Pennsylvania Code
Pennsylvania Code & Bulletin
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

• No statutes or acts will be found at this website.

The Pennsylvania Bulletin website includes the following: Rulemakings by State agencies; Proposed Rulemakings by State agencies; State agency notices; the Governor’s Proclamations and Executive Orders; Actions by the General Assembly; and Statewide and local court rules.

PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 18-918

THE COURTS

Title 246—MINOR
COURT CIVIL RULES

PART I. GENERAL

[ 246 PA. CODE CHS. 200, 300, 500, 800 AND 1200 ]

Order Adopting New Rule 217 and Amending Rule 803 and the Official Notes to Rules 304, 503 1205 and 1206 of the Rules of Civil Procedure Before Magisterial District Judges; No. 423 Magisterial Rules Doc.

[48 Pa.B. 3581]
[Saturday, June 16, 2018]

Order

Per Curiam

 And Now, this 1st day of June, 2018, upon the recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee, the proposal having been submitted without publication pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(a)(3):

 It is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rule 217 is adopted, Rule 803 is amended, and the Official Notes to Rules 304, 503, 1205, and 1206 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure Before Magisterial District Judges are amended in the following form.

 This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b). The amendments to Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 803 shall be effective on November 1, 2018. All other provisions of this Order shall be effective on July 1, 2018.

Annex A

TITLE 246. MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES

PART I. GENERAL

CHAPTER 200. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION; GENERAL PROVISIONS

 (Editor's Note: The following rule is added and printed in regular type to enhance readability.)

Rule 217. Confidential Information and Confidential Documents. Certification.

 Unless public access is otherwise constrained by applicable authority, any attorney, or any party if unrepresented, who files a document pursuant to these rules with a magisterial district court shall comply with the requirements of Sections 7.0 and 8.0 of the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (Policy) including a certification of compliance with the Policy and, as necessary, a Confidential Information Form, unless otherwise specified by rule or order of court, or a Confidential Document Form in accordance with the Policy.

 Official Note: Applicable authority includes but is not limited to statute, procedural rule or court order. The Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (Policy) can be found on the website of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania at http://www.pacourts.us/public-records. Sections 7.0(D) and 8.0(D) of the Policy provide that the certification shall be in substantially the following form:

I certify that this filing complies with the provisions of the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania that require filing confidential information and documents differently than non-confidential information and documents.

 The Confidential Information Form and the Confidential Document Form can be found at http://www.pacourts.us/public-records.

CHAPTER 300. CIVIL ACTION

Rule 304. Form of Complaint.

*  *  *  *  *

 Official Note: Rule 304 is designed to promote uniformity, simplification of procedure and better access by the public to the judicial services of magisterial district judges. The use of a form will help to accomplish this purpose and will also provide easier statistical and other administrative control by the Supreme Court.

 The filings required by this rule are subject to the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. See Rule 217.

CHAPTER 500. ACTIONS FOR THE RECOVERY OF POSSESSION OF REAL PROPERTY

Rule 503. Form of Complaint.

*  *  *  *  *

 Official Note: As in the other rules of civil procedure for magisterial district judges, the complaint will be on a printed form. The filings required by this rule are subject to the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. See Rule 217. As to notice to remove, the form will simply state that such a notice, when required, was given to the defendant in accordance with law. See § 501 of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 68 P.S. § 250.501 as amended by § 2(a) of the Judiciary Act Repealer Act, Act of April 28, 1978, P.L. 202, No. 53, 42 P.S. § 20002(a). In subdivision C(8) the landlord is permitted to claim, in addition to the specific amount of rent due and unpaid at the date of filing, whatever unspecified amount of rent will remain due and unpaid at the date of the hearing. As to claiming damages for injury to property, compare Pa.R.C.P. No. 1055.

*  *  *  *  *

CHAPTER 800. MINORS AND INCAPACITATED PERSONS AS PARTIES

Rule 803. Entitlement of Complaint.

 The complaint in an action before a magisterial district judge to which a minor is a party shall be entitled in the name of the minor, without reference to the party's minority or any guardian. The minor shall be designated by the initials of his or her first and last name.

 Official Note: The complaint will be entitled in the name of the minor, whether plaintiff or defendant. However, the minor shall be designated by the initials of his or her first and last name. If a guardian does represent the minor, this will be reflected by a notice of intent to represent attached to the complaint form as required by Rule 805B.

 The filings required by this rule are subject to the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. See Rule 217.

CHAPTER 1200. ACTIONS FOR EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE RELIEF

Rule 1205. Persons Who May Seek Emergency Relief.

*  *  *  *  *

 Official Note: This rule is derived from Section 6106 of the Protection From Abuse Act, 23 Pa.C.S. § 6106, as well as 42 Pa.C.S. § 62A05.

 The filings required by this rule are subject to the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. See Rule 217.

Rule 1206. Commencement of Proceedings.

*  *  *  *  *

 Official Note: Paragraph B is added to assure compliance with the requirement of Section 6110(d) of the Protection From Abuse Act, 23 Pa.C.S. § 6110(d), as well as 42 Pa.C.S. § 62A09(d). Practice varies among the judicial districts as to what procedures the plaintiff must follow to continue in effect a protection order in the court of common pleas upon the certification of an emergency protection order to the court of common pleas. The hearing officer should provide clear instructions to the plaintiff as to what must be done to continue in effect the protection order in the court of common pleas. See Rule 1210 and Note and Rule 1211 and Note. Paragraph C is derived from Section 6106(b) of the Protection From Abuse Act, 23 Pa.C.S. § 6106(b), as well as 42 Pa.C.S. § 62A05(b) and reflects the practice when a temporary order is issued at the common pleas level.

 The filings required by this rule are subject to the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. See Rule 217.

FINAL REPORT1

Recommendation 2-2018, Minor Court Rules Committee

Adoption of Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 217 and Amendment of Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 803 and the Official Notes to Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. Nos. 304, 503,
1205, and 1206

 On June 1, 2018, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania adopted amendments to the now-titled Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (''Policy''). See Order, No. 496 Judicial Administration Docket. The amendments to the Policy, effective on July 1, 2018, extend the Policy to the magisterial district courts, which were previously covered by a standalone public access policy.2

 New Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 217, effective July 1, 2018, identifies the Policy and advises that all filings must comply with the Policy (absent authority to the contrary). Rule 217 specifically identifies Sections 7.0 and 8.0, which address Confidential Information and Documents. New Rule 217 also references the certification of compliance that filers must complete.

 The Official Notes to Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. Nos. 304, 503, 1205, and 1206 are amended effective July 1, 2018 to add a cross-reference to new Rule 217. These rules provide for filings that could include Confidential Information or Documents, as defined in Sections 7.0 and 8.0 of the Policy.

 Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 803 is amended effective November 1, 2018 to provide that when a minor is a party in an action only the minor's initials are to be used in the caption of a complaint. Compare Pa.R.C.P. No. 2028.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 18-918. Filed for public inspection June 15, 2018, 9:00 a.m.]

_______

1  The Committee's Final Report should not be confused with the Official Notes to the Rules. Also, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania does not adopt the Committee's Official Notes or the contents of the explanatory Final Reports.

2  The Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Official Case Records of the Magisterial District Courts was rescinded, effective July 1, 2018. See Order, No. 496 Judicial Administration Docket.


No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.

This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.