THE COURTS
LUZERNE COUNTY
Adoption of New Rules of Judicial Administration Governing Court Reporting and Transcripts; Local Rules of Civil Procedure 4007 and 4008; No 1978 of 2017
[47 Pa.B. 1741]
[Saturday, March 25, 2017]
Order And Now, this 22nd day of February, 2017, the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas adopts the following local rules governing court reporting and transcripts, Luzerne County Rules of Civil Procedure 4007 and 4008, respectively, for the 11th Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:
The Luzerne County District Court Administrator is Ordered and Directed to do the following:
1) File one (1) copy of these Rules with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts via email to adminrules@pacourts.us.
2) File two (2) certified paper copies and one (1) electronic copy in a Microsoft Word format only to bulletin@palrb.us with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
3) Publish these Rules on the Luzerne County Court website at www.luzernecountycourts.com.
4) File one (1) copy shall be kept continuously available for public inspection and copying in the Office of Judicial Services and Records of Luzerne County and the Wilkes-Barre Law and Library Association.
5) File one (1) electronic copy of these Rules in Microsoft Word format only to law.library@luzernecounty.org for publication in the Luzerne Legal Register.
Said Local Rules of Judicial Administration shall be effective in the 11th Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and upon publication on the Luzerne County website.
By the Court
RICHARD M. HUGHES, III,
President Judge
Luz.Co.R.Civ.P. Rule 4007; Court Reporting and Transcripts Rule 4007. Requests for Transcripts.
a) All requests for transcripts shall be submitted on a form provided by the District Court Administrator which will include current rates charged for transcripts and be available at all filing offices and on the Court's website. A party completing a Request for Transcript Form shall obtain a total estimated cost from the Court Reporter with the information to be contained in the request.
b) For an ordinary transcript, the party requesting a full or partial transcript shall file the original request with the Office of Judicial Records (Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts or Register of Wills).
The requesting party shall promptly serve time-stamped copies of the request upon:
1) The Presiding Judge;
2) The District Court Administrator;
3) The Court Reporter/s assigned to the proceeding; and,
4) All other counsel or self-represented parties in the proceeding.
c) Daily, expedited or same day transcripts require prior approval of the Presiding Judge.
d) When a request for transcript is made:
1) The requesting party ordering the transcript shall make payment in the amount of 95% of the estimated total cost of the transcript as a non-refundable deposit payment.
Deposit checks are to be made payable to the County of Luzerne and shall be delivered to the District Court Administrator or his designee.
2) Upon receipt of the 95% deposit, the Court Reporter/s assigned to the proceeding shall be directed by the District Court Administrator or his designee to prepare the transcript.
3) The Court Reporter/s shall notify the ordering party and the District Court Administrator or his designee upon completion of the transcript and shall indicate a balance due.
4) Checks for the final balance are to be made payable to the County of Luzerne and shall be delivered to the District Court Administrator or his designee.
Upon payment of the balance owed, the Court Reporter/s shall obtain the signature of the Presiding Judge on the original transcript and shall deliver the original transcript to the appropriate filing office. After the original transcript has been filed of record with the appropriate filing office, copies shall be delivered to the parties in the appropriate format. No person or other entity shall obtain, reproduce, distribute or copy any transcript or portion thereof except in accordance with this rule.
Luz.Co.R.Civ.P. Rule 4008; Costs Payable Rule 4008. Costs payable by Requesting Party other than the Commonwealth or subdivision thereof.
a) Costs Payable
1) Electronic Format. The costs payable by the initial ordering party for a transcript delivered via electronic format shall be:
i. For an ordinary transcript, $2.50 per page
ii. For an expedited transcript, $3.50 per page
iii. For a daily transcript, $4.50 per page
iv. For same-day delivery, $6.50 per page
v. For a realtime feed, $1.00 per page
2) Paper Format. The costs payable by the initial ordering party for a transcript delivered via paper format shall be:
i. For an ordinary transcript, $2.75 per page
ii. For an expedited transcript, $3.75 per page
iii. For a daily transcript, $4.75 per page
iv. For same-day delivery, $6.75 per page
b) Economic Hardship
1) Transcript costs for ordinary transcripts in matters under appeal or where the transcript is necessary to advance the litigation shall be waived for a litigant who has been permitted by the court to proceed in forma pauperis or whose income is less than 125 percent of the poverty line as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) poverty guidelines for the current year.
2) Transcript costs for ordinary transcripts in matters under appeal or where the transcript is necessary to advance the litigation shall be reduced by one-half for a litigant whose income is less than 200 percent of the poverty line as defined by the HHS poverty guidelines for the current year.
3) Transcript costs for ordinary transcripts in matters that are not subject to an appeal, where the transcript is not necessary to advance the litigation, may be waived at the court's discretion for parties who qualify for economic hardship under subdivision (B)(1) or (B)(2) and upon good cause shown.
4) The application to waive all or a portion of costs for ordinary transcripts shall be supported by an affidavit substantially in the form required by Rule 240(h) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. Such application should be prepared in the form of a Petition to Waive All or a Portion of the Transcript Costs and submitted with the request for transcript.
c) Assignment and allocation of transcripts costs
1) Assignment of costs. The requesting party, or party required by general rule to file a transcript, shall be responsible for the cost of the transcript. Costs shall not be assessed against any party for transcripts prepared at the initiation of the court.
2) Allocation of costs. When more than one party requests the transcript, or are required by general rule to file the transcript, the cost shall be divided equally among the parties or as may be directed by the Court.
d) Copies of transcript
1) A request for a copy of any transcript previously ordered, transcribed and filed of record shall be provided according to the following schedule:
i. $0.75 per page bound, paper format; and,
ii. $0.50 per page electronic copy.
e) Additional Costs
1) A trial judge may impose a reasonable surcharge in cases such as mass tort, asbestos, medical malpractice or other unusually complex litigation, where there is a need for court reporters to significantly expand their dictionary. Such surcharges and the amount are at the discretion of the trial judge.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 17-505. Filed for public inspection March 24, 2017, 9:00 a.m.]
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