Rule 1910.11 - Office Conference. Subsequent Proceedings. Order(a)Office Conference. The office conference shall be a non-record proceeding conducted by a Conference Officer at the Domestic Relations Section. The Conference Officer shall be designated by the Executive Director of the Domestic Relations Section. The office conference shall not be recorded.(b)Request for Continuance of Office Conference. A written request for continuance of the office conference shall be communicated at least seven (7) days before the conference date via correspondence from the moving party to the Conference Officer assigned to the case. A formal motion is not necessary. The request may be hand-delivered, mailed, faxed or emailed to the Domestic Relations Section. All requests must state the opposing party's position and shall be served by the moving party upon the non-moving party. Ex parte communications are strictly prohibited. If the request is made less than seven (7) days before the conference date, it will be denied absent compelling circumstances. Any party aggrieved by a denial of request for continuance of the office conference may file a formal Motion for Continuance at the Domestic Relations Section which must be served upon the other party. The Domestic Relations Section will forward the motion to the judge assigned to the case. The opposing party's position must be stated in the formal Motion for Continuance, otherwise it may be denied at the discretion of the court.(c)Demand for Hearing De Novo. Any party may seek review by the court of the order entered following the office conference by filing a Demand for Hearing De Novo. The "Demand For Hearing De Novo" form shall be used to make such a request. An electronic fill-in version of this form is available under the Domestic Relations Services link of the Adams County website at https://www.adamscountypa.gov/courts/domesticrelationssection/documentcenter. All Demands for Hearing De Novo shall be filed at the Domestic Relations Section located at 525 Boyds School Road, Suite 600, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325.(d)Content of the Demand for Hearing De Novo. Designating a Support Case as Complex. The party filing the Demand for Hearing De Novo shall indicate on the form the reasons and issues that the party wishes the court to consider at the hearing, including citations to applicable legal authority. Typically, the court allots twenty (20) minutes to hear each case. In accordance with Pa. R.C.P. 1910.11 (j)(1), if a party believes the case will involve complex issues of law or fact, and/or it will take more than twenty (20) minutes to complete, then a Motion to Specially Set Hearing De Novo must be filed and served upon the opposing party. The moving party shall include an estimation of the time needed for hearing in the motion.(e)Scheduling and Notice of Hearing De Novo. When a Demand for Hearing De Novo is filed, the Domestic Relations Section shall schedule a hearing before the court and issue written notice thereof to the parties. When a party files a Motion to Specially Set Hearing De Novo, this request shall be forwarded by Domestic Relations Section to the executive assistant to the assigned judge for coordination and issuance of notice of a hearing date.(f)Motion for Continuance of Hearing De Novo. All Motions for Continuance of Hearing De Novo shall be filed at the Domestic Relations Section, which shall forward a copy of the Motion to the judge assigned to the case. All Motions for Continuance of Hearing De Novo must state the opposing party's position on the request and shall be served on the opposing party by the moving party in accordance with the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, otherwise the Motion may be denied at the discretion of the court.(g)Prehearing Memorandum for Hearing De Novo in Complex Cases. For all cases designated as complex, each party shall file a Prehearing Memorandum at the Domestic Relations Section at least five (5) days in advance of the date set for hearing, with service thereof upon the opposing party. The Domestic Relations Section shall forward a copy of the Prehearing Memorandum to the judge assigned to the case.(h)Discovery in Complex Cases. When a case has been designated by the court as complex, discovery shall be available in accordance with Pa. R.C.P. Nos. 4001 through 4025. See Pa. R.C.P. No. 1910.11 (j)(2).(i)Telephonic participation. Consistent with Pa. R.C.P. No. 1930.3, all requests for a party or a witness to participate in a hearing de novo via telephone, audiovisual or other electronic means shall be made by formal motion with good cause shown filed at the Domestic Relations Section at least seven (7) days in advance of the hearing de novo. The opposing party's position on the request must be noted in the motion, otherwise it may be denied at the discretion of the court.(j)Motion to Withdraw Demand for Hearing De Novo. A motion to withdraw a demand for hearing de novo must contain the concurrence of both parties, otherwise it will be denied.Amended effective 7/10/2023; amended effective 12/23/2023.