THE COURTS
PART I. GENERAL
[ 246 PA. CODE CH. 400 ]
Proposed Amendment of Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 402
[45 Pa.B. 1252]
[Saturday, March 14, 2015]The Minor Court Rules Committee is planning to propose to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania the amendment of Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 402, addressing entry of judgment in the court of common pleas, for the reasons set forth in the accompanying explanatory report. Pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(a)(1), the proposal is being published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin for comments, suggestions, or objections prior to submission to the Supreme Court.
Any reports, notes, or comments in the proposal have been inserted by the Committee for the convenience of those using the rules. They neither will constitute a part of the rules nor be officially adopted by the Supreme Court.
Additions to the text of the proposal are bolded; deletions to the text are bolded and bracketed.
The Committee invites all interested persons to submit comments, suggestions, or objections in writing to:
Pamela S. Walker, Counsel
Minor Court Rules Committee
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Judicial Center
P. O. Box 62635
Harrisburg, PA 17106-2635
FAX: 717-231-9526
minorrules@pacourts.usAll communications in reference to the proposal should be received by April 29, 2015. E-mail is the preferred method for submitting comments, suggestions, or objections; any e-mailed submission need not be reproduced and resubmitted via mail. The Committee will acknowledge receipt of all submissions.
By the Minor Court Rules Committee
BRADLEY K. MOSS,
Chair
Annex A
TITLE 246. MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES
PART I. GENERAL
CHAPTER 400. ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS RENDERED BY MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT JUDGES FOR THE PAYMENT OF MONEY Rule 402. Request for Order of Execution. Entry of Judgment in Court of Common Pleas or Philadelphia Municipal Court.
* * * * * D. (1) The plaintiff may enter the judgment in the court of common pleas in any county or the Philadelphia Municipal Court. When so entered, the indexing, revival and execution of the judgment shall be in accordance with procedures applicable in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court.
(2) The judgment may be entered in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court by filing with the prothonotary a copy of the record of the proceedings containing the judgment, certified to be a true copy by the magisterial district judge in whose office the judgment was rendered or by any other official custodian of the record.
(3) The judgment may be entered in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court after 30 days from the date the judgment is entered by the magisterial district judge. The judgment may not be entered in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court after five years from the date the judgment is entered by the magisterial district judge.
(4)(a) Within 14 days of entering the judgment in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court, the plaintiff shall file satisfactory proof of the entry of judgment with the magisterial district court that entered the judgment, and the magisterial district court shall vacate the judgment from its docket.
(b) If after 14 days of entering the judgment in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court, the plaintiff fails to comply with subparagraph 4(a) of this rule, the defendant may file such proof with the magisterial district court that entered the judgment, and the magisterial district court shall vacate the judgment from its docket.
(5) Except as provided in paragraphs D(4) and D(6) of this rule, once the judgment is entered in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court all further process must come from [the court of common pleas] that court and no further process may be issued by the magisterial district judge.
(6) The magisterial district judge shall enter satisfaction on the docket of the magisterial district court proceedings upon the filing by any party in interest of a certified copy of the docket entries of the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court showing the judgment and satisfaction have been entered in [the court of common pleas] that court.
E. (1) As used in this rule, a judgment marked ''expired'' is a judgment that cannot be satisfied, revived, or vacated because the five-year period designated in Rule 402 has elapsed.
(2) If the plaintiff does not request an order of execution in a magisterial district court or enter the judgment in a court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court within five years of the date the judgment was entered by the magisterial district judge, then the judgment shall be marked expired.
Official Note: Under subdivision A of this rule, the execution proceedings are commenced by requesting an ''order of execution.'' The request may not be filed before the expiration of 30 days after the date the judgment is entered by the magisterial district judge. This will give the defendant an opportunity to obtain a supersedeas within the appeal period. The request must be filed within five years of the date the judgment is entered by the magisterial district judge. No provision has been made for revival of a judgment in magisterial district court proceedings.
Subdivision C provides for entering the judgment, for the purpose of requesting an order of execution, in an office of a magisterial district judge other than that in which the judgment was rendered when levy is to be made outside the county in which the judgment was rendered. Compare Pa.R.C.P. No. 3002.
