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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 24-747

THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES

SNYDER COUNTY

Adoption of Local Rules; No. UC-45-2024

[54 Pa.B. 2921]
[Saturday, May 25, 2024]

Order

 And Now, this 9th day of May 2024, it is hereby Ordered and Decreed, that effective thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the Snyder County Court of Common Pleas adopts local rule 205.4, effective June 17, 2024, as follows:

Rule 205.4. Electronic Filing and Service of Legal Papers Filed in Civil Dockets.

 (a)(1). The Snyder County Court of Common Pleas does hereby permit electronic filling of all legal papers with the Prothonotary through its electronic filing system, CountySuite Portal, as well as the electronic service of such papers, under terms more specially provided in Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 205.4.

 (2). As used in this rule, the following words shall have the following meanings:

 i. ''electronic filing,'' the electronic submission of legal papers by means other than facsimile transmission and the acceptance of the document by the clerk of courts;

 ii. ''filing party,'' an attorney, defendant, plaintiff, or other person who files a legal paper by means of electronic filing;

 iii. ''legal paper,'' shall be a pleading or other paper filed with the Prothonotary in any civil action, including attachments and exhibits, even if the legal papers are not adversarial in nature or do not require a response from the non-filing party or parties.

 (b). Legal papers shall be presented for filing in a PDF. As authorized by Pa.R.C.P. 205.4(b)(1), in the event a legal paper is presented for filing in a hard-copy format, the Prothonotary shall convert said legal paper into a PDF and shall maintain it in that format. The Prothonotary shall return the hard-copy legal paper to the filing party for retention of required by Pa.R.C.P. 205.4(b)(4).

 (c)(1). The Prothonotary shall provide access to CountySuite Portal (CIVIL electronic filing system) at all times, except during periods of required maintenance.

 (2) CIVIL legal papers can be filed electronically through CountySuite Portal, located on prothonotary's county website. To obtain access to the Electronic Filing System, counsel or any unrepresented party must first register with the CountySuite Portal for a User Name and Password.

 **Registered Users are obligated to maintain proper delivery information and shall notify the CountySuite Portal and the Prothonotary's office immediately regarding changes in: name, firm, address, facsimile, or e-mail address.

 (3) The time and date of filing a legal paper and any receipt of the legal paper filed electronically shall be that registered by the Electronic Filing System. The Prothonotary shall provide, through the CountySuite Portal, an acknowledgement that the legal papers have been received, including the date and time of receipt, in a form which can be printed for retention by the filing party.

 (d) A filing party shall pay the cost of the electronic filing of a legal paper by approved credit: MasterCard/VISA/Discover. All costs according to the current Prothonotary fee schedule.

 (e)(1) A filing party shall be responsible for any delay, disruption or interruption of the electronic signals and legibility of the document electronically filed, except when caused by the failure of the CountySuite Portal.

 (2) No pleading or other legal paper that complies with the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure shall be refused for filing by the Prothonotary or the Electronic Filing System based upon a requirement of a local rule or local administrative procedure or practice pertaining to the electronic filing of legal papers.

 (3) If a pleading or other legal paper is not accepted upon presentation for filing the Electronic Filing System will immediately notify the party presenting the legal paper for filing.

 (4)(i) The Court upon motion shall resolve any dispute arising under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subdivision.

 (ii) If a party makes a good faith effort to electronically file a legal paper but it is not received, accepted or filed by the Electronic Filing System, the Court may order that the paper be accepted and file nunc pro tunc upon a showing that reasonable efforts were made to timely present and file the paper.

 (f) As authorized by Pa.R.C.P 205.4(f), the following administrative procedures are adopted:

 (1) The electronic filing of legal papers using an authorized User Names and Password shall constitute the filing party's signature on electronic documents as provided by Pa.R.C.P 1023.1. and, if the filing party is an attorney, shall constitute a certification of authorization to file it as provided in Pa.R.C.P. 202.5.1.

 (2) Verification of pleadings, as required by Pa.R.C.P. 206, and 1024, as well as any other documents executed by the client or third parties, such as Affidavits or Certifications of Service, shall be scanned and attached to the electronic filing in a PDF at the time the legal paper is submitted for electronic filing.

 (3) Personal Identifiers in civil matters, such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, financial account numbers and names of minor children, must comply with the safeguards of the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. The Confidential Information Form is required.

 (4) The Prothonotary is authorized to refuse a filing of a legal paper submitted without the required filing fee; such legal paper shall only be deemed to have been filed on the date that said filing fee payment was received by the Prothonotary.

 (5) The Prothonotary shall maintain a hard copy of any legal paper, notice or Order filed or maintained electronically under this Rule for the Court and Court personnel.

 (g)(1) Copies of all legal papers other than original process filed in an action or served upon any party to an action may be served:

 (i) as provided by Rule 440; or

 (ii) by electronic transmission, other than facsimile transmission, to all parties who have previously submitted electronic filing in the same case, pursuant to the 17th Judicial District—Civil Rule 205.4 and Pa.R.C.P. 205.4(g). The party upon prior written agreement will be served court orders only via e-mail by the Prothonotary, not by the electronic filing system.

 (2) Service by electronic transmission is complete when a legal paper is sent:

 (i) to the recipient's electronic mail address, or

 (ii) to an electronic filing system website and an e-mail message is sent to the filer by the electronic filing system that the legal paper has been filed and is available for review on the system's website (CountySuite Portal).

 Note: Once the electronic filing has been accepted or the original process has been filed by the Prothonotary; it shall be the responsibility of the filing party to provide the sheriff with the proper service fee and documents for original service and writs. The electronic system does not include legal service to this department.

 An electronic mail address set forth on letterhead is not sufficient basis under this rule to permit electronic service of legal papers.

 (3) Copies of all Notices, Orders or Judgments from the Court in any action shall be served according to Rule 440, not through CountySuite electronic filing system.

 The District Court Administrator is directed to forward:

 1. File one (1) copy to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts via email to adminrules@pacourts.us.

 2. File two (2) paper copies and one (1) electronic copy in a Microsoft Word format only to bulletin@palrb.us with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 3. Incorporation of the local rule into the 17th Judicial District Local Rules and publish on the Snyder County website at www.snydercounty.org within thirty (30) days after the publication of the local rules in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 4. File one (1) copy of the local rule in the appropriate filing office for public inspection and copying.

By the Court

LORI R. HACKENBERG, 
President Judge

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-747. Filed for public inspection May 24, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]


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