THE COURTS

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY

Administrative Order 2011.3; Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program; No. AD-128-2011

[41 Pa.B. 6213]
[Saturday, November 19, 2011]

Administrative Order

 And Now, this 4th day of November, 2011, at 8:30 a.m., It Is Hereby Ordered, that Schuylkill County Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program is adopted and shall be effective 30 days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 The Court Administrator is directed to:

 1) File seven (7) certified copies of the Administrative Order with the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts; and

 2) Submit the following items to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin:

 a) two (2) certified copies of the Administrative Order;

 b) a copy of the Administrative Order on a computer diskette.

 3) Send one (1) certified copy to the Civil Procedural Rules Committee of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

 4) Forward one (1) copy to the Schuylkill Legal Record for Publication.

 5) Keep continuously available for public inspection and copying in the Office of the Prothonotary.

By the Court

WILLIAM E. BALDWIN, 
President Judge

Administrative Order	:	No. AD-128-2011
2011.3	:
Residential Mortgage Foreclosure	:
Diversion Program	:

Order of Court

 And Now, this 4th day of November, 2011 at 8:30, a.m., the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas hereby establishes the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program as follows:

 I. All complaints for mortgage foreclosure of residential owner—occupied properties shall be accompanied by a Certification Cover Sheet certifying the real estate location, the occupancy status, and the contact information for plaintiff's representative and/or counsel for plaintiff. The Certification Cover Sheet shall be filed with the complaint and the complaint shall not be accepted by the Prothonotary's Office without the Certification Cover Sheet. (Attachment A—Certification Cover Sheet).

 II. Upon the filing of a complaint in a residential mortgage foreclosure action, the Prothonotary shall provide a copy of the Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program ''Urgent Notice'' to the plaintiff or counsel for plaintiff. (Attachment B—''Urgent Notice''). The plaintiff shall serve a copy of the ''Urgent Notice'' along with the complaint on the defendant[s] in accordance with the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.

 III. Plaintiff shall file a Certificate of Service stating that the complaint, Certification Cover Sheet and ''Urgent Notice'' were served upon the defendant[s].

 IV. Service of the complaint, Certification Cover Sheet, and ''Urgent Notice'' upon the defendant[s] shall result in an automatic stay of any further proceedings, such as the filing of an answer or the filing for a default judgment, for ninety (90) days from the date of service.

 V. Within seven (7) days following service of the complaint and ''Urgent Notice,'' the defendant[s] shall contact Schuylkill Community Action to schedule an appointment for an intake meeting with the Housing Counselor. The intake meeting shall occur within fourteen (14) days of the initial contact. The defendant[s] shall bring to the meeting and provide to the Housing Counselor all requested financial and employment information to enable the Housing Counselor to draft a written Mortgage Modification Plan.

 At the completion of the intake meeting, the Housing Counselor shall provide the defendant[s] a Certification of Participation and assist the defendant[s] in serving the Certification on the plaintiff. If the plaintiff does not receive a Certification of Participation within thirty (30) days following service of the complaint and ''Urgent Notice,'' the plaintiff may petition the Court, after notice to the defendant[s], to lift the stay.

 Within thirty (30) days of the intake meeting, the Housing Counselor shall submit to the plaintiff or the plaintiff's representative a Mortgage Modification Plan or a statement that the Housing Counselor was unable to develop a plan. If no plan is submitted, the plaintiff may immediately petition the Court, after notice to the defendant[s], to lift the stay. If a plan is submitted, the Housing Counselor shall attempt to negotiate a resolution of the default with the plaintiff's representative. If the plaintiff's representative fails to participate in negotiations with the Housing Counselor, the Housing Counselor may assist the defendant[s] in petitioning the Court, after notice to the plaintiff, to extend the stay until negotiations occur.

 If an agreement is reached through negotiations, the plaintiff's representative shall prepare any documents necessary to implement the agreement and withdraw the complaint. If no agreement is reached through negotiations, the Housing Counselor shall complete the Request for a Court Supervised Conciliation Conference (Attachment D) and forward it to the Court Administrator. The defendant[s] shall indicate on the Request if the assistance of a Schuylkill County pro bono Attorney to serve as a neutral facilitator at the Conciliation Conference is being requested.

 The primary role of the pro bono Attorney will be to facilitate the negotiations at the Conciliation Conference between the Housing Counselor, the defendant[s], and plaintiff's representative. The pro bono Attorney shall not be required to file an entry of appearance and the Conciliation Conference is the only proceeding that he/she is required to attend. Once a pro bono Attorney has agreed to participate and assist the defendant[s] at the Conciliation Conference, the Mortgage Modification Plan will be immediately provided to that Attorney.

