THE COURTS
Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES
BERKS COUNTY
Amendments to Local Rules; No. 18-54 Prothonotary
[48 Pa.B. 6788]
[Saturday, October 27, 2018]
Order And Now, this 4th day of October, 2018, the following amendments to Berks County Rules of Civil Procedure 207.1 and 4001 shall become effective thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(c)(5)(iii) and No. 103(d)(5)(iii).
(New language is bold and underscored, and removed language is shown bracketed and bold)
The District Court Administrator is Ordered and Directed to:
1. Submit one (1) copy of this Order, including the amended rules, to the appropriate Rules Committee of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania for review.
2. Distribute two (2) copies of this Order, including the amended rules, and one (1) disk copy with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
3. File one (1) copy of this Order, including the amended rules, with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts contemporaneously with publishing the local rules in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
4. Compile the local rules within the complete set of local rules available on the Berks County Court website no later than 30 days following publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
5. Distribute one (1) copy of this Order, including the amended rules to the Berks County Prothonotary's Office so they can keep them continuously available for public inspection and copying.
THOMAS G. PARISI,
President JudgeRule 207.1. Presentation of Motions, Petitions and Applications.
(a) All routine motions, petitions and applications shall be filed in the prothonotary's office for transmission to the assigned judge for disposition.
(b) All motions, petitions or applications necessitating personal presentation to the court should be made in the courtroom of the judge assigned to the case either at 9:30 A.M. or 1:30 P.M. on a day he or she is scheduled to sit. If the motion, petition or application is of such nature that opposing parties have a right to be heard, the moving party shall give each opposing party at least forty-eight (48) hours notice of the time when the moving party will appear and present such motion, petition or application, unless the emergency nature of the matter prevents such notice. In the latter situation, the moving party shall give as much notice as is reasonably possible.
(c) No motion, petition or application shall be made or presented to any judge in chambers without pre-arrangement with that judge. No request for appointment in chambers shall be granted except for compelling reasons.
(d) All motions, petitions or applications in cases which have not yet been assigned to a judge shall be filed with the prothonotary; the court administrator shall promptly assign a judge to the case.
(e) All motions, petitions or applications which require immediate action in cases where the assigned judge is unavailable or in cases where no judge has been assigned to the case and the court administrator fails to assign a judge to the case in sufficient time to allow presentation to such judge shall be presented to the emergency motions judge in his courtroom at 9:30 A.M. or at 1:30 P.M. or by pre-arrangement with the emergency motions judge in his chambers.
(f) A party presenting a motion, petition or application for an order or decree shall file with the motion, petition or application a proposed form of the order or decree sought, together with[:
(1) one copy of each such proposed order or decree for the moving party;
(2) one copy of each such proposed order or decree for each other party;
(3) one copy of each such proposed order or decree for the civil Court Information Management Office;
(4)] a certificate signed by the party presenting the motion, petition or application or his or her attorney of record, setting forth the name and current address of each party's attorney of record, and if no attorney has entered an appearance of record for a party, the name and current address of each unrepresented party[;].
[(5) an envelope stamped with the required postage for each party, including the moving party, pre-addressed to each party's attorney of record, or if no attorney has entered an appearance of record for a party, to each unrepresented party at such unrepresented party's current address. The envelope shall bear the return address of the Prothonotary, Court House, Reading, Pennsylvania 19601.
When a party does not provide the required number of copies of the proposed order or decree sought, the required certificate or the required envelope(s), the prothonotary shall nevertheless file and docket the same, but the prothonotary shall not forward the proposed motion, petition or application until the required number of copies and other required documents are provided.]
(g) A party presenting a motion, application or praecipe for the entry of judgment shall file with the motion, application or praecipe[:
(1)] a certificate signed by the party presenting the motion, petition or application or his or her attorney of record, setting forth the name and current address of each party's attorney of record, and if no attorney has entered an appearance for a party, the name and current address of each unrepresented party[;].
[(2) an envelope stamped with the required postage for each other party, pre-addressed to each other party's attorney of record, or if no attorney has entered an appearance of record for a party, to each unrepresented party at such unrepresented party's current address.]
Rule 4001. Discovery Applications/Discovery Master.
