980 Amendment of local rule of civil procedure 39-1910.11; miscellaneous doc.; volume 2009; page 1990

FRANKLIN AND FULTON COUNTIES

Amendment of Local Rule of Civil Procedure 39-1910.11; Miscellaneous Doc.; Volume 2009; Page 1990

[39 Pa.B. 2699]
[Saturday, May 30, 2009]

Order of Court

   And Now this 7th day of May, 2009, It Is Hereby Ordered that Local Rule of Civil Procedure 39-1910.11 is amended as follows.

   These changes shall become effective thirty days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

By the Court

DOUGLAS W. HERMAN,   
President Judge

Rule 39-1910.11.  Office Conference. Subsequent Proceedings. Order.

39-1910.11(a).  Office Conference conducted by Conference Officer. The office conference shall be conducted by a conference officer designated from time to time by the conference officer supervisor and/or the director of Domestic Relations.

39-1910.11(b). Rescinded.

39-1910.11(e). Rescinded.

39-1910.11(f)(1).  Instructions Mailed with Conference Order. The Domestic Relations Section shall mail a copy of ''How to Appeal Your Recently Obtained Support Order,'' to each party with the order entered following the conference at Domestic Relations.

39-1910.11(i)(1).  Demand for Appeal Hearing; filing fee. Any party may seek review by the court of the order entered following the conference at Domestic Relations. Review by the court will act as an appeal of the decision made by the conference officer at the Domestic Relations Section. The hearing before the court will be a de novo hearing. An appealing party shall file a written demand for hearing using the form ''Demand for Appeal Hearing,'' attached as Exhibit ''A.'' Except as set forth in subsection (C) below, the party shall pay a $25.00 filing fee to Franklin/Fulton County Domestic Relations Section at the time of filing the written demand for hearing.

   (A)  The demand for hearing shall not be accepted and/or scheduled by Domestic Relations if not accompanied by the filing fee.

   (B)  The filing fee for the written demand for hearing is non-refundable.

   (C)  If a party is poor and unable to pay the filing fee, the party must seek leave of court to have the fee waived.

39-1910.11(i)(2).  Content of ''Demand for Appeal Hearing.'' The party filing a written demand for hearing shall indicate on the form the reasons for or issues the party wishes the court to address at the hearing. The party must select the type of hearing being requested: routine hearing or specially assigned hearing.

   (A)  Routine Hearing is a hearing that does not need more than 30 minutes to complete and does not address complex questions of law or fact.

   (B)  Specially Assigned Hearing requires greater than 30 minutes to complete and does address complex questions of law or fact. Pa.R.C.P. 1910.11(j)(2) applies.

   (C)  Failure of the party to select either a routine hearing or a specially assigned hearing on the ''Demand for Appeal Hearing'' will result in the Domestic Relations Section scheduling the matter for a routine hearing lasting no more than 30 minutes.

39-1910.11(i)(3).  Scheduling and Notice. When any party files a written demand for hearing and pays the filing fee, the Domestic Relations Section shall schedule a hearing before the court and give notice to the parties.

39-1910.11(i)(4).  Mailing to both parties. When the de novo hearing has been scheduled, the Domestic Relations Section shall mail to the parties a copy of the order scheduling the hearing before the court, a copy of the written demand for hearing, and the form ''Pre-Trial Memorandum for Appeal Hearing,'' attached as Exhibit ''B.''

39-1910.11(i)(5).  Pre-Trial Memorandum for Appeal Hearing. The ''Pre-Trial Memorandum for Appeal Hearing'' shall be filed at Domestic Relations at least seven (7) days before the hearing. The following shall apply:

   (A)  Failure of the appealing party to file a pre-trial hearing memorandum may be considered an abandonment of claims and a withdrawal of the appeal. The court may impose other sanctions as appropriate.

   (B)  Failure of the opposing/responding party to file a pre-trial hearing memorandum may be treated as not contesting the appellant's claims and will be deemed a waiver of all other issues on appeal. The court may impose other sanctions as appropriate.

   (C)  For a routine hearing, the pre-trial hearing memorandum shall contain the following: an explanation of each issue you expect to raise at the hearing; a description of the facts you plan to prove related to the support action; identification of witnesses and the facts to which each witness will testify; a description of exhibits other than those required by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure; and the relief being sought.

   (D)  For a specially assigned hearing, the pre-trial hearing memorandum shall contain in addition to all the items listed in Rule 39-1910.11(i)(5)(C), the following information: identification of legal authority (statutes, court cases, or rules) relating to the party's position on each issue raised; and an indication of the length of hearing needed to present all the evidence and witnesses' testimony for both sides of the support action.

