THE COURTS
Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES
DAUPHIN COUNTY
Promulgation of Local Rules; No. 1793 S 1989
[51 Pa.B. 7866]
[Saturday, December 18, 2021]
Order And Now, this 8th day of December, 2021, Dauphin County Local Rules of Civil Procedure 205.2(a), 208.2(d), and 215.1 are amended as follows:
Rule 205.2(a). Physical Characteristics of Pleadings and Other Legal Papers.
(1) All documents filed in the Office of Prothonotary shall be on 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch paper and shall comply with the following requirements:
(a) The document shall be prepared on white paper of good quality and the use of recycled paper is encouraged.
(b) The first sheet shall contain a 3-inch space from the top of the paper for all court stampings, filing notices, etc.
(c) The text must be double spaced, but quotations more than two lines long may be indented and single spaced. Except as provided in subsection b, margins must be at least one inch on all four sides.
(d) The lettering shall be clear, legible and no smaller than Arial 12 point.
(e) The lettering shall be on only one side of a page.
(f) All exhibit tabs shall appear at the bottom of the pleading.
(g) No backers shall be used on the original or any copies of pleadings or other legal papers filed with the Prothonotary. The original of pleadings or other legal papers should be stapled in the top left corner. If the document is over one-half inch thick, it should be secured with a binder clip. Backers may be used for copies provided to the court, opposing parties or clients.
(h) Exhibits or attachments smaller than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches shall be attached to a regular size paper by using adhesive tape.
(i) Pages shall be consecutively numbered beginning with page 2 and said number shall appear on the bottom center of the pleading.
(j) The name of the attorney or party, the address at which service can be made, a telephone number and email address of the attorney or party shall appear on the top left-hand corner of the first page of all papers filed in the Office of the Prothonotary.
(k) With the initiating filing and all subsequent filings, in cases where medical malpractice is or will be alleged, the notation ''Civil Action—Medical Professional Liability Action'' shall appear on all captions directly underneath the docket number.
(l) Any courtesy copies of filings that are provided to a judge and served on opposing parties must be firmly bound and any metal fasteners or staples must be securely covered with no sharp or protruding edges of any kind.
(m) Filings of record may be referenced in any subsequent filing but shall not be attached thereto.
(n) Attorneys and self-represented parties shall comply with the [Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Case Records of the Appellate and Trial Courts] Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania and Local Rules of Judicial Administration 101 and 102 [found at http://www.dauphin county.org/government/Court-Departments/Local-Rules-of-Court/Pages/default.aspx] which may be found on the Dauphin County website under Local Rules of Court.
(2) The Prothonotary shall endorse upon each paper filed, the date and time of its filing, and enter it upon the proper docket.
(3)(a) All civil motions, petitions, administrative applications, and answers or responses thereto shall be accompanied by a proposed order (or alternative orders). Except for Petitions in Forfeiture filed pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 5805, Petitions shall also include a proposed Rule to Show Cause.
(b) The proposed order(s) and any Rule to Show Cause shall contain a distribution legend which shall include the name(s) and mailing address(es), telephone number(s), facsimile number(s) and e-mail address(es), if any, of all attorneys and self-represented parties to be served. The distribution legend shall identify which party each person represents.
(c) Counsel and self-represented litigants are strongly encouraged to include stamped envelopes addressed to the attorneys and/or self-represented parties listed in the distribution legend along with all proposed orders and/or Rules to Show Cause.
(4) The judge(s) chambers shall:
(a) file the original order with the Prothonotary;
(b) prepare copies of the order for mailing;
(c) have the Prothonotary's Office certify the copies for mailing;
(d) mail copies of the certified order to all parties listed in the distribution legend;
(e) note the date of mailing and the initials of the person who accomplished the mailing on the filed original order.
Comment
Paragraph (3) of this rule is intended to formalize a practice of long standing in Dauphin County as well as the majority of other counties. The proposed order should identify the relief sought, e.g. continuance, rule to show cause, request status or discovery conference, amend a complaint, etc.
An accurate distribution legend naming all attorneys and self-represented parties and their addresses, telephone numbers, facsimile numbers and e-mail addresses, if any, is essential since the court is now assuming the responsibility for service of its orders. Inclusion of facsimile numbers and e-mail addresses is not intended to authorize service by these methods.
Paragraph (4) of this rule is intended to formalize what is now a hybrid process which has left some doubt as to the responsibility for service of orders.
Rule 208.2(d). [Uncontested] Motions—Concurrence Certification.
