THE COURTS
PART I. GENERAL
[ 231 PA. CODE CHS. 400 AND 1000 ]
Order Amending Rules 410, 430, 1064 and 1065 of the Rules of Civil Procedure; No. 656 Civil Procedural Rules Doc.
[47 Pa.B. 178]
[Saturday, January 14, 2017]
Order Per Curiam
And Now, this 30th day of December, 2016, upon the recommendation of the Civil Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been submitted without publication pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(a):
It is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rules 410, 430, 1064, and 1065 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure 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 January 1, 2017.
Annex A
TITLE 231. RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
PART I. GENERAL
CHAPTER 400. SERVICE OF ORIGINAL PROCESS
SERVICE IN PARTICULAR ACTIONS Rule 410. Real Property Actions.
* * * * * (c) If service is made pursuant to an order of court under Rule 430(a), the court shall direct one or more of the following methods of service:
(1) publication as provided by Rule 430(b),
Official Note: See Rule 1064 for additional requirements for service of original process by publication for actions to quiet title involving subsurface mineral, oil, or natural gas rights.
* * * * *
SERVICE PURSUANT TO SPECIAL ORDER OF COURT Rule 430. Service Pursuant to Special Order of Court. Publication.
(a) If service cannot be made under the applicable rule the plaintiff may move the court for a special order directing the method of service. The motion shall be accompanied by an affidavit stating the nature and extent of the investigation which has been made to determine the whereabouts of the defendant and the reasons why service cannot be made.
Official Note: A sheriff's return of ''not found'' or the fact that a defendant has moved without leaving a new forwarding address is insufficient evidence of concealment. Gonzales v. Polis, 357 A.2d 580 (Pa. Super. 1976). Notice of intended adoption mailed to last known address requires a ''good faith effort'' to discover the correct address. Adoption of Walker, 360 A.2d 603 (Pa. 1976).
An illustration of a good faith effort to locate the defendant includes (1) inquiries of postal authorities including inquiries pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 39 C.F.R. Part 265, (2) inquiries of relatives, neighbors, friends, and employers of the defendant, (3) examinations of local telephone directories, courthouse records, voter registration records, local tax records, and motor vehicle records, and (4) a reasonable internet search.
See Rule 1064 for additional requirements for service of original process by publication for actions to quiet title involving subsurface mineral, oil, or natural gas rights.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 1000. ACTIONS
Subchapter D. ACTION TO QUIET TITLE Rule 1064. Service.
In actions involving subsurface mineral, oil, or natural gas rights, if the plaintiff seeks to serve original process by publication pursuant to Rule 430 and obtains actual knowledge of a last known address of the defendant outside the county in which the property is located, the plaintiff shall explain in the affidavit required by Rule 430(a) the search for the defendant in that locale.
Official Note: For service of original process, see Rule 410 governing service in actions involving real property. See Rule 430 for additional requirements for service of original process by publication.
Rule 1065. Specific Averments.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the plaintiff shall describe the land in the complaint.
(b) In an action to quiet title involving subsurface mineral, oil, or natural gas rights, the complaint shall describe the land by attaching:
(1) a summary of the abstract of the mineral, oil, or natural gas title, or the full abstract of the mineral, oil, or natural gas title if the title documents are not available in the courthouse records, and
(2) a statement of acreage involved that includes a metes and bounds description, if available, or other description sufficient to identify the subject land.
EXPLANATORY COMMENT Recent amendments to Rules 410, 430, 1064, and 1065 updated the requirements for the service by publication authorized by special order of court for actions to quiet title of subsurface mineral rights. These rules have been further amended to clarify that this procedure specifically applies to actions to quiet title of oil and natural gas rights.
By the Civil Procedural
Rules CommitteeWILLIAM S. STICKMAN, IV,
Chair
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 17-43. Filed for public inspection January 13, 2017, 9:00 a.m.]
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