THE COURTS
Title 255—LOCAL
COURT RULES
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Local Civil Rule L-810; Washington County Civil Litigation Mediation Program; No. 2014-1
[44 Pa.B. 6555]
[Saturday, October 11, 2014]
Order And Now, this 9th day of September, 2014; It Is Hereby Ordered that the previously-stated Washington County Local Civil Rule be restated as follows.
This rule will become effective thirty days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
By the Court
DEBBIE O'DELL SENECA,
President JudgeL-810. Washington County Civil Litigation Mediation Program.
a. There will be at least two (2) sessions of the Civil Litigation Mediation Program held each calendar year. At each session, mediators will hold settlement/conciliation conferences for those cases selected for the Civil Litigation Mediation Program.
b. The mediators will be practicing attorneys from Washington County, with an emphasis in their practice on civil litigation. The mediators will be selected by the Civil Litigation Mediation Program Committee of the Washington County Bar Association, with the approval of the court.
c. The inclusion of cases in the Civil Litigation Mediation Program will be mandatory, except that asbestos cases will not be included in the Civil Litigation Mediation Program. The attendance of trial counsel, the plaintiff, the defendant/additional defendant and a representative of the defendant's/additional defendant's insurance carrier (if the defendant/additional defendant is insured) at the settlement/conciliation conference shall be mandatory. If the plaintiff, the defendant/additional defendant or the insurance carrier representative fail to appear, the settlement/conciliation conference will not be held and the non-appearing plaintiff, defendant/additional defendant (if self-insured or uninsured) or insurance company representative shall, within thirty (30) days, pay to the other party that party's attorney's fees and expenses in preparing for and attending the settlement/conciliation conference, as assessed and ordered by the mediator.
d. Each mediator will serve one (1) day per session of the Civil Litigation Mediation Program and will be expected to prepare for and hold two (2) settlement/conciliation conferences per day. Two (2) mediators will serve for each day session of the Program.
e. On or before May 15 and September 15, the Court Administrator will select the twenty (20) oldest cases (by date of filing) from the combined civil trial lists of all civil trial judges for inclusion in each session of the Civil Litigation Mediation Program.
f. Upon assignment of a mediator for each case selected for mediation, the mediator shall within ten (10) days of his or her assignment to a case notify the Court Administrator of the date and time of the settlement/conciliation conference. The mediator shall schedule the settlement/conciliation conference within sixty (60) days of the assignment of the case.
g. The parties to any case on the civil trial list may at any time by agreement voluntarily submit a case to mediation by the filing of the Civil Litigation Mediation Program consent Submission Form. These forms are available through the Court Administrator's office. However, any such submission shall not delay any scheduled trial of the matter. Further, upon motion of any party to submit a case to mediation, then on a civil trial list, the Court shall direct the parties to proceed to mediation if the scheduling of the mediation will not delay any scheduled trial in the matter.
h. For all cases which are selected for mandatory mediation and are not either: (1) settled or (2) referred to arbitration or (3) mediated due to the failure of one or more of the parties to pay the $300.00 mediation fee, those cases, pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 214(s), will be given preference on the trial list. The trial of those cases given preference will be held as soon as is practicable after the date of the settlement/conciliation conference. Cases voluntarily submitted into the Mediation Program will not be given preference on the trial list.
i. If a case is otherwise determined by the Court to be ready for trial, the fact that a settlement/conciliation conference has been scheduled but not yet held will not delay the trial of a case. If the settlement/conciliation is not held, the mediation fee referred to in paragraph (k) will be refunded to each party.
j. At least ten (10) days prior to the settlement/conciliation conference, each party shall file a settlement/conference statement which must include the following:
1. party's succinct statement or position regarding liability and damages;
2. significant legal issues involved, with citation of legal authority;
3. medical reports;
4. expert reports;
5. itemized list of damages;
6. last settlement posture and rationale.
This requirement will be deemed to be satisfied if a party has previously filed a pre-trial statement pursuant to Washington County Local Rule L-212.2 in which case that party will be required to file only a settlement/conciliation statement providing updated information not set forth in the pre-trial statement, but required by the settlement conciliation conference statement.
If a party fails to file timely the settlement/conciliation conference statement, the settlement/conciliation conference will not be held and the party who fails to file timely the required statement will pay the attorney's fees and expenses of those parties who have filed timely their statements.
k. Each party to a case selected for mediation will pay a mediation fee of $300.00 to be made payable to the Washington County Civil Litigation Mediation Program Trustee Account and to be submitted to the Court Administrator's Office. For those cases subject to mandatory mediation, the $300.00 mediation fee shall be paid within ten (10) days of the date of the Notice of Scheduling of Settlement/Conciliation Conference. For those cases voluntarily submitted to mediation, the $300.00 mediation fee shall be paid with the filing of the Consent to Submit Case to Civil Litigation Mediation Program. Failure to pay the $300.00 mediation fee shall result in the cancellation of the settlement/conciliation conference and shall subject the offending party to the sanctions set forth in Paragraph (j) of the Mediation Program.
l. Within ten (10) days from the date of the settlement/conciliation conference, the mediator shall file with the Prothonotary a settlement/conference report which shall set forth the following:
1. Plaintiff's final settlement demand;
2. Defendant's final settlement offer;
3. Mediator's assessment of liability;
4. Mediator's assessment of damages;
5. Mediator's opinion regarding potential range of verdict and settlement value of case;
6. Mediator's recommendation regarding settlement of case.
All parties and the Court Administrator will be provided with a copy of the mediator's settlement/conciliation conference report.
m. Notwithstanding the preceding subsections and L-1042.1—1042.20, the Court may in its discretion set a civil case for an alternative dispute resolution (''ADR'') before a private mediator. The method of selection of the private mediator shall be in the discretion of the Court. All parties shall bear equally the costs of any Court-ordered private mediation; provided, however, that the Court will take appropriate steps to assure that no referral to ADR results in an unfair or unreasonable economic burden on any party.
Note: When selecting a case for ADR before a private mediator, the Court should consider various criteria, including the nature of the claims involved and their complexity, whether any of the litigants is pro se, the potential for a successful resolution, and the interests of justice.
(1) The method of ADR shall be addressed to the discretion of the private mediator.
(2) The fact that a case is selected for ADR shall not delay the scheduled trial of a case.
(3) Nothing in this rule shall prevent the parties from voluntarily engaging in ADR before a private mediator on their own initiative.
Explanatory Comment This local rule reflects the strong judicial policy in favor of parties voluntarily settling lawsuits expressed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Rothman v. Fillette, 469 A.2d 543 (Pa. 1983). The use of Court-directed ADR processes reduce the expense of litigation and often times leads to a quicker and more satisfying alternative when compared to continuing on a more traditional path of litigation. An ancillary benefit to ADR is the potential of reducing the burden on the finite resources of the Court.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 14-2090. Filed for public inspection October 10, 2014, 9:00 a.m.]
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