1699 Amendment of rules 341 and 342 of the rules of conduct, office standards and civil procedure for magisterial district judges; no. 247 magisterial rules; doc. no. 1

PART I. GENERAL

[ 246 PA. CODE CH. 300 ]

Amendment of Rules 341 and 342 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges; No. 247 Magisterial Rules; Doc. No. 1

[38 Pa.B. 5164]
[Saturday, September 20, 2008]

Order

Per Curiam:

   And Now, this 9th day of September, 2008, upon the recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee, the proposal having been published before adoption at Volume 37, Pennsylvania Bulletin, page 6745 (December 22, 2007), and a Final Report to be published with this Order:

   It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. Nos. 341 and 342 be, and hereby are, amended to read as follows.

   This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective October 1, 2008.

Annex A

TITLE 246. MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES

PART. I GENERAL

CHAPTER 300. CIVIL ACTION

SATISFACTION OF MONEY JUDGMENTS

Rule 341. Request for Entry of Satisfaction; Service; Entry of Satisfaction.

*      *      *      *      *

   Official Note: Subdivision A provides a mechanism for a judgment debtor, or anyone interested in the judgment, to file a written request for entry of satisfaction in the office of the magisterial district judge who rendered the judgment. See Section 8104(a) of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8104(a).

   Subdivision B is intended to provide a number of alternative methods of service. See Rules 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312 and 313. When permitted, service by mail should be at the option of the person filing the request for entry of satisfaction. The requester shall be required to pay for all costs associated with initiating entry of satisfaction.

*      *      *      *      *

   Adopted April 5, 2002, effective January 1, 2003. Amended September 9, 2008, effective October 1, 2008.

Rule 342. Failure of Judgment Creditor to Enter Satisfaction; Supplementary Action.

*      *      *      *      *

   Official Note: A judgment debtor may seek damages pursuant to Section 8104(b) of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8104(b). The action commenced under subdivision A of this Rule is a supplementary proceeding in the matter in which the judgment was entered. As such, it must be filed in the office of the magisterial district judge in which the request for entry of satisfaction was filed. Also, it must be indexed to the same docket number as, and made a part of the record of, the underlying action. See Rule 306 and Note. Because the supplementary action is merely a continuation of the underlying action, there are no filing costs for it, however there may be costs for service of the action. The requester shall be required to pay for all costs associated with initiating entry of satisfaction.

*      *      *      *      *

   Adopted April 5, 2002, effective January 1, 2003. Amended January 6, 2005, effective January 29, 2005. Amended September 8, 2008, effective October 1, 2008.

FINAL REPORT

Amendment to the Notes to Rules 341 and 342 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges

   On September 9, 2008, effective October 1, 2008, upon recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee,¹ the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania approved an amendment to the Notes to Rules 341 and 342 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges.²

I.  Background

   The Minor Court Rules Committee (the Committee) undertook a review of Rules 341 and 342 following an inquiry from a District Court administrator. The administrator pointed out that Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 341 does not address who is required to pay for service of a request for entry of satisfaction. Instead, Rule 341 simply requires service ''in accordance with the rules in the 300 Series regarding service of the complaint.'' See Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 341B.

II.  Discussion and Proposed Rule Changes

   After reviewing the administrator's inquiry, the Committee agreed that the lack of direction in Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 341, with regard to payment of service costs, was problematic. In attempting to fashion a solution, the Committee members settled upon adding language to the Notes of both Rules 341 and 342. The additional language makes it clear that the person who is requesting entry of satisfaction is the individual responsible for payment of any costs associated with his or her request.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 08-1699. Filed for public inspection September 19, 2008, 9:00 a.m.]

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¹  Minor Court Rules Committee Recommendation 2-2008.

²  Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Order No. 247, Magisterial Docket No. 1, (September 9, 2008.)