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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 21-2054

THE COURTSTHE COURTS

Title 246—MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES

PART 1. GENERAL

[ 246 PA. CODE CH. 200 ]

Order Amending Rule 217 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure Governing Actions and Proceedings Before Magisterial District Judges; No. 464 Magisterial Rules Doc.

[51 Pa.B. 7636]
[Saturday, December 11, 2021]

Order

Per Curiam

 And Now, this 1st day of December, 2021, upon the recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee; the proposal having been submitted without publication pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. 103(a)(3):

 It is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rule 217 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure Governing Actions and Proceedings Before Magisterial District Judges is amended in the following form.

 This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. 103(b) and shall be effective on January 1, 2022.

Annex A

TITLE 246. MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES

PART I. GENERAL

CHAPTER 200. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION; GENERAL PROVISIONS

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] https://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] https://www.pacourts.us/public-records.

ADOPTION REPORT

Amendment of Pa.R.Civ.P.M.D.J. 217

 On December 1, 2021, the Supreme Court amended Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure Governing Actions and Proceedings Before Magisterial District Judges 217 to conform with recent amendments to the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (''Policy''). See Order of October 6, 2021, No. 556 Judicial Administration Docket. The Minor Court Rules Committee has prepared this Adoption Report describing the rulemaking process as it relates to Pa.R.Civ.P.M.D.J. 217. An Adoption Report should not be confused with Comments to the rules. See Pa.R.J.A. 103, Comment. The statements contained herein are those of the Committee, not the Court.

 The amendments to the Policy, effective on January 1, 2022, require the statewide use of the Confidential Information Form to safeguard confidential information and eliminate the ability of a court to adopt a rule or order permitting the filing of any document in two versions, redacted and unredacted. While the Policy never permitted the filing of redacted/unredacted versions in the magisterial district courts, the Committee recommended deleting an exception to Rule 217, which permitted a rule or order of court to supersede the requirement to attach of a Confidential Information Form, if necessary.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 21-2054. Filed for public inspection December 10, 2021, 9:00 a.m.]


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