All motions shall contain a certification indicating that the moving party has disclosed the full text of the motion and the proposed order to all parties by facsimile or electronic communication prior to the filing of the motion, and that concurrence to both the motion and proposed order has been given or denied by each party. If facsimile or electronic communication is not possible, a copy of the motion and proposed order shall be sent by mail. If the other party fails to respond to the inquiry regarding concurrence within a reasonable time, this fact must be contained in the motion and the motion will be deemed contested pursuant to Dauphin County Local Rule 208.3(b).
Rule 215.1. Jury Trials.
(1) LISTING
(a) An original and one copy of a Certificate of Readiness shall be filed with the Prothonotary listing a case for a jury trial in accordance with the timelines published in the Annual Court Calendar. No case subject to compulsory arbitration shall be listed for trial, unless on appeal from a report and award of arbitrators. The Certificate of Readiness form is available in the Prothonotary's Office, the Court Administrator's Office, and online at the Dauphin County website (www.dauphin county.org). Parties filing a Certificate of Readiness form must ensure that the most current form is used. Failure to use the most current form shall result in the rejection of the Certificate of Readiness.
(b) The party filing the Certificate of Readiness shall communicate with all counsel and/or [pro se] self-represented parties and confirm the availability of all counsel or the [pro se] self-represented party, [as the case may be] together with the availability of all witnesses and all parties for the particular trial term before the Certificate of Readiness is filed. The listing party shall attest that all discovery has been completed, serious settlement negotiations have been conducted, and that the case is READY IN ALL RESPECTS for trial. Absent extraordinary and compelling circumstances, the failure to complete videotaped testimony for use at trial shall not be a proper basis for a request for a continuance.
(c) A copy of the Certificate of Readiness shall be promptly served on all counsel and/or [pro se] self-represented parties. If a party is not represented by counsel of record, such notice shall include the date of the first day of the applicable trial session. The Prothonotary shall forward the original Certificate of Readiness to the Court Administrator's Office and shall retain the copy in the file.
[The Certificate of Readiness form is available in the Prothonotary's Office, in the Court Administrator's Office and online at the Dauphin County website (www.dauphincounty.org). Parties filing the Certificate of Readiness form must ensure that the most current form is utilized. Failure to utilize the most current form shall result in the rejection of the Certificate of Readiness.]
(d) If a party is unable to satisfy the requirements regarding the filing of a Certificate of Readiness due to the unavailability of counsel, parties or witnesses, such party shall immediately file an Administrative Application for Status Conference in accordance with Dauphin County Local Rule 215.3.
(2) ATTACHMENT—Listing a case for trial shall have the effect of attaching all counsel of record for the trial term specified. The attachment shall be effective as of the date of the filing of the certificate of readiness unless a prior scheduling order has been issued.
The Dauphin County Court will defer to a scheduling/attachment order from another court of equal or higher jurisdiction so long as:
(a) The foreign order is earlier in time; and
(b) The party with the scheduling conflict timely moves for a continuance and attaches a copy of the foreign order.
(3) OBJECTIONS TO THE CERTIFICATE OF READINESS FOR JURY TRIAL
(a) All Objections to the Certificate of Readiness shall be set forth in a pleading, in paragraph form, and filed promptly in accordance with the timelines found in the Annual Court Calendar. The Objection shall contain a procedural history of the case and a detailed statement as to why the objection is being made. The original and one copy of the Objection shall be filed with the Prothonotary. The Prothonotary shall forward the original to the Court Administrator's Office and retain the copy in the file. The Objection shall be promptly served on all other counsel and/or [pro se] self-represented parties. Objections filed after the timelines established in the Annual Court Calendar will not be entertained, except in extraordinary circumstances for extremely good cause shown.
(b) [All objections shall be heard by the Civil Calendar Judge on the date specified in the Annual Court Calendar.] The judge assigned to the case shall rule on any objections filed to that case, however if a judge has not yet been assigned, the Civil Calendar Judge shall rule on the objections to the unassigned case.
(4) COMPILATION OF TRIAL LIST
(a) After the objections have been disposed of by the Court, the Court Administrator's Office shall compile the final trial list for that session. Copies of the trial list shall be available in the Court Administrator's Office at least one (1) week prior to the first day of the session of jury trials.
(b) All cases for trial shall be placed on the trial list in the order of their term and docket number, unless preference is required or appropriate.
(5) CALENDAR JUDGE—The Calendar Judge will have supervision of the cases on the Civil Jury Trial List, including the following:
(a) Imposition of sanctions for the improper filing of a certificate of readiness.
(b) [Hearing of] Ruling on objections to the listing of cases in trials not yet assigned to a judge.
(c) [Disposition of applications for preference in listing.
(d)] Assignment of cases.
The previously listed amendments shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and will become effective thirty days from the date of publication.
By the Court
JOHN F. CHERRY,
President Judge
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 21-2110. Filed for public inspection December 17, 2021, 9:00 a.m.]
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