THE COURTS
Title 246--MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES
[246 PA. CODE CHS. 300 AND 500]
Order Amending or Revising the Notes to Rules 314 and 504 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for District Justices; No. 131; Magisterial Docket No. 1; Book No. 2
[32 Pa.B. 1176] The Minor Court Rules Committee has prepared a Final Report explaining the amendments or revisions to the Notes to Rules 314 and 504 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for District Justices, effective February 12, 2002. These rule changes provide clarification regarding dismissal and reinstatement of complaints in civil and landlord/tenant matters. The changes also provide for several technical or ''housekeeping'' amendments to these rules. The Final Report follows the Court's Order.
Order Per Curiam:
And Now, this 12th day of February, 2002, upon the recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee; the proposal having been published before adoption at 30 Pa.B. 6547 (December 23, 2000), and a Final Report to be published with this Order:
It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rules 314 and 504 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for District Justices are amended or the Notes thereto are revised as follows.
This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective immediately.
Annex A
TITLE 246. MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES
PART I. GENERAL
CHAPTER 300. CIVIL ACTION Rule 314. Return, Waiver and Failure of Service; Reinstatement.
* * * * * C. The appearance of a defendant in person or by representative or the filing by [him] a defendant of a claim in the case shall be deemed a waiver of any defect in service but not a waiver of a defect in venue.
D. If the complaint is not served on the defendant in time to permit holding a hearing within [sixty (60)] 60 days of the filing of the complaint, the district justice shall dismiss the complaint without prejudice.
E. Upon written request of the plaintiff, a complaint that has been dismissed without prejudice for failure to make service pursuant to subdivision D of this rule may be reinstated at any time and any number of times. The date of reinstatement shall be the date upon which the request for reinstatement [was] is filed.
Official Note:
* * * * * Subdivision E [will permit] provides for the reinstatement, upon written request of the plaintiff, of a complaint [which] that has been dismissed without prejudice for failure [of] to make service under subdivision D. Compare Pa.R.C.P. No. [1010(b)] 401(b). The written request for reinstatement may be in any form and may consist of a notation on the permanent copy of the complaint form, ''Reinstatement of complaint requested,'' [,] subscribed by the plaintiff. The district justice shall mark all copies of the reinstated complaint, ''Complaint reinstated. Request for reinstatement filed on ______ (date).'' If it is necessary to use a new form [or form sets] for the reinstated complaint, the reinstated complaint, except for service portions thereof, shall be an exact copy of the original complaint, although signatures may be typed or printed with the mark ''/s/'' indicating an actual signature. The language in subdivision E that a complaint may be reinstated ''at any time'' will permit reinstatement after a faulty service without waiting for further proceedings in the case. Reinstatement must occur within the period of the statute of limitations from the date of the last filing or reinstatement. Since a reinstated complaint is merely a continuation of the original action, there is no filing fee for reinstating a complaint. However, there may be additional server costs for service of the reinstated complaint.
Amended October 17, 1975, effective in 90 days; amended effective March 24, 1977; amended April 25, 1979, effective in 30 days; June 30, 1982 effective 30 days after July 17, 1982; March 27, 1992, effective June 25, 1992 [The March 27, 1992, Order provided in part: ''In promulgating this Order, the Court recognizes that the District Justice Automation Project will be affected by said Rule changes and that, therefore, those Rules which affect the Project will become effective as the District Justice offices are brought on-line'']; amended February 12, 2002, effective immediately.
CHAPTER 500. ACTIONS FOR THE RECOVERY OF POSSESSION OF REAL PROPERTY Rule 504. Setting the Date for Hearing; Delivery for Service.
* * * * * Official Note:
The hearing date in subdivision (1) of this rule [was] is required to be set not less than seven days from the filing of the complaint because of the requirement [of Pa. R.C.P.D.J. No.] in Rule 506(B) that service be made at least five days before the hearing. It was thought that the requirement that the [complaint be served] hearing be held not more than fifteen days from the filing of the complaint should provide ample time to make the type of service required in these cases. [However, the complaint may be reinstated upon written request of the plaintiff as in trespass and assumpsit cases. See Pa. R.C.P.D.J. No. 314 (E) and the Note to Pa. R.C.P.D.J. No. 314.]
The notice for the defendant set forth in subdivision (4) of this rule varies somewhat from the notice required in [trespass and assumpsit] civil actions under [Pa. R.C.P.D.J. No.] Rule 305. There are a number of reasons for this. First, there can be no default judgment in these possessory actions and, secondly, it was thought that cross-complaints of defendants in these cases should be limited to those arising out of the occupancy of the premises.
