THE COURTS

PART I. GENERAL

[ 246 PA. CODE CH. 1000 ]

Order Amending Rules 1008 and 1013 of the Minor Court Civil Rules; No. 362; Magisterial Rules Doc.

[43 Pa.B. 4969]
[Saturday, August 31, 2013]

Order

Per Curiam

 And Now, this 16th day of August, 2013, upon the recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee; the proposal having been submitted without publication pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(a)(3):

 It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rules 1008 and 1013 of the Minor Court Civil Rules are amended in the following form.

 This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective September 15, 2013.

Annex A

TITLE 246. MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES

PART I. GENERAL

CHAPTER 1000. APPEALS

APPEAL

Rule 1008. Appeal as Supersedeas.

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 C. Indigent Tenants

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 (3)(a) If the rent has already been paid to the landlord in the month in which the notice of appeal is filed, the tenant shall pay into an escrow account with the prothonotary the monthly rent [as it becomes due under the lease for the months subsequent to the filing of the notice of appeal] in thirty (30) day intervals from the date the notice of appeal was filed; or

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CERTIORARI

Rule 1013. Writ of Certiorari as Supersedeas.

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 C. Indigent Tenants

*  *  *  *  *

 (3)(a) If the rent has already been paid to the landlord in the month in which the praecipe is filed, the tenant shall pay into an escrow account with the prothonotary the monthly rent [as it becomes due under the lease for the months subsequent to the filing of the praecipe] in thirty (30) day intervals from the date the praecipe was filed; or

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FINAL REPORT

Recommendation 1-2013, Minor Court Rules Committee Amendments to Rules 1008 and 1013
of the Minor Court Civil Rules

Exceptions for Indigent Residential Tenants
in Appeals

 On August 16, 2013, effective September 15, 2013, upon recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee¹ , the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania approved amendments to Rules 1008 and 1013 of the Minor Court Civil Rules.²

I. Background and Discussion

 The Minor Court Rules Committee (the ''Committee'') recommended amendments to the rules of procedure governing exceptions for indigent tenants in appeals from judgments of magisterial district courts. The goal of these rule changes is to amend the rules for depositing sums of rent to secure a supersedeas by low income tenants appealing judgments for possession and filing praecipes for writs of certiorari. Moreover, these rule changes promote consistency between the rules and the Supplemental Instructions for Obtaining a Stay of Eviction³ (''Supplemental Instructions'').

 Rule 1008 was the past subject of constitutional challenges by legal services organizations. Subsequently, the Court instructed the Committee to draft changes to the rules similar to changes made by the Philadelphia Municipal Court following litigation in the federal district court case Pleasant v. Evers, 1998 WL 205431 (E.D. Pa. April 24, 1998), C.A. NO. 97-4124 (Ludwig, J.). The changes to Rules 1008 and 1013, adopted by the Court on April 15, 2008, allow an indigent tenant to appeal and/or file a praecipe for writ of certiorari while still maintaining his or her housing. The indigent tenant is required to pay a sum of money, but it is a lesser sum of money than a non-indigent tenant, who would pay three times the monthly rent or the rent determined to be in arrears by the magisterial district judge.

 Presently, the solicitor for a county prothonotary contacted the Committee to report a discrepancy between Rules 1008 and 1013, and the Supplemental Instructions. Specifically, the solicitor noted that Rules 1008C(3)(a) and 1013C(3)(a) required a tenant who had already paid rent in the month in which the appeal or praecipe was filed to ''pay into an escrow account with the prothonotary the monthly rent as it becomes due under the lease for the months subsequent to the filing of the [appeal or praecipe].'' (Emphasis added.) In contrast, the Supplemental Instructions, made available to tenants online and at the prothonotary' s office, directed a tenant in the same circumstance to ''pay your monthly rent on an ongoing basis into an escrow account with the prothonotary in thirty (30) day intervals from the date the notice of appeal or praecipe was filed until the time of trial.''

 In determining whether to conform the Supplemental Instructions to the rules or vice versa, the Committee agreed that calculating the date for future rent payments by using the date the notice of appeal or praecipe was filed, instead of the date rent comes due under the lease, would create greater certainty for the parties. As the magisterial district courts are not courts of record, there is no record evidence of the due date of rent. Using the date of appeal or praecipe filing as the trigger for calculating future rent payments ensures the use of a date certain that is recorded by the prothonotary, and, therefore, eliminates uncertainty as to when a payment to escrow is due.

II. Approved Rule Changes

 To address the issues discussed above, the Committee proposed amending Rules 1008C(3)(a) and 1013C(3)(a) to delete the requirement that rent be paid into an escrow account ''as it becomes due under the lease for the months subsequent to the filing of the [appeal or praecipe],'' and, instead, require the payment of rent into escrow ''in thirty (30) day intervals from the date the [notice of appeal or praecipe] was filed.'' This change brings consistency to Rules 1008 and 1013, and the Supplemental Instructions.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 13-1607. Filed for public inspection August 30, 2013, 9:00 a.m.]

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¹  Minor Court Rules Committee Recommendation 1-2013.

²  Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Order No. 362, Magisterial Docket (August 16, 2013).

³  The Supplemental Instructions can be found on the website of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts at www.pacourts.us.

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