1355 Rescission of local rule 1028 and renumbered as local rule 1028(c) disposition of preliminary objections, motions for summary judgment and motions for judgment on the pleadings

DELAWARE COUNTY

Rescission of Local Rule 1028 and Renumbered as Local Rule 1028(c) Disposition of Preliminary Objections, Motions for Summary Judgment and Motions for Judgment on the Pleadings

[34 Pa.B. 3883]

Order

   And Now, to wit, this 28th day of June, 2004, it is hereby Ordered that Delaware County Local Rule 1028 is hereby Rescinded and Renumbered as Delaware County Local Rule 1028(c) which shall read as follows:

   

1.  Procedure Defined

(a)  Preliminary objections, motions for summary judgment and motions for judgment on the pleadings shall be accompanied by a memorandum of law in support thereof.

(b)  Service shall be made in conformity with Pa.R.C.P. 440.

(c)  All such motions shall be accompanied by a notice, plainly appearing on the face thereof, of the date the motion was filed with the Office of Judicial Support and advising that a reply memorandum of law must be filed within twenty (20) days from that date, except that in the case of summary judgment motions the notice shall advise that a reply memorandum must be filed within thirty (30) days from that date. The moving party shall also file with his motion a certification of service in conformity with Pa.R.C.P. 405(b). This certification shall state that the notice required by this Rule has been given.

(d)  If any motion subject to this Rule is filed without an accompanying memorandum, the Office of Judicial Support shall send the record papers to the Court Administrator. Otherwise, the Office of Judicial Support shall not send the record papers to the Court Administrator until the opposing party has filed his reply memorandum or until twenty (20) days after the motion was filed (or in the case of summary judgment motions, thirty (30) days), whichever occurs first. Upon receiving the record papers from the Office of Judicial Support the Court Administrator shall then refer the matter to the appropriate judge. All requests for an extension of the prescribed time in which to answer such motions must be approved by the Court. Such approval shall be sought by a letter addressed to the Court Administrator. No agreement entered into solely by the parties will be honored by the Court.

(e)  Any motion subject to this rule which is filed without accompanying memorandum may be dismissed. If a reply memorandum has not been filed pursuant to the notice required by section (c) of this rule, the Court may dispose of the matter without such memorandum.

(f)  If any matter is settled or withdrawn prior to disposition, the Court Administrator shall be promptly advised, and the moving party shall file an appropriate praecipe with the Office of Judicial Support.

(g)  The Court in its discretion may grant additional time in which to file a reply memorandum, request additional memoranda, or call for oral argument, or advance the time for filing.

2.  Matters Requiring Factual Supplement to the Record

(a)  In the case of preliminary objections based on facts not presently a part of the record, a memorandum of law and notice to opposing parties to file a reply memorandum of law within twenty (20) days need not be filed contemporaneously with the preliminary objections. Instead, the face sheet notice shall indicate the date the preliminary objections were filed with the Office of Judicial Support and shall be endorsed with a notice to plead pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1361.

(b)  If an answer is filed and served, the moving party shall undertake to supplement the record with the necessary facts by affidavit, deposition or testimony, as the case may require, within sixty (60) days from the filing of the answer.

(c)  Within two (2) weeks from the completion of the supplementation of the record, whether by the adverse party's failure to file an answer to the preliminary objections or by affidavit, deposition or testimony, the moving party shall file a memorandum of law. This memorandum shall be processed in accordance with Section 1 of this Rule.

By the Court

KENNETH A. CLOUSE,   
President Judge

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 04-1355. Filed for public inspection July 23, 2004, 9:00 a.m.]