Legal issues relating to discovery applications and protective orders shall not be scheduled for regular argument court or be subject to the briefing schedule provided for in B.R.C.P. 211.2, unless the court specifically so orders. In order to facilitate the prompt disposition of discovery matters, discovery disputes [shall be first] may be referred by order of the assigned judge to be processed before a Master as part of the ''Discovery Master Program'' and shall follow the following procedure:
(a) The Board of Judges shall appoint members of the Bar who shall have practiced civil law in Berks County for a minimum of 10 years to serve as Discovery Masters, for an indeterminate term, without compensation, at the pleasure of the Court.
(b) [Except as provided in B.R.C.P. 4005(b) and 4012, all discovery applications along with a Rule to Show Cause shall be filed with the Prothonotary. The Rule to Show Cause shall contain a space for the Court to enter a return date, time and place. The moving party shall promptly serve the respondent with a copy of the motion and Rule designating the return date, time and place. The moving party must also comply with B.R.C.P. 208.2(e) by certifying that it has conferred in a good faith effort to resolve the discovery dispute, which certification must specifically describe those efforts.] Except as provided in B.R.C.P. 4005(b) and 4012, all discovery applications shall be filed with the Prothonotary along with a proposed order scheduling the matter for disposition before a Discovery master. The proposed order shall contain a space for the Court to enter a date, time and place for a hearing on the discovery application. The Prothonotary will forward the discovery application to the assigned judge, who will promptly enter an order scheduling a hearing on the discovery application before a Discovery Master on the next scheduled Discovery Master hearing date (which shall be a Friday) that is at least fourteen (14) days after the date the discovery application was filed. If the Friday of the week in which the discovery application would otherwise be heard is a court holiday, it shall be scheduled for a hearing on the next Friday that is not a court holiday. The moving party shall promptly serve the respondent with a copy of the motion, proposed order, and argument brief, if any, filed in support of the application. The moving party must also comply with B.R.C.P. 208.2(e) by certifying that it has conferred in a good faith effort to resolve the discovery dispute, which certification must specifically describe those efforts.
(c) Any party or interested third-party opposing relief sought in the application shall file with the Prothonotary a written response to the application, and if appropriate or desired an argument brief in opposition, no later than four (4) days prior to the scheduled Discovery Master hearing date. If no opposition is timely filed, the discovery application shall be deemed to be unopposed, the moving party shall be excused from appearing at the scheduled hearing, and the Discovery master shall submit a written recommendation and proposed order granting the requested relief to the assigned judge for entry of an appropriate order.
[(c) If the motion is resolved amicably prior to the return day, the motion shall either be withdrawn or a stipulated order shall be submitted to the Prothonotary for submission to the assigned judge. If no opposition is filed, the Discovery Master shall submit a proposed order granting the motion to the assigned judge. If an opposition is filed, the parties shall appear in a courtroom or arbitration room designated on the Friday of the week in which the rule was made returnable, to argue the matter before the Discovery Master scheduled to hear the matter. In the event the Friday of the week in which the rule was made returnable is a Court holiday, the motion shall be argued before the Discovery Master on the following Friday that is not a Court holiday. Briefs in support of and in opposition to the motion may be filed prior to the day on which the motion is to be argued before the Discovery Master.] (d) If the discovery application is resolved amicably prior to the scheduled hearing date, the moving party shall either file a praecipe withdrawing the application or submit a stipulated order to the assigned judge. If an opposition is timely filed, the parties shall appear in the designated courtroom or hearing room on the date and time for the scheduled hearing to provide evidence and argue the matter before the assigned Discovery Master. If not previously filed, argument briefs in support of or in opposition to the discovery application may be filed no later than four (4) days prior to the scheduled Discovery Master hearing date.
[(d)] (e) After hearing or argument and considering the [motion] discovery application and [answer] opposition, and any briefs filed, the Discovery Master shall submit a written recommendation and proposed order to the assigned judge for entry of an appropriate order.
[(e)] (f) Any party may file an application under this rule to have the case scheduled to a Discovery Management Conference before a Discovery Master. The Discovery Master may recommend a Discovery Management Order, which establishes the following:
(1) A date for completion of all discovery, except for depositions for use at trial;
(2) A date for plaintiff to submit expert reports and curricula vitae of said experts, or answer expert interrogatories; and
(3) A date for defendant to submit expert reports and curricula vitae of said experts, or answer expert interrogatories.
[(f)] (g) The parties may, by agreement in writing, extend any dates set forth in the Discovery Management Order.
[(g)] (h) Upon request of any party, for good cause shown, the Discovery Master may recommend an extension of any dates set forth in the Discovery Management Order.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 18-1662. Filed for public inspection October 26, 2018, 9:00 a.m.]
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