Washington Cnty. C.P. Admin Order - Amendment of Local Rules of Civil Procedure... RULEL 240

( 1) A party seeking leave to proceed in forma pauperis shall apply to the Court for such status.

The application shall include as an attachment the affidavit of the party demonstrating an

inability to pay the costs of litigation.

Note: The affidavit fonn is set forth in Pa.R.C.P. 240; application forms are available in the County

Law Library. Presentation of the application to the Court must comply with the requirements of

Local Rule 208.3(a).

(2) Legal counsel employed by or affiliated with Summit Legal Aid are authorized to file a

praecipe for in forma pauperis status on behalf of their client.

(3) The Prothonotary shall accept for filing by a party a praecipe as provided by Pa.R.C.P.

240(d), or an application under this rule, without charge to the party.

(a) Except as provided in Wash.L.R.C.P. 1915.37, upon withdrawal of an attorney who

has filed a praecipe on behalf of a client pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 240(d), the party

must file a petition to for leave to proceed in forma pauperis to continue to have the

costs of litigation waived as set forth in Pa.R.C.P. 240(t).

(4) If there is an improvement in the ~ancial circumstances of a party which will enable the

party to pay costs, the party must immediately file a praecipe to decertify in forma pauperis

status. The Prothonotary shall not be permitted to retroactively charge previously waived

costs to a party because of a change in economic status or if a party is no longer receiving

free legal service from an attorney.

RULE L-440. SERVICE OF COPIES OF LEGAL PAPERS

(1) Copies of all legal papers other than original process that are filed in an action may be

served upon an attorney for a party by:

(a) the procedures for electronic service set forth in Pa. R. C. P. 205.4 and Wash. L. R.

C. P. 205.4; or

(b) facsimile transmission if the requirements of Pa. R. C. P. 440(d)( 1)-(3) are satisfied.

(2) It is the responsibility of the attorney, or a party if unrepresented, to maintain valid physical

and electronic mail addresses with the Prothonotary and the C-Track E-Filing portal.

RULE L-1028(c). PROCEDURES FOR DISPOSITION OF

PRELIMINARY OBJECTIONS

(1) All preliminary objections shall be filed with the Prothonotary.

(2) The issues raised in all preliminary objections shall be disposed of at regular sessions of

Argument Court, which shall be scheduled as part of the annual court calendar, and shall

follow the procedures set forth below.

Comment: See Wash.L.R.C.P. 302, entitled "Argument Court. Argument List."

(3) The Court Administrator shall maintain the Argument Court list.

(4) The schedule for briefs shall be in accordance with these local rules, unless otherwise

ordered by the Court.

(5) The argument list shall be closed thirty (30) days prior to the date for argument. The list

shall then be prepared by the Court Administrator and the cases shall be set out in order of

their listing. Upon the closing of the argument list, the Prothonotary shall furnish

notification to all attorneys and unrepresented parties who have cases listed for argument

of the listing by regular mail.

(6) Briefs shall be filed of record and conform to the requirements ofWash.L.R.C.P. 210.

(7) Issues raised, but not briefed, shall be deemed abandoned.

(8) References in any brief to parts of the record appearing in a reproduced record shall be to

the pages and the lines in the reproduced record where said parts appear; e.g., "(R. pg. 30

L. 15)." If references are made in the briefs to parts of the original record not reproduced,

the references shall be to the parts of the record involved, e.g., ("Answer p. 7)," "(Motion

for Summary Judgment p.2)."

(9) Counsel or any party presenting oral argument shall be limited to fifteen (15) minutes total,

unless prior permission is granted to extend argument for cause shown.

( 10) The Court may decide a case on briefs only sua sponte, or upon motion of a party.

(11) All agreements for continuances and/or withdrawals shall be communicated to the

Court Administrator no less than seven (7) days prior to Argument Court. The Court shall

continue an argument only upon good cause shown.

RULE L-1034(a). PROCEDURES FOR DISPOSITION OF

A MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS

All motions for judgment on the pleadings shall be filed with the Prothonotary. The procedures for

the disposition of a motion for judgment on the pleadings shall be identical to those described in

Wash.L.R.C.P. 1028(c).

RULE L-1035.2(a). PROCEDURES FOR DISPOSITION OF

A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

All motions for summary judgment shall be filed with the Prothonotary. The procedures for the

disposition of a motion for summary judgment shall be identical to those described in

Wash.L.R.C.P. 1028(c).

