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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 97-180

THE COURTS

[231 PA. CODE CH. 1910]

Proposed Amendments to the Rules Relating to Venue in Support Actions; Recommendation 46

[27 Pa.B. 722]

   The Domestic Relations Committee proposes the following amendments to Rules of Civil Procedure 1910.2, 1910.8 and 1910.50. The committee solicits comments and suggestions from all interested persons prior to submission of the proposed amendments to the Supreme Court.

   Written comments relating to the proposed amendments must be received no later than March 28, 1997, and must be directed to:  Sophia P. Paul, Esquire, Counsel, Domestic Relations Committee, 429 Forbes Avenue, Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, FAX (412) 565-2336, E- Mail:  spaul@courts.state.pa.us.

   The explanatory comments which appear in connection with the proposed amendments have been inserted by the Committee only for the convenience of those using the rules. They will not constitute part of the rules nor will they be officially adopted or promulgated by the Court.

Annex A

TITLE 231.  RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

PART I.  GENERAL

CHAPTER 1910.  ACTIONS FOR SUPPORT

Rule. 1910.2.  Venue. Transfer of Action.

   (a)  An action may be brought in [any county in which]

   (1)  the county in which the defendant resides, or

   (2)  the county in which the defendant is regularly employed, or

   (3)  the county in which the plaintiff resides and that county is the county in which the last family domicile was located and in which the plaintiff has continued to reside, or

   (4)  if the relief sought includes child support, the county in which the child resides.

   (b)  Where jurisdiction is acquired over the defendant pursuant to the long arm statute, 23 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 4342(c) [and (d)], the action may be brought in the county where the plaintiff resides[, whether or not the parties maintained a family domicile in that county].

   (c)  If, at the time of the filing of the action, there is a divorce or custody action pending between the parties in an appropriate court in another county, the court upon good cause shown may transfer the support action to that county.

   (d)  For the convenience of the parties and witnesses the court may transfer an action to the appropriate court of any other county where the action could have been brought at the time of transfer.

   Official Note:  The standards for the transfer of an action for the convenience of parties and witnesses are the same as the standards under Rule 1006(d).

   (e)  If neither party to an action presently resides and the defendant-obligor is not employed in the county where the action is pending or a support order is in effect, the court may transfer the action or order or both to any county where either party resides or where the defendant-obligor is regularly employed.

   (f)  It shall be the duty of the domestic relations section of the court in which the action is pending to forward to the domestic relations section of the court to which the action is transferred all papers filed in the action and a certified copy of the docket entries.

   (g)  All support orders may be enforced in accordance with the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, 23 Pa.C.S. § 7101 et seq., if the defendant resides outside the Commonwealth, or in accordance with the Intrastate Family Support Act, 23 Pa.C.S. § 8101 et seq., if the defendant resides in another county within the Commonwealth.

Rule 1910.8.  [Transfer of Action] Rescinded

   [(a)  For the convenience of the parties and witnesses the court may transfer an action to the appropriate court of any other county where the action could have been brought at the time of transfer.

   (b)  If neither party to an action presently resides and the defendant obligor is not employed in the county where the action is pending or a support order is in effect, the court may transfer the action or order or both to any county where either party resides or where the defendant obligor is regularly employed.

   (c)  It shall be the duty of the domestic relations section of the court in which the action is pending to forward to the domestic relations section of the court to which the action is transferred all papers filed in the action and a certified copy of the docket entries.]

Rule 1910.50.  Suspension of Acts of Assembly.

   The following Acts or parts of Acts of Assembly are suspended insofar as they apply to the practice and procedure in an action for support:

   (1)  Section 3 of the Support Law of June 24, 1937, P. L. 2045, 62 P. S. § 1973, insofar as it provides a procedure to enforce the liability of relatives for the support of an indigent person; [and]

   (2)  Section 4 of Act 1996-20, 23 Pa.C.S. § 4342, insofar as it provides that long arm jurisdiction shall be used in preference to proceedings under Part VIII-A relating to intrastate family support actions; and

   (3)  All Acts or parts of Acts of Assembly inconsistent with these rules to the extent of such inconsistency.

   All existing explanatory notes and comments pertaining to the rule listed below are replaced by the following:

Explanatory Comment--Rule 1910.2

   Venue in support matters under the existing rule has been in the county where the defendant lived or worked, or in the county where the plaintiff lived if that county was the last family domicile. This proposed amendment expands the circumstances under which venue lies in the county in which plaintiff resides. If the action is one for spousal and child support or child support only, plaintiff may bring the action in the county in which the child resides regardless of whether that county was the last family domicile. The defendant will be required to defend the action there unless he or she can establish sufficient grounds for transfer of the action pursuant to subdivisions (c) through (e) of the proposed rule. If, however, plaintiff seeks spousal support only, then venue continues to lie in plaintiff's county only if that county was also the last marital domicile. The proposed amendment is intended to implement the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) and the Intrastate Family Support Act (IFSA) to facilitate the fair and prompt establishment of child support by means of encouraging the support litigation to take place as a local action in one forum only.

   Subdivisions (c) through (e) identify the circumstances under which a support action may be transferred to another county. New subdivision (c) is designed to avoid multiple claims from being litigated in different counties. Subdivisions (d) through (f) are adopted verbatim from former Rule 1910.8 and were moved to Rule 1910.2 only for the convenience of the practitioner in resolving questions of venue.

Explanatory Comment--Rule 1910.50

   Insofar as long arm jurisdiction is an issue that arises only in the context of interstate cases in which the defendant resides outside of the Commonwealth, the language in 23 Pa.C.S. § 4342(c) implying that it has relevance to intrastate support cases is suspended.

MAX BAER,   
Chairperson

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 97-180. Filed for public inspection February 7, 1997, 9:00 a.m.]


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