Title 255--LOCAL
COURT RULESFAYETTE COUNTY Amended Local Rule 1301: Compulsory Arbitration: Cases Covered; No. 427 of 1996, G. D. [26 Pa.B. 1351] Order And Now, this 11th day of March, 1996, it is hereby ordered that the above-stated Local Rule be amended as follows. This amendment shall be effective 30 days after the publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
The Prothonotary of Fayette County is Ordered and Directed to do the following:
(1) File seven (7) certified copies of this Order and Amended Rule with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
(2) File two (2) certified copies of this Order and Amended Rule with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
(3) File one (1) certified copy of this Order and Amended Rule with the Pennsylvania Civil Rules Committee.
(4) Forward one (1) copy for publication in the Fayette Legal Journal.
(5) Forward one (1) to the Fayette County Law Library.
(6) Keep continuously available for public inspection copies of this Order and Amended Rule.
It is further Ordered that said rule as it existed prior to the amendment is hereby repealed and annulled on the effective date of said rule as amended, but no right acquired thereunder shall be disturbed.
By the Court
WILLIAM J. FRANKS,
President JudgeRule 1301. Compulsory Arbitration: Cases Covered.
(a) Any civil action where the amount in controversy is Twenty-five Thousand ($25,000) Dollars or less and title to real estate is not involved, shall be submitted to compulsory arbitration pursuant to Section 7361 of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. Section 7361, and Rules 1301 to 1314 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as these rules.
(b) The amount in controversy in any action shall be deemed to exceed Twenty-five Thousand ($25,000) Dollars if any count in the complaint or counter-claim demands an amount in excess of Twenty-five Thousand ($25,000) Dollars.
(c) Notwithstanding the amount demanded, if the Court determines that the amount in controversy does not exceed twenty-five thousand ($25,000) dollars for the purposes of these rules, the Court shall order the matter to arbitration.
(d) If separate actions are consolidated for trial and the amount in controversy in any of these actions exceeds twenty-five thousand ($25,000) dollars, arbitration shall not apply.
(e) If the same transaction or occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences, give rise to more than one cause of action and separate actions have been commenced, all such actions shall be consolidated for arbitration and heard together. Before proceeding with any hearing, the board of arbitration shall inquire of the parties whether any other action has been commenced.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 96-476. Filed for public inspection March 29, 1996, 9:00 a.m.]
