LACKAWANNA COUNTY Repeal and Adoption of Rules of Civil Procedure; No. 94 CV 102 [41 Pa.B. 589]
[Saturday, January 29, 2011]Order And Now, this 14th day of January, 2011, it is hereby Ordered and Decreed that the following Lackawanna County Rule of Civil Procedure is amended as follows:
1. Lacka. Co. R.C.P. 212(a) and (c) are amended as reflected in the following Rule. The new language of Local Rule 212(a) and (c) appears in bold for ease of reference;
2. Pursuant to Pa. R.C.P. 239(c)(2)—(6), the following Local Rule shall be disseminated and published in the following manner:
(a) Seven (7) certified copies of the following Local Rule shall be filed with the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts;
(b) Two (2) certified copies of the following Local Rule and a computer diskette containing the text of the attached Local Rule in Microsoft Word format and labeled with the court's name and address and computer file name shall be distributed to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin;
(c) One (1) certified copy of the following Local Rule shall be filed with the Civil Procedural Rules Committee;
(d) The following Local Rule shall be kept continuously available for public inspection and copying in the Office of the Clerk of Judicial Records, Civil Division, and upon request and payment of reasonable costs of reproduction and/mailing, the Clerk of Judicial Records shall furnish to any requesting person a copy of the requested Local Rule(s); and
(e) A computer diskette containing the text of the attached Local Rule in Microsoft Word format and labeled with the court's name and address and computer file name shall be distributed to the Lackawanna Bar Association for publication on the website of the Lackawanna Bar Association.
3. The amendment of Lackawanna County R.C.P. No. 212(a) and (c) shall become effective thirty (30) days after the date of its publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin pursuant to Pa. R.C.P. 239(d).
By the Court
THOMAS J. MUNLEY,
President JudgeRule 212. Pre-Trial Procedure and Settlement Conference.
It is the intent of this rule that, in all civil actions, a pre-trial proceeding may be instituted at various states for specific purposes.
(a) Prior to Filing of Certificate of Readiness
After a complaint alone has been filed or after a complaint and answer have been filed, all parties may [jointly praecipe a case for] request a preliminary pre-trial settlement conference if it is the [joint] consensus of the parties that the case may be settled as a result of such a conference, and it is the intention of the parties to avoid ordinary pre-trial procedures leading to the filing of a certificate of readiness. The parties may request such a settlement conference by submitting a written request to the Court Administrator who shall assign it to the Settlement Master for a settlement conference. In addition, any judge may direct the Court Administrator to assign a particular case to the Settlement Master for a pre-trial settlement conference, or may issue an order directing the parties in a case to participate in a pre-trial settlement conference before the Settlement Master. The Settlement Master may require the parties to submit pre-trial settlement conference statements in advance of the pre-trial settlement conference.
[At such a conference, the basis for the joint consensus that a settlement may be effected at this preliminary stage shall be stated in a joint presentment entitled: ''PLAINTIFF/DEFENDANT PRELIMINARY PRE-TRIAL SETTLEMENT STATEMENT.'' See Appendix, Form 3.]
(b) After Filing Certificate of Readiness
Upon the filing of a Certificate of Readiness, the Court Administrator shall assign a case to an individual judge to conduct a status conference, schedule a pre-trial conference and establish a date for trial.
(c) If the court determines at the time of the status conference that a party has not fully complied with Lacka. Co. R.C.P. 214(b), the court may strike the original certificate of readiness and remove the case from the judge's individual calendar or may take such other action as it deems appropriate under the circumstances. At the status conference, the court will [also] schedule the pre-trial conference and trial date. In addition, the court may direct the parties to participate in a settlement conference before the Settlement Master. The Settlement Master may require the parties to submit pre-trial settlement conference statements in advance of the settlement conference.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 11-132. Filed for public inspection January 28, 2011, 9:00 a.m.]
