Washington Cnty. C.P. Admin Order - Amendment of Local Rules of Civil Procedure... (front matter)

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSI:ft~o

CIVIL DIVISION

IN RE: )

)

APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF )

AMENDEMENTS TO LOCAL RULES )

OF CIVIL PROCEDURE )

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER

MAY O 6 202~

LAURA H. HOUGH

No. 2024_ 1 PROTHONOTARY

AND NOW, this 3rd day of May, 2024, having received approval from the appropriate

statewide rules committee in accordance with Pennsylvania Rule of Judicial Administration

103(d)(4), it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that the amendments to the

following Local Rules of Civil Procedure:

1. Rule L-205.2(a);

2. Rule L-205.2(b);

3. Rule L-208;

4. Rule L-210;

5. Rule L-212.7;

6. Rule L-212.8;

7. Rule L-227.l;

8. Rule L-240;

9. Rule L-440;

10. Rule L-1028(c);

11. Rule L-1034;

12. Rule L-1035.2(a),

13. Rule L-1041.1;

14. Rule L-1303.1;

15. Rule L-1308; and

16. Rule L-5000.1,

as set forth on the attachments to this Order, are APPROVED and ADOPTED.

The amendments of the above-identified local rule of civil procedure shall be effective June

20, 2024, and following publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin pursuant to Pa. R. J. A. 103( c )( 5).

The District Court Administrator is directed to:

1. File copies of this Administrative Order and the adopted local rules with the Legislative

Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin;

2. File one (1) electronic copy of this Administrative Order and the adopted local rules with

the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts;

3. Arrange for the publication of the local rules on the website for the Twenty-seventh Judicial

District, www.washingtoncourts.us, within thirty (30) days of the effective date; and

4. Cause a copy hereof to be published in the Washington County Reports once a week for

two (2) successive weeks at the expense of the County of Washington.

BY THE COURT:

-----"'g~l~~A-~µ ____ __,, P.J.

cfaiy GilmanJ>~siaent Judge

RULE L-20S.l(a). PLEADINGS AND LEGAL PAPERS.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. PROPOSED ORDER

( 1) All pleadings and legal papers filed with the Prothonotary shall be on white, letter- sized

(8.5 inch by 11 inch) paper of good quality, and otherwise conform to the requirements of

Pa.R.C.P. 204.1.

(a) Footnotes shall be single-spaced and in 10-point font.

(b) Every paper filed shall be fastened only at the top left comer of the pages with one

staple, or, if the document is too thick, a metal fastener. Cloth tape and "bluebacks"

shall not be used.

(2) All attachments, supporting documents, and exhibits shall be on letter-sized (8.5 inch by

11 inch) paper at the time of filing with the Prothonotary. Documents that are sized

differently in original form shall be re-sized and reproduced to comply with this rule.

(3) Proposed Order. Every motion, petition, or preliminary objection shall include a proposed

order of court which shall be attached before the certificate of service. If a legal paper is

filed electronically, there shall be a separately filed proposed order of court in a Microsoft

Word format in accordance with Wash. L. R. C. P. 205.4(b)(2).

RULE L-20S.l(b). CAPTION SHEET

( 1) The first page of any pleading, petition, motion or other legal paper shall be a cover sheet

setting forth the items of information specified below, according to the format presented in

Form of Caption Sheet below. If needed, a second page may be attached and numbered

"Caption Sheet 2" at the bottom of the page.

(a) The lettering shall be in a font of no smaller than twelve-point size or an equivalent

and shall substantially follow the format in Form of Caption Sheet below.

(b) The Caption Sheet on the document commencing the action (e.g., praecipe or

complaint), shall have a margin at the top of three (3) inches for the stamp of the

Prothonotary.

(2) The information required includes:

(a) (In capital letters from the left to right margins)

"IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA"

(b) (In capital letters on left side of center) The complete names of all parties; if the

party filing the attached pleading has made a previous filing, an appropriate and

obvious shortened caption may be used.

( c) (In appropriate upper and lower case, except where otherwise indicated, on the right

side of center on separate lines):

1. the specific DIVISION, e.g., CIVIL or DOMESTIC RELATIONS;

ii. the docket number;

iii. the name of the assigned judge, if applicable;

1v. the name of the pleading, in bold face and all capital letters;

v. if the action is filed as a class action, then "CLASS ACTION'' shall be set

forth following the title of the document;

vi. if the action involves real estate, then the address, municipality, ward if

applicable, and a tax identification number shall be set forth;

vii. the completed statement: "Filed on behalf of (party's

relationship to case)";

name, party's

viii. the completed statement: "Counsel of Record: (attorney's name and

Pennsylvania Identification Number, firm name, firm number, address, and

telephone number)";

ix. the electronic mail address for service of the filing party; and

x. every motion, petition, or pleading must include a "Certificate of Service"

which sets forth the manner of service upon each party including the name

of an attorney of record for each party that is represented and the address at

which service was made. The "Certificate of Service" shall be substantially

in the following form:

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned hereby certifies that a true and correct copy of the foregoing [Title of Document]

has been served upon all other parties at the address( es) listed below via [manner of service], this.

___ day of __ ~ 20_. ·

(3) Form of Caption Sheet.

[Name and address of counsel]

(Signature]

The Caption Sheet shall be formatted substantially in the following form:

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

JOHN DOE,

Plaintiff,

vs

BIG CORPORATION, INC., and

JANE DOE,

Defendants.

CIVIL DIVISION

Docket No. __ _

[TITLE OF DOCUMENT]

CLASS ACTION (if applicable)

Real Estate Involved (if applicable):

(Address, municipality, ward if applicable; a

tax identification number is required in all

cases involving real estate.)

Filed on behalf of Plaintiff, JOHN DOE

Counsel of Record for this Party:

Henry Smith, Esquire

Pennsylvania I.D. #12345

Eeny, Meeny, Miny & Mo

Firm I.D #6789

Washington, PA 15301-0000

724-867-5309

724-987-6543 (fax)

emmm@domain.com

RULE L-208.4. COURT ORDER

In all cases in which the Court enters an order after initial consideration of a petition or

motion, the Court may:

( 1) file and docket the order directly into the case management system and require the

Prothonotary to perform service; or

(2) require counsel, or the moving party if unrepresented, to retrieve and file the order

immediately with the Prothonotary. Upon receipt of the order, the moving party shall serve

a copy on all other parties within three (3) business days.