THE COURTS
SOMERSET COUNTY
Consolidated Rules of Court; Administrative Order No. 3 of 2017; No. 4 Misc. 2017
[47 Pa.B. 830]
[Saturday, February 11, 2017]
Adopting Order Now, this 24th day of January, 2017, it is hereby Ordered:
1. Somerset County Rules Of Judicial Administration 101, 4007 and 4008 governing court reporting and transcripts are Adopted, effective thirty (30) days after publication in The Pennsylvania Bulletin and on the Unified Judicial System Portal.
2. The Somerset County Court Administrator is directed to:
A. File one (1) copy of this Order and the following Local Rules of Judicial Administration with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts via email to rulescommittees@pacourts.us;
B. File two (2) certified copies of this Order along with electronic copy to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
C. Publish the Local Rules of Judicial Administration on the Somerset County website;
D. Within thirty (30) days after publication of the Local Rules of Judicial Administration in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, incorporate the Rules into the complete set of Local Rules published on the Somerset County website;
E. File one (1) copy of the Local Rules of Judicial Administration in the Office of the Prothonotary of Somerset County, which copy shall be continuously available for inspection in said Office.
F. File proof of compliance with this Order in the docket for this Order, which shall include a copy of each transmittal letter.
Local Rules of Judicial Administration 101, 4007 and 4008; Administrative Order 3-2017;
No. 4 Misc. 2017
Administrative Order And Now, this 23rd day of January, 2017, It is Hereby Ordered that the Court of Common Pleas of Somerset County, Pennsylvania adopts the following Local Rules of Judicial Administration governing court reporting and transcripts.
By the Court
D. GREGORY GEARY,
President JudgeRule 101. Title and Citation of Rules.
These rules shall be known as the Somerset County Local Rules of Judicial Administration and may be cited as ''Som.C.L.R.J.A.''
Rule 4007. Requests for Transcripts.
(A) All requests for transcripts shall be submitted on the standardized state form ''Request for Transcript or Copy,'' which includes the current rates charged. The form can be obtained from the District Court Administrator, any court filing office, or downloaded at www.co.somerset.pa.us.
(B) The requesting party shall deliver the original request to the District Court Administrator, and serve copies of the formal request to:
1. the judge presiding over the matter;
2. the lead court reporter; and
3. opposing counsel, but if not represented, the opposing party.
(C) Requests for daily, expedited, same day or rough draft transcripts shall be filed with the District Court Administrator at least 10 days prior to the proceeding. Copies of the written request shall be delivered as required in subsection (B). In the event of an emergency, a party may request by oral motion a daily, expedited, same day or rough draft transcript.
(D) When a private litigant requests a transcript:
1. the litigant requesting the transcript shall make a deposit payment of 75% of the estimated transcript cost, which amount shall be nonrefundable.
2. upon notification from the District Court Administrator that the deposit has been received, the court reporter(s) shall begin preparation of the transcript.
3. upon completion of the transcript, the court reporter(s) shall notify the lead court reporter of the completion, shall indicate the balance due, and shall deliver a copy of the transcript to the judge presiding over the matter for judge's review and approval.
4. upon receipt of final payment, the approved original transcript shall be filed in the appropriate office, and any copies ordered shall be delivered to the parties.
5. all payments shall be by check or money order, made payable to ''Somerset County'', and delivered to the District Court Administrator. Cash will not be accepted.
(E) When a litigant requests a transcript, but cannot pay for the transcript because of alleged economic hardship, the court shall determine economic hardship pursuant to the procedure set forth in Rule 4008(B). In cases of economic hardship, where the matter is under appeal or a transcript is necessary to advance the litigation, the costs of procuring the transcript shall be waived or otherwise adjusted by the court. In cases of economic hardship where there is no appeal pending or there exists no obvious need for the transcript to advance the litigation, the requesting party must demonstrate reasonable need before the court shall waive or adjust the cost of obtaining the transcript.
(F) When a transcript is requested for which the court or county is responsible for the cost, the court reporter shall prepare the transcript at the direction of the judge presiding over the matter, who will determine the priority of the request.
Rule 4008. Transcript Costs Payable by a Requesting Party Other Than the Commonwealth or a Subdivision Thereof.
(A) Costs
(1) The costs payable by a requesting party, other than the Commonwealth or a subdivision thereof, for a transcript in an electronic format shall be:
(a) for an ordinary transcript, $2.50 per page;
(b) for an expedited transcript, $3.50 per page, if the court reporter is able to accommodate the request;
(c) for a daily transcript, $4.50 per page, if the court reporter is able to accommodate the request;
(d) for same day delivery, $6.50 per page, if the court reporter is able to accommodate the request;
(e) for rough draft, $1.00 per page, if the court reporter is able to accommodate the request;
(f) for realtime feed, $1.00 per page, if the court reporter is able to accommodate the request; and
(g) for complex litigation, a surcharge of $2.00 per page.
(2) When the transcript is prepared in bound paper format, the costs shall be in accordance with paragraph (1) relating to electronic format plus a surcharge of $0.25 per page.
(B) Economic hardship—minimum standards
(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% 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.
(D) Copies of transcript
A request for a copy of any transcript previously ordered, transcribed and filed of record shall be provided according to the following schedule:
(1) $0.75 per page bound, paper format; and,
(2) $0.50 per page electronic copy.
(E) Additional Costs
A trial judge may impose a reasonable surcharge in cases such as mass tort, medical malpractice or other unusually complex litigation, where there is a need for court reporters to significantly expand their dictionary. Such surcharges are at the discretion of the trial judge.
Said Local Rules of Judicial Administration shall be effective in the 16th Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and upon publication on the Somerset County website.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 17-232. Filed for public inspection February 10, 2017, 9:00 a.m.]
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