 VI. At the conclusion of the Conciliation Conference, the Court may order that the stay be lifted, that the stay be continued for a reasonable time to allow for further voluntary negotiations and/or the preparation and execution of documents to implement any agreement or any other action the Court deems appropriate.

WILLIAM E. BALDWIN 
President Judge

Attachment A

 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL DIVISION

	)
Plaintiff	)	No.
	)
v.	)
	)
	)
	)
Defendant	)

MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE DIVERSION PROGRAM CERTIFICATION COVER SHEET

 Pursuant to the Administrative Order dated _____, 2011, issued by the Honorable William E. Baldwin, P.J., I hereby certify that the premises at issue in this action is located at:

_________________
_________________, PA ______

 I certify that the premises is:

[  ]	an owner occupied residential premises exposed to judicial sale to enforce a residential mortgage;
[  ]	not a residential premises within the meaning of the aforementioned order;
[  ]	not owner occupied as of this date;
[  ]	is not exposed to judicial sale to enforce a residential mortgage;
[  ]	vacant.

 The undersigned verifies that the statements made herein are true and correct. I understand that false statements are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904, relating to unsworn falsification to authorities.

Date: ______	_________________ Signature of Plaintiff's Counsel or Plaintiff's Representative
	_________________   Address
	_________________   Phone Number

Attachment B

''URGENT NOTICE''

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE
DIVERSION PROGRAM

 You have been served with a mortgage foreclosure complaint that could cause you to lose your home. If you own and live in the residential property which is the subject of this foreclosure action, you may participate in negotiation proceedings in an effort to resolve this matter with your lender. The matter has been stayed for 90 days in order to allow you time to work with your lender.

 If you do not have an attorney, you must take the following steps to keep the stay in effect and be eligible to request a court-supervised conciliation conference. First, within seven (7) days of your receipt of this ''Urgent Notice,'' you must contact a Housing Counselor, at Schuylkill Community Action, and schedule an appointment.

 SCHUYLKILL COMMUNITY ACTION

 225 NORTH CENTRE STREET, POTTSVILLE, PA 17901.

 570-622-1995.

 Second, once you have contacted the Housing Counselor, you must be prepared to meet and provide all requested financial and employment information within fourteen (14) days of your telephone contact. This information is necessary so that the Housing Counselor can prepare a modification plan and negotiate with your lender on your behalf. If necessary, the Housing Counselor will help you prepare a Request for a Court Supervised Conciliation Conference. If you do so, and a conciliation conference is scheduled, you will have an opportunity to meet with your lender in a further attempt to work out reasonable arrangements. You may also request the services of a pro bono Attorney. If you fail to take any of the required steps, the stay will be lifted and the mortgage foreclosure action will proceed.

 IF YOU WISH TO SAVE YOUR HOME, YOU MUST ACT QUICKLY AND TAKE THE APPROPRIATE STEPS REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE.

Attachment C

 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL DIVISION

Plaintiff	)	No.
	)
v.	)
	)
	)
	)
Defendant	)

MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE DIVERSION PROGRAM
CERTIFICATION OF PARTICIPATION

 This certification must be filed in the Prothonotary's Office and a copy must be sent to Plaintiff within thirty (30) days of service of the Complaint and ''Urgent Notice.''

 I, ______, represent that I am the owner of the property listed below, my primary residence, and which is the subject of a mortgage foreclosure action. I certify that, as required by the Schuylkill County Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program, I have met with the Housing Counselor identified below and provided all necessary financial and employment information. I also understand that within thirty (30) days of the intake meeting, the Housing Counselor will forward a Mortgage Modification Plan on my behalf to the Plaintiff for consideration or a statement that the Housing Counselor was unable to develop a plan.

Premises Address: _________________

______, PA _____

Housing Counselor's Name: ______

Date of Intake Meeting: _________________

 VERIFICATION

 I verify that the statements made herein are true and correct. I understand that false statements are made subject to penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities.

Date: ______ _________________
Signature of Defendant   

Attachment D

 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
SCHUYLKUILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL DIVISION

Plaintiff	)	No.
	)
v.	)
	)
	)
	)
Defendant	)

REQUEST FOR COURT SUPERVISED CONCILIATION CONFERENCE

 As the Defendant in this matter, I am requesting that a Court Supervised Conciliation Conference be scheduled.

 I am OR am not requesting the assistance of a pro bono Attorney to serve as a neutral facilitator at the Conciliation Conference.

_________________
  Defendant's Signature

_________________
  Housing Counselor's Signature 

 Lois A. Wallauer
Court Administrator
Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas
401 N. Second Street
Pottsville, PA 17901

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 11-1989. Filed for public inspection November 18, 2011, 9:00 a.m.]

 

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