As to subdivision D, see Section 1516 of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 1516. The 30 day limitation in the rule appears to be required by this Section. Certification by the magisterial district judge should not be done before the expiration of 30 days after the date of entry of the judgment. The only method available to renew a judgment would be to record the judgment in the Prothonotary's or Municipal Court Administrator's office prior to the expiration of the five-year period and then follow the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure for the revival of judgments. See Pa.R.C.P. No. 3025 et seq.; see also Phila. M.C.R.Civ.P. No. 126c. Also, subdivision D makes clear that when the judgment is entered in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court, all further process shall come from [the court of common pleas] that court and that no further process shall be issued by the magisterial district judge except that the magisterial district judge shall enter on the magisterial district court docket vacating of the judgment due to its entry at the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court, or proof of satisfaction of a judgment that had been entered in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court and subsequently satisfied in that court. This exception is necessary so that procedures exist for entering satisfaction of all judgments with the magisterial district court, regardless of whether the judgment has been certified to and satisfied in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court. A plaintiff filing a judgment in the court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court is required to file satisfactory proof of the entry of judgment with the magisterial district court that entered the judgment, and the magisterial district court will then vacate its [judgement] judgment. This step ensures that only the enforceable common pleas or Philadelphia Municipal Court judgment will be reportable as an outstanding liability of the defendant.
Subdivision E provides that a judgment shall be marked expired if the plaintiff does not request an order of execution in a magisterial district court or enter the judgment in a court of common pleas or the Philadelphia Municipal Court within five years of the date the judgment was entered by the magisterial district judge. Limiting the time period for entry of the judgment to five years will give a plaintiff sufficient time to act without indefinitely penalizing a defendant.
REPORT
Proposed Amendment of Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 402
Entry of Judgment in the Court of Common Pleas I. Introduction
The Minor Court Rules Committee (''Committee'') is planning to propose to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania the amendment of Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 402. This rule addresses entry of judgment in the court of common pleas. The Committee is proposing to add the Philadelphia Municipal Court as an additional court where a judgment may be entered.
II. Discussion
Currently, Rule 402 provides, among other things, that a plaintiff may enter a judgment rendered by a magisterial district court in the court of common pleas of any county. See Rule 402D(1). When entered in the court of common pleas, the judgment is subject to the indexing, revival and execution procedures applicable in the court of common pleas. Id. Entering a judgment in the court of common pleas, and submission of proof thereof to the magisterial district court, has the effect of vacating the underlying magisterial district court judgment, so that only one judgment remains in effect for execution purposes. See Rule 402D(4).
While reviewing Rule 302 (pertaining to venue) on a separate matter, a Committee member observed that the venue rule specifically permits the transfer of cases to and from the Philadelphia Municipal Court, while the rule on entry of judgments limits transfers to a magisterial district court or a court of common pleas. The Committee agreed that permitting entry of judgments in the Philadelphia Municipal Court would be useful to litigants, and discussed amending Rule 402 to add the Philadelphia Municipal Court.
The Philadelphia Municipal Court Rules of Civil Procedure permit entry of judgments from other courts: ''[j]udgments of other Pennsylvania jurisdictions within the jurisdictional amount of this court may be transferred to this court by filing a certified copy of all the docket entries in the action and a certification of the amount of judgment or a certified copy of the transcript of the judgment.'' See Phila.M.C.R.Civ.P. No. 125a. Judgments entered in Philadelphia Municipal Court are treated in the same manner as judgments entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.
Judgment recovered in the Philadelphia Municipal Court shall be a lien upon property in the same manner and to the same extent that judgment recovered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County is a lien. All such judgments shall be indexed in the judgment index or indices of Philadelphia County in the same manner as judgments of the court of common pleas are indexed.42 Pa.C.S. § 1124. With regard to judgments of magisterial district courts, 42 Pa.C.S. § 1516, referenced in the Official Note to Rule 402, provides:
[a] judgment of a magisterial district judge shall not operate as a lien on real property until a transcript of the record showing a final judgment of a magisterial district judge has been filed in the manner prescribed by general rules in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of the county where the property is situated, or in the office of the clerk of the branch of the court of common pleas embracing such county.42 Pa.C.S. § 1516.
The Committee did not find that these provisions prohibit entry of magisterial district court judgments in the Philadelphia Municipal Court. The Committee members agreed that permitting entry of judgments in the Philadelphia Municipal Court would achieve consistency between the courts, and provide litigants with an addi-tional venue to initiate the judgment enforcement process. Accordingly, the Committee agreed to add references to the Philadelphia Municipal Court in Rule 402, as well as to add references to the Philadelphia Municipal Court and a civil procedure rule of that court to the Official Note.
III. Proposed Changes
The Committee plans to propose the amendment of Rule 402 to add references to the Philadelphia Municipal Court throughout subdivisions D and E of the rule. The Committee will also propose amending the Official Note to add references to the Philadelphia Municipal Court, as well as a pertinent reference to Phila.M.C.R.Civ.P. No. 126c.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 15-451. Filed for public inspection March 13, 2015, 9:00 a.m.]
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