39-1910.11(i)(6).  Distribution of Copies. Upon receiving the parties' ''Pre-Trial Memorandum for Appeal Hearing,'' the Domestic Relations Section shall mail copies of the same to each party prior to the hearing before the court.

39-1910.11(j).  Rescinded.

39-1910.11(j)(2).  Discovery. When a hearing has been assigned a special time, discovery is available in accordance with Pa.R.C.P. 4001 through 4025. See Pa.R.C.P. 1910.11(j)(2). If discovery has been conducted, parties shall attach a statement of what discovery has been sought and responded to, shall identify issues related to failure to make discovery requested or failure to adequately respond, and shall suggest to the court whether the court should or should not review discovery prior to the de novo hearing.

(Revised 4/2009)

Exhibit ''A.''
In the Court of Common Pleas of the 39th Judicial District of Pennsylvania
Franklin / Fulton County Branch - Domestic Relations Section

Note:  Use ''tab'' between fields

__________Plaintiff
v.
__________Defendant :         Docket No. DRS __________
:         
:
:         PACSES No. __________:
:

Demand for Appeal Hearing
Notice: Appellants must pay the $25 filing fee unless the Court waives it.

_________________ demands an appeal hearing for the following reasons:
                           (name)
__________________________________________________(continue on back if necessary)

Check one:      [  ]      Routine hearing needing not more than 30 minutes OR
[  ]      Specially assigned Hearing requiring ____ minutes (Pa.R.C.P. 1910.11(j)(2) applies)

Failure to select will cause the DRS to schedule the matter for a routine hearing lasting no more than 30 minutes.

   Note:  Multiple routine hearings are scheduled for not more than 30 minutes and do not have complex questions of law or fact. Hearings dealing with complex questions of law or fact are specially scheduled for times other than times set for routine hearings and are presumed to require more than 30 minutes trial time. For both types of hearing, all unrepresented parties and counsel for represented parties must file a pre-hearing memorandum detailing the following information: a list of issues for the court to decide, what facts you expect to establish, a list of witnesses and the expected testimony of each witness, a list of any exhibits you expect to use, and the requested outcome. In addition, for specially assigned hearings, all unrepresented parties and counsel for represented parties must also include in their pre-hearing memoranda a reference to governing legal authority and the anticipated length of the hearing.

   Pre-trial memoranda for hearings shall be filed with the Domestic Relations Office at least seven (7) days prior to the hearing.

   Failure of an appealing party to file a pre-trial hearing memorandum may be considered an abandonment of claims and a withdrawal of the appeal. Failure of the opposing party to file a pre-trial hearing memorandum may be treated as not contesting the appellant's claims and will be deemed a waiver of all other issues on appeal. The Court may impose other sanctions as appropriate.

Signature of party demanding hearing:   
Date:  __________
Signature of attorney, if any, for party:    __________
Check one:   [  ]   Plaintiff            [  ]   Defendant
__________
Counsel for (check one):   [  ]   Plaintiff   [  ]   Defendant

Notice to Counsel:  Counsel whose signature appears above will be deemed to have entered an appearance in the matter and will be obligated to provide representation at the hearing absent leave of court to withdraw.

(Revised 04/2009)

Exhibit ''B.''
In the Court of Common Pleas of the 39th Judicial District of Pennsylvania
Franklin / Fulton County Branch--Domestic Relations Section

__________Plaintiff
v.
__________Defendant :         DRS No. __________
:         
:

:         PACSES No. __________
:
:
:

Pre-trial Memorandum for Appeal Hearing

   IMPORTANT NOTICE: This Pre-trial memorandum must be filed with the DRS at least seven (7) days before the appeal hearing.

   This pre-trial memorandum is being filed by (check one):      [  ]    Plaintiff               [  ]   Defendant

   I (check one)   [  ]   did   [  ]    did not file a request for an appeal hearing.

   I (check one)   [  ]   do   [  ]    do not have an attorney. My attorney's name is __________

A.   Issues:  The issues I raise on appeal are as follows (attach extra sheet if necessary):
1.  __________
__________2.  __________
__________
3.  __________
__________

B.  Facts:  I expect to prove the following facts to make my case (attach extra sheet if necessary):
 
     __________     __________     __________     __________     __________     __________

For Child Support matters, it is suggested that you include information including each child's name, birth date and age. State the incomes of both plaintiff and defendant and where each is employed. State whether either the plaintiff or the defendant is receiving any benefits such as welfare, social security, worker's compensation, unemployment compensation, etc. and if any child is receiving any benefits such as welfare or social security, and state the amount of each benefit. State whether either the plaintiff or the defendant has other child or spousal support obligations, if known and the amount. If one or both of the parties pay child care expenses, state how much each pays. State which parent is seeking reimbursement for child care expenses. If one of the parties is paying health insurance premiums for any child, state how much and state who is seeking reimbursement.