RULE L-1041.1. ASBESTOS LITIGATION

( 1) Upon filing of a case in asbestos the case shall be assigned to a judge, who shall preside

over all proceedings relating to the case.

(2) All pleadings and proposed orders shall include a caption substantively as follows:

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

CIVIL DIVISION - ASBESTOS

John Doe,

Plaintiff,

vs.

No. _ __

Big Corporation, Inc.

Defendant.

(3) In all asbestos cases, the course of litigation shall be governed by the terms set forth in a

case management order ("CMO").

a. Any party may present a CMO to the Court for approval within sixty (60) days of

the filing of the complaint. The proposed CMO shall set forth the actual dates in

which each stage of the litigation must be completed.

(4) In the absence of a CMO approved by the Court within sixty (60) days from the filing of

the complaint, the Court shall enter the following CMO:

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

CIVIL DIVISION - ASBESTOS

John Doe,

Plaintiff,

vs.

No. _ _ __

Big Corporation, Inc.

Defendant.

CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER

AND NOW, this_ _ _ _ _ _day of_ _ _ _ _ _ __, 20_, it is hereby ORDERED,

ADJUDGED, and DECREED that:

1. This Case Management Order ("CMO") shall govern the litigation in the above-captioned matter.

2. Within sixty (60) days of the commencement of the action, defendants shall select an

attomeyfrom one of their number to act as lead defense counsel. Lead defense counsel

shall promptly filea notice of his or her selection with the Prothonotary. In the event that

lead defense counsel ceases to act in that capacity, the defendants shall select a

replacement within thirty (30) days. Replacement lead counsel shall promptly file a

notice of his or her selection with the Prothonotary.

3. Plaintiff's Answers to Standard Short Form Interrogatories shall be served on all defense

counsel within six (6) months of the date of the filing of the complaint.

4. The parties shall disclose all known fact witnesses within eight (8) months of the date

of the filing of the complaint.

5. Discovery shall be completed within fourteen (14) months of the date of the filing of

the complaint.

6. All Motions for Summary Judgment shall be filed within sixteen (16) months of the

filing of the complaint.

7. Responses to the Motions for Summary Judgment shall be filed within seventeen ( 17)

monthsof the filing of the complaint.

8. After the responses to the Motions for Summary Judgment have been filed, any party

may present a motion for argument date. Arguments for all Motions for Summary

Judgment shall be heard on the same day.

9. Plaintiff shall file a pre-trial statement within twenty-one (21) months of the date of the

filing of the complaint.

10. Defendant(s) shall file a pre-trial statement within thirty (30) days of the filing of

Plaintiff's pre-trial statement.

11. The pre-trial statements shall contain a narrative statement, a list of any expert witnesses

intended to be called at trial, all expert reports, and an assessment of damages. The pre-trial statement shall also include any presently known motions in limine and any legal

research, memorandum, or briefin support thereof. Failure to file a motion in limine shall

bar a future filing,unless said motion could not be anticipated prior to the filing of the

pre-trial statement.

12. Upon the filing of pre-trial statements by all active parties, the Court Administrator shall

placethe case on the trial list of the assigned judge.

13. This CMO may be modified by agreement of all parties, subject to Court approval, or

upon motion of any party for good cause shown.

BYTHECOURT

_______ J. _,

ASSIGNED JUDGE

(5) It is the responsibility of the moving party to file all original Orders with the Prothonotary.

Further, the moving party shall serve copies of all Orders upon all counsel of record and

any prose litigant. If the Court serves copies of any Order, such service shall be made to

counsel for the plaintiff and lead counsel for the defendants, who shall be responsible for

providing service upon all counsel of record and any pro se litigant.

RULE L-1303.1 SCHEDULING OF ARBITRATION HEARING.

DISCOVERY TIME LIMITS

(1) A matter subject to compulsory arbitration shall be scheduled for a hearing as set forth

below.

(a) An appeal of a decision of a magisterial district judge pursuant to Pa. R. M. D. J.

1002 shall be scheduled for arbitration within one hundred twenty (120) days of the

filing of the appeal in the Court of Common Pleas.

(b) All other matters subject to compulsory arbitration shall be scheduled at the

direction of the Court Administrator.

