothonotary, the brief itself need not be filed.
(ii) Failure to comply with the briefing schedule may result in the denial of oral argument or such other sanctions as are appropriate.
FCR 1035.2 Summary Judgment
(a) A Motion for Summary Judgment shall be presented in Motions Court as a Routine Motion within ten (10) days after a response is due from the non-moving party, accompanied by a proposed order for the Court's use in setting the date and time for argument.
(i) Unless otherwise ordered, the brief of the moving party shall be served on all parties and the assigned Judge within fifteen (15) days from the presentation of the motion pursuant to FCR 208.3(a); and the briefs of all responding parties shall be served on all other parties and the assigned Judge within fifteen (15) days after service of the moving party's brief. A certificate of service shall be filed with the Prothonotary, the brief itself need not be filed.
(ii) Failure to comply with the briefing schedule may result in the denial of oral argument or such other sanctions as are appropriate.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 04-1191. Filed for public inspection July 2, 2004, 9:00 a.m.]
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