Amended Oct. 17, 1975, effective in 90 days; June 30, 1982, effective 30 days after July 17, 1982; March 28, 1996, effective March 29, 1996; Note revised February 12, 2002, effective immediately.
FINAL REPORT1
Amendments or Revisions to the Notes to Rules 314 and 504 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for District Justices
CLARIFICATION REGARDING DISMISSAL AND REINSTATEMENT OF COMPLAINTS IN CIVIL AND LANDLORD/TENANT MATTERS On February 12, 2002, effective immediately, upon recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania amended or revised the Notes to Rules 314 and 504 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for District Justices.
I. Background
In the course of drafting other proposed rule changes, the Committee had occasion to consider whether or not a landlord/tenant complaint could be reinstated after it had been dismissed because the plaintiff failed to appear at the hearing. Upon review and discussion, the Committee found that there was confusion regarding the proper use of ''dismissal'' as a disposition, and when a complaint could properly be reinstated after having been dismissed. Accordingly, the Committee recommended amendments or Note revisions, as explained below, to clarify these procedures.
In conjunction with the clarification regarding dismissal and reinstatement, the Committee also recognized the need for several technical or ''housekeeping'' amendments to Rules 314 and 504.
II. Discussion of Rule Changes
A. Clarification Regarding Dismissal Upon Failure of the Plaintiff to Appear for Landlord/Tenant Hearing and Related Amendments to Rules 314 and 504
As noted above, the Committee considered whether or not a landlord/tenant complaint could be reinstated after it had been dismissed because the plaintiff failed to appear at the hearing.
The Committee noted that the Note to Rule 504 (referring to a landlord/tenant complaint) states, in part, ''. . .the complaint may be reinstated upon written request of the plaintiff as in trespass and assumpsit cases. See Pa. R.C.P.D.J. No. 314(E) and the Note to Pa. R.C.P.D.J. No. 314.'' Pa. R.C.P.D.J. No. 504, Note. The Committee further noted, however, that both Rule 314E and Rule 504 refer to reinstatement in the context of failure to make service. Neither of these rules would seem to expressly permit the reinstatement of a landlord/tenant complaint after it is dismissed because the plaintiff fails to appear for the hearing. After discussion, the Committee agreed that the rules should not provide for reinstatement of a landlord/tenant complaint after it has been dismissed because the plaintiff failed to appear for the hearing. Rather, the Committee agreed that, if the plaintiff wishes to proceed after such a dismissal, the plaintiff must file a new complaint.
Accordingly, the Committee considered the broader issue of the proper use of dismissal as a disposition, and, as it relates to landlord/tenant cases, recommended the following:
1. deleting from the Note to Rule 504 the provision regarding reinstatement and the reference to Rule 314E. The Committee does not believe that these references are necessary in the landlord/tenant rules because, unlike the civil action rules, the landlord/tenant rules do not provide for the dismissal of a complaint for failure to make service. Indeed, the Committee believes that no such provision is necessary because of the nature of service in landlord/tenant cases (first class mail and posting being all that is necessary for good service). By deleting the reference to reinstatement in Rule 504, the Committee hopes to eliminate any confusion about reinstatement after a landlord/tenant complaint is dismissed because the plaintiff fails to appear.
2. amending Rule 314E to make absolutely clear that reinstatement under this rule applies only to complaints that have been dismissed without prejudice for failure to make service pursuant to Rule 314D.
B. Technical and ''Housekeeping'' Amendments
In conjunction with the substantive changes discussed above, the Committee identified a number of technical and ''housekeeping'' amendments needed in Rules 314 and 504.
In the Note to Rule 504, the Committee recommended a change to the second sentence of the first paragraph to substitute the phrase ''complaint be served'' with the phrase ''hearing be held'' to make the language in the note consistent with the rule. The existing reference to complaint being served ''. . .not more than fifteen days from the filing of the complaint. . .'' is not consistent with the rule and has created some confusion.2
In both rules, the Committee recommended minor changes to correct citation form and cross references, to address gender neutrality issues in the rules, and to make references to other rules more consistent.
______1 The Committee's Final Report should not be confused with the official Committee Notes to the Rules. Also, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania does ot adopt the Committee's Notes or the contents of the Committee's explanatory Final Reports.
2 This particular change was actually considered by the Committee in 1997 and was identified as the Committee's Recommendation No. 1 of 1997. However, for unknown reasons, the Committee never published the recommendation and there is some confusion as to whether or not it was ''officially'' submitted to the Supreme Court for approval. Therefore, this change was incorporated into this Recommendation and replaces Recommendation No. 1 of 1997.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 02-333. Filed for public inspection March 1, 2002, 9:00 a.m.]
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