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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 21-2105

THE COURTS

Title 210—APPELLATE PROCEDURE

PART I. RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE

[210 PA. CODE CH. 11]

Order Amending Rules 1115 and 1116 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure; No. 298 Appellate Procedural Rules Doc.

[51 Pa.B. 7857]
[Saturday, December 18, 2021]

Order

Per Curiam

 And Now, this 7th day of December, 2021, upon the recommendation of the Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been published for public comment at 51 Pa.B. 4055 (July 31, 2021):

 It is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rules 1115 and 1116 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure are amended in the following form.

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

Annex A

TITLE 210. APPELLATE PROCEDURE

PART I. RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE

ARTICLE II. APPELLATE PROCEDURE

CHAPTER 11. APPEALS FROM COMMONWEALTH COURT AND SUPERIOR COURT

PETITION FOR ALLOWANCE OF APPEAL

Rule 1115. Content of the Petition for Allowance of Appeal.

 (a) General rule.—The petition for allowance of appeal need not be set forth in numbered paragraphs in the manner of a pleading, and shall contain the following (which shall, insofar as practicable, be set forth in the order stated):

 (1) A reference to the official and unofficial reports of the opinions delivered in the courts below, if any, and if reported. Any such opinions shall be appended as provided in [item 6 of paragraph (a) of this rule] subdivision (a)(7).

 (2) The text of the order in question, or the portions thereof sought to be reviewed, and the date of its entry in the appellate court below. If the order is voluminous, it may, if more convenient, be appended to the petition.

 (3) Where under the applicable law an issue is not reviewable on appeal unless raised or preserved below, the petition shall contain a statement of place of raising or preservation of issues, as required in Pa.R.A.P. 2117(c).

 [(3)] (4) The questions presented for review, expressed in the terms and circumstances of the case but without unnecessary detail. The statement of questions presented will be deemed to include every subsidiary question fairly comprised therein. Only the questions set forth in the petition, or fairly comprised therein, will ordinarily be considered by the court in the event an appeal is allowed.

 [(4)] (5) A concise statement of the case containing the facts material to a consideration of the questions presented.

 [(5)] (6) A concise statement of the reasons relied upon for allowance of an appeal. See Pa.R.A.P. 1114.

 [(6)] (7) There shall be appended to the petition a copy of any opinions delivered relating to the order sought to be reviewed, as well as all opinions of government units, trial courts, or intermediate appellate courts in the case, and, if reference thereto is necessary to ascertain the grounds of the order, opinions in companion cases. If an application for reargument was filed in the Superior Court or Commonwealth Court, there also shall be appended to the petition a copy of any order granting or denying the application for reargument. If whatever is required by this paragraph to be appended to the petition is voluminous, it may, if more convenient, be separately presented.

 [(7)] (8) There shall be appended to the petition the verbatim texts of the pertinent provisions of constitutional provisions, statutes, ordinances, regulations, or other similar enactments which the case involves, and the citation to the volume and page where they are published, including the official edition, if any.

 [(8)] (9) The certificate of compliance required by Pa.R.A.P. 127.

 (b) * * *

 (c) No supporting brief.—All contentions in support of a petition for allowance of appeal shall be set forth in the body of the petition as provided by [item 5 of paragraph (a)] subdivision (a)(6) of this rule. Neither the briefs below nor any separate brief in support of a petition for allowance of appeal will be received, and the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court will refuse to file any petition for allowance of appeal to which is annexed or appended any brief below or supporting brief.

 (d) * * *

 (e) * * *

 (f) * * *

 (g) Supplementary matter.—The cover of the petition for allowance of appeal, pages containing the table of contents, table of citations, proof of service, signature block, and anything appended to the petition under [subparagraphs (a)(6) and (a)(7)] subdivisions (a)(7) and (a)(8) shall not count against the word count limitations of this rule.

*  *  *  *  *

Rule 1116. Answer to the Petition for Allowance of Appeal.

 (a) General rule.—Except as otherwise prescribed by this rule, within 14 days after service of a petition for allowance of appeal an adverse party may file an answer. The answer shall be deemed filed on the date of mailing if first class, express, or priority United States Postal Service mail is utilized. The answer need not be set forth in numbered paragraphs in the manner of a pleading, shall set forth any procedural, substantive or other argument or ground why the order involved should not be reviewed by the Supreme Court, and shall comply with Pa.R.A.P. [1115(a).7] 1115(a)(8). No separate motion to dismiss a petition for allowance of appeal will be received. A party entitled to file an answer under this rule who does not intend to do so shall, within the time fixed by these rules for filing an answer, file a letter stating that an answer to the petition for allowance of appeal will not be filed. The failure to file an answer will not be construed as concurrence in the request for allowance of appeal.

 (b) Children's fast track appeals.—In a children's fast track appeal, within 10 days after service of a petition for allowance of appeal, an adverse party may file an answer.

 (c) Length.—An answer to a petition for allowance of appeal shall not exceed 9,000 words. An answer that does not exceed 20 pages when produced by a word processor or typewriter shall be deemed to meet the 9,000 word limit. In all other cases, the attorney or the unrepresented filing party shall include a certification that the answer complies with the word count limit. The certificate may be based on the word count of the word processing system used to prepare the answer.

 (d) Supplementary matter.—The cover of the answer, pages containing the table of contents, table of citations, proof of service, signature block, and anything appended to the answer shall not count against the word count limitations of this rule.

 (e) Certificate of compliance with Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.—An answer to a petition for allowance of appeal shall contain the certificate of compliance required by Pa.R.A.P. 127.

 Official Note: This rule and Pa.R.A.P. 1115 contemplate that the petition and answer will address themselves to the heart of the issue, such as whether the Supreme Court ought to exercise its discretion to allow an appeal, without the need to comply with the formalistic pattern of numbered averments in the petition and correspondingly numbered admissions and denials in the response. While such a formalistic format is appropriate when factual issues are being framed in a trial court [(], as in the petition for review under Chapter 15[)], such a format interferes with the clear narrative exposition necessary to outline succinctly the case for the Supreme Court in the allocatur context.

 Parties are strongly encouraged to raise any waiver-based or procedural objection to a petition for allowance of appeal in an answer to the petition. In addition, parties are reminded that they may raise waiver-based, procedural, and jurisdictional objections after the grant of a petition for allowance of appeal, but before merits briefing, through a dispositive motion filed under Pa.R.A.P. 1972.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 21-2105. Filed for public inspection December 17, 2021, 9:00 a.m.]


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