Section 3761. Enforcement Proceedings

(a) Petition. When a government unit seeks to enforce an order issued under a statute which it administers, it may initiate the proceedings by filing a petition to enforce.

(b) Service. The petitioner shall serve the petition and order in the manner prescribed by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure for service of original process and shall file the return or certificate of service prescribed by the same rules.

(c) Hearing and Notice. Upon the filing of a petition to enforce, the court will issue an order setting a date for a hearing and a date by which the respondent must answer the petition. The petitioner shall serve the court’s order upon the respondent in the manner prescribed by Pa.R.A.P. 121 and 122.

(d) Relief. Following the hearing, the court will enter such orders as may be appropriate.

(e) Discovery. Discovery shall be allowed only upon leave of court.

Official Note

Pa.R.A.P. 3761 implements Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission v. School District of Philadelphia, 557 Pa. 126, 132, 732 A.2d 578, 581 (1999), in which the Court held that ‘‘just as enforcement proceedings are not originally commenced in Commonwealth Court, they are also in the appellate, rather than the original, jurisdiction of the court. It then follows that the rules of appellate procedure, rather than the rules of civil procedure, govern enforcement proceedings in Commonwealth Court.’’ This analysis was confirmed in Department of Environmental Protection v. Township of Cromwell, 613 Pa. 1, 32 A.3d 639 (2012). Petitions for enforcement are not within any other provisions of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. Thus absent Pa.R.A.P., 3761, there would be no clear method of presenting enforcement actions to the Commonwealth Court.

The provisions of this Rule 3761 adopted January 28, 2002, effective January 28, 2002, 32 Pa.B. 876, reprinted at 34 Pa.B. 2688 (May 22, 2004); amended May 14, 2013, 43 Pa.B. 3225. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (361777).