THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL
COURT RULES

LEHIGH COUNTY

Rule 230.2 Termination of Inactive Cases; No. 2015-J-61

[45 Pa.B. 6114]
[Saturday, October 10, 2015]

Administrative Order

 And Now, this 10th day of September 2015, It Is Hereby Ordered That Leh.Co.R.C.P. 230.2, Termination of Inactive Cases, authorizing the termination of Civil and Family Court cases when there has been no activity on the docket for a period of two (2) or more years, be and the same is hereby Adopted, effective thirty (30) days after the date of publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 It Is Further Ordered That the Court Administrator of Lehigh County shall file: one (1) certified copy of this Order and the Lehigh County Rule authorizing the termination of Inactive Civil and Family Court Cases with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts; two (2) certified copies and a computer diskette or CD-ROM copy that complies with the requirement of 1 Pa. Code Section 13.11(b) with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin; and one (1) certified copy with the Civil Procedural Rules Committee.

By the Court

EDWARD D. REIBMAN, 
President Judge

Leh.R.C.P. 230.2. Termination of Inactive Cases.

 (a) This Local Rule shall be applicable to all Civil and Family Court cases, with the exception of Custody and Orphan's Court cases.

 (b) The Court may initiate proceedings to terminate cases in which there has been no activity on the docket for a period of two (2) years or more.

 (c) The Clerk of Judicial Records shall serve notices of case termination to counsel of record and any unrepresented party at the last address of record thirty (30) days prior to the date of the proposed termination. The notice shall contain the date of the proposed termination and the procedure to avoid termination.

 (d) The notice shall be served pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 205.4(g)(1). If the mailed notice is returned from the U.S. Post Office with a new address, the Clerk of Judicial Records shall re-mail the notice to the new address and enter the new address in the docket.

 (e) The notice of proposed termination shall be in substantially the following form:

(Caption)

NOTICE OF PROPOSED TERMINATION OF
COURT CASE

 The court intends to terminate this case without further notice because the docket shows no activity in the case for at least two (2) years.

 You may stop the court from terminating the case by filing a Statement of Intention to Proceed. The Statement of Intention to Proceed must be filed with the Clerk of Judicial Records at CLERK OF JUDICIAL RECORDS, LEHIGH COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 455 WEST HAMILTON STREET, ALLENTOWN PA 18101, on or before    (DATE)   .

 IF YOU FAIL TO FILE THE REQUIRED STATEMENT OF INTENTION TO PROCEED, THE CASE WILL BE TERMINATED BY THE CLERK WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE.

BY THE COURT:

______ Date of this Notice

______ Clerk of Judicial Records

 (f) If a party wishes the case to remain open, he or she must return a completed Statement of Intention to Proceed to the Clerk of Judicial Records by the date set forth in the Notice of Proposed Termination of Court Case. The Statement of Intention to Proceed shall be in the following form:

(Caption)

Statement of Intention to Proceed

 To The Court:

 ______ intends to proceed with the above-captioned case.

Date: ______

_________________ Signature of Party or Attorney of Record for ______

 (g) If a Statement of Intention to Proceed has not been filed within the required time period, the Clerk of Judicial Records shall enter an order terminating the case for failure to prosecute.

 (h) If a case has been terminated pursuant to this rule, an aggrieved party may petition the Court to have the case reinstated.

 (1) If the petition to reinstate the case is filed within sixty (60) days of the filing of the order terminating the case, the Court shall grant the petition and reinstate the case.

 (2) If the petition to reinstate the case is filed more than sixty (60) days after the filing of the order terminating the case, the court shall grant the petition and reinstate the case upon a showing that:

 (i) the petition was timely filed following the entry of the order terminating the case; and

 (ii) there is a reasonable explanation or legitimate excuse for the failure to have filed:

 (a) the Statement of Intention to Proceed prior to the entry of the order terminating the case; and

 (b) the petition to reinstate the case within sixty (60) days after the entry of the order terminating the case.

 (i). Any case which is reinstated pursuant to paragraph (h) shall be subject to termination with prejudice upon a subsequent termination. No subsequent reinstatements will be granted.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 15-1792. Filed for public inspection October 9, 2015, 9:00 a.m.]

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