THE COURTS
WESTMORELAND COUNTY
Rules W1041.1 and W1018; No. 3 of 2005
[35 Pa.B. 6502]
Order And Now this 14th day of November, 2005 it is hereby Ordered that new Westmoreland Rule of Civil Procedure W1014.1 is adopted. Current Westmoreland Rule of Civil Procedure W1018 is rescinded and new Rule 1018 is adopted.
By the Court
DANIEL J. ACKERMAN,
President JudgeW1041.1 Asbestos Litigation. Special Provisions.
(1) Assignments. Upon the filing of a case in asbestos, the Prothonotary shall assign the case to one of the civil court judges, who will preside over all proceedings relating to the case, including, but not limited to, discovery motions, argument court and trial.
(2) Captions. All pleadings, motions, briefs, memoranda and proposed orders shall include a caption conforming to Westmoreland County Rule of Civil Procedure W1018(d).
(3) Case Management Orders. In all asbestos cases, the course of the litigation shall be governed by the terms of a case management order (CMO).
(a) Any party may, by motion, present a CMO to the Court for approval within sixty (60) days of the filing of the complaint. The proposed CMO shall set forth the actual dates on which each stage of the litigation must be completed.
(b) If no CMO is approved by the Court and filed of record at the expiration of sixty (60) days from the filing of the complaint, the Court will enter the following CMO:
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL DIVISION--ASBESTOS
______
Plaintiff(s) ) vs. No. ______ of 2 ______ Defendants )
CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER NO.
AND NOW, this ______ day of ______ , 200 ____ , it is hereby ORDERED that:
1. This Case Management Order (CMO) is entered and is applicable to the above-captioned case pending in the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
2. Plaintiff's Answers to Standard Short Form Interrogatories shall be served on all defense counsel within eight (8) months of the date of filing of the above action, specifically on ______ _____ , 200 ____ .
3. Discovery shall be completed within eighteen (18) months of the date of filing of the above action, i.e., on ______ _____ , 200 ____ .
4. All Motions for Summary Judgment shall be filed within twenty (20) months of the date of filing of the above action, i.e., on ______ _____ , 200 ____ , in accordance with Westmoreland County Rule of Civil Procedure W1035.2(a)(1).
5. Plaintiff's Responses to Motions for Summary Judgment shall be filed within twenty-one (21) months of the date of filing of the above action, i.e., on ______ _____ , 200 ____ , in accordance with Rule W1035.2(a)(2).
6. Plaintiff may thereafter file a Certification of Readiness for Trial pursuant to Rule W212.1.
7. Pursuant to Rule W212.1(c), upon the Court's receipt of the Certification of Readiness for Trial, the Court shall issue an Order addressing the deadlines for filing Pre-Trial Statements and Case-Specific Expert Reports, the date of the Pre-Trial Conference, and such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the case.
8. Following entry of such Order, the case shall proceed in accordance with Rule W212.3.
9. This Case Management Order may be modified by agreement of all parties (subject to Court approval) or by Court approval upon motion of any party for good cause shown.
BY THE COURT:
_________________
ASSIGNED JUDGE(4) Selection of Lead Defense Counsel.
(a) Within sixty (60) days of the filing of the complaint, defendants shall select one of their number to act as lead counsel for all defendants. Lead defense counsel shall notify the Court in writing of their selection to act as lead defense counsel within sixty (60) days of the filing of the complaint.
(b) In the event lead defense counsel ceases to act in that capacity, for any reason, during the course of litigation, the defendants shall select replacement lead counsel within thirty (30) days. Replacement lead defense counsel shall notify the court in writing of their selection to act as replacement lead defense counsel within thirty (30) days.
(5) Filing of All Orders of Court. It is the responsibility of the moving party to file all original Orders in the Office of the Prothonotary unless a moving party receives notice from the Court that the Court has filed an original Order,
(6) Service of All Orders of Court. It is the responsibility of the moving party to serve copies of all Orders upon all counsel of record in each case. If the Court serves copies of any Order, such service shall be made to counsel for the moving party, counsel for the plaintiff(s) and lead counsel for the defendants.
Note: Motions procedure is governed by Westmoreland County Rules of Civil Procedure W208.2(e) and W208.3(a).
Note: Argument court matters, such as preliminary objections, judgment on the pleadings, motions for summary judgment and motions for post-trial relief, are governed by Westmoreland County Rules of Civil Procedure W1028(c), W1034(a), W1035.2(a) and W227.1, respectively.
W1018 Caption.
The caption for all matters filed in Divorce, Support, Custody, Partial Custody, Visitation, Asbestos and Medical Professional Liability shall be as follows:
(a) The caption in Divorce matters shall be:
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL ACTION--DIVORCE(b) The caption in Support matters shall be:
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL ACTION--SUPPORT(c) The caption in Custody, Partial Custody or Visitation matters shall be:
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL ACTION--CUSTODY(d) The caption in Asbestos matters shall be:
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL ACTION--ASBESTOS(e) The caption in Medical Professional Liability matters shall be:
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL ACTION--MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY ACTION
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 05-2196. Filed for public inspection December 2, 2005, 9:00 a.m.]
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