(c) The parties may seek to schedule an arbitration hearing earlier than the limits listed

above in subsection (b) upon the filing of a joint praecipe with the Prothonotary.

i. There shall be no discovery permi~ed after the filing of a joint praecipe.

(2) Discovery in all matters subject to compulsory arbitration other than appeals pursuant to

Pa. M. D. J. 1002 shall be limited to one hundred fifty (150) days from the commencement

of the action, unless otherwise ordered by the Court for good cause shown. In no case shall

discovery be permitted to exceed two hundred forty (240~ days.

(3) If a party fails to appear for a scheduled arbitration hearing, the Court may act as follows:

(a) immediately hear the matter as an ex parte, non-jury trial and enter a verdict; or

(b) order the matter to proceed to arbitration for a hearing and the entry of an award by

the arbitration panel.

(4) A non-jury verdict entered by the Court shall not exceed $50,000.00 to any party, exclusive

of costs and interest.

Comment: When the Court "hears the matter," it accelerates the time for conducting a de novo

trial. However, the proceeding is still a "trial" and the rules otherwise applicable to a trial in

the Court of Common Pleas are not suspended. Therefore, counsel, or a party if unrepresented,

should be prepared to present testimony and introduce evidence at the trial, and the Court

should make findings of fact and conclusions oflaw. See Hayes v. Donohue Designer Kitchen,

Inc., 818 A.2d 1287 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2003).

RULE L-1308. APPEALS FROM ARBITRATION

All appeals from arbitration must be timely filed with the Prothonotary accompanied by payment

in the amount of $500.00 or 50% of the amount in controversy, whichever is less.

RULE L-5000.1. REAL ESTATE TAX ASSESSMENT APPEAL

(1) Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeal from a decision of the Board as to the amount of the

assessment for real estate tax purposes, or as to exemption of real estate from payment of

real estate taxes, shall be captioned "Petition for Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeal" or

"Petition for Real Estate Tax Exemption Appeal" and filed with the Prothonotary within

the time prescribed by statute.

(2) The appeal shall contain the following:

(a) Caption designating the named party talcing the appeal as Appellant, the Board as

Appellee, and if Appellant is a taxing authority it shall join the owner of the real

estate involved as a matter of course as a party in the assessment appeal by

designating such named owner in the caption as an Appellee. All taxing authorities

shall be named as parties in the appeal. The tax parcel identification number for the

real estate in question shall appear in the caption.

(b) Identification of the subject real estate, including the street address and tax parcel

identification number, and a designation of the municipality and school district

wherein the real estate is located. A copy of the property card from the tax records

shall be attached as an exhibit to the petition.

(c) Name and address of the taxpayer(s), and any other party to the appeal.

(d) Nature of and reasons for the appeal.

(e) Reference to the decision of Washington County Board of Assessment Appeals

(Board) from which the appeal is taken. The date of notification shall be provided.

A copy of the Board's notice of decision shall be attached as an exhibit to the

petition.

(f) Reason(s) for the appeal. The petition shall identify whether the challenge is based

on fair market value, base year value, or a constitutional challenge based on

uniformity.

(g) A verification in accordance with Pa. R. C. P. 206.3, if the petition contains an

allegation of fact which does not appear of record.

(3) Within ten (10) days after filing the appeal, appellant shall serve a copy of the appeal on

the Board, on all affected taxing authorities at their business addresses, and any other party,

in the manner prescribed by Pa. R. C. P. 440. The property owner shall be served notice at

the registered address designated on the tax records of Washington County.

(4) Within twenty (20) days of service of the appeal, the appellant shall file a verified proof of

service of the petition.

(5) There shall be no requirement that the appellee, or any other party, file an answer or

responsive pleading to the petition.

(6) All appeals shall be subject to Pa. R. C. P. 1012, 1023.1, and 1025.

(7) Cross-appeals shall not be permitted, and, if a cross-appeal is filed, the Court shall dismiss

the cross-appeal, and proceed at the earlier filed appeal.

(8) No appeal may be withdrawn without the consent of all other parties, or leave of court.

Note: The Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure do not apply to real estate tax assessment appeals,

unless specifically adopted by local rule or order of court. In re Mackey, 687 A.2d 1186 (Pa.

Commw. Ct. 1997).