Rule 1910.12.A - Office Conference Hearing. Record. Exceptions. Order. Interpreter(a) Whenever possible, all matters dealing with the same parties shall be scheduled for office conference/hearing at the same time.(b) Continuances of office conferences and matters before Hearing Officers may be granted by agreement of all counsel or counsel and unrepresented parties. All other continuances shall be governed by Pa.R.Civ.P. 216 and C.C.R.C.P. 216.1.(c)(1) Should a petitioner fail to appear at the office conference or hearing, as scheduled, the petition may be dismissed.(2) Should a respondent fail to appear at the office conference or hearing, as scheduled, an order may be entered in his/her absence or a bench warrant for his/her appearance may issue.(d) Recommendations on the matters set forth in Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.11(d) and 1910.19 shall be made initially by the conference officer.(e) At the Domestic Relations Office conference, the plaintiff may request the entry of a temporary order in all cases in which there has been filed: (1) A complaint for the support of minor children;(2) A complaint for the support of spouse and entitlement is not challenged;(3) A petition for alimony pendente lite; or(4) A complaint for the support of spouse and minor children and entitlement is not challenged as to spouse. If entitlement is challenged, a temporary order may be requested for the minor children and a spouse who is a party to a Chester County divorce proceeding pursuant to C.C.R.C.P. 1910.11.A.(f) When a temporary order is requested at a Domestic Relations Office conference, as above, the Domestic Relations Office shall submit a recommendation to the Court as to the amount of the requested order. The recommendation shall be based on the Pennsylvania Support Guidelines in accordance with Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-2.(g) If the dependent spouse is not employed, no earning capacity will be assigned to him/her for the purpose of entering the temporary order. The parties shall be informed by the domestic relations conference officer that earning capacity will be taken into consideration at the hearing before the Hearing Officer.(h) When a complaint or petition is scheduled for hearing before a Domestic Relations Hearing Officer and the parties reach an agreement that resolves the outstanding issues prior to the scheduled hearing, the parties shall immediately notify the Domestic Relations Office in writing and within thirty (30) days after the date set for hearing: (1) File a stipulation and order outlining the terms of their agreement. The Court may, sua sponte, direct the parties to file a stipulation and order within a reasonable time or direct the Domestic Relations Office to schedule a new hearing date.(2) If the parties fail to comply with the terms set forth in part (1) of this rule, the Court may, sua sponte, dismiss the outstanding complaint or petition without prejudice.(i)Separate Listings(1) The request for a long day listing shall be in the following form: SEE FORMS INDEX (# 8)
(2)(i) Requests for separate listings shall be filed no later than five (5) business days prior to the scheduled hearing before the Support Hearing Officer.(ii) Objections to requests for separate listings shall be filed within ten (10) business days of the filing of the request for separate listing.(3) In all matters where a motion for a separate listing has been filed:(i)Preliminary Conference(a) The Hearing Officer shall hold a preliminary conference within thirty (30) days after being appointed to determine the scope of the issues raised.(b) At the time of the Preliminary Conference, the parties shall submit a brief statement of the facts and matters complained of.(ii)Discovery(a) Counsel may prepare and submit to the assigned Hearing Officer and opposing counsel a list of requested discovery at the preliminary conference.(b) A Hearing Officer may recommend to the Court the entry of orders for discovery. Including by not limited to, the filing of an income and expense statement. Said discovery orders may include discovery deadlines upon the request of either party or at the direction of the Hearing Officer.(c) In any support matter in which a Hearing Officer has been appointed, all discovery motions, which do not involve a non-party, filed pursuant to Pa.R.Civ.P. 1930.5 and Pa.R.Civ.P. 4001, et seq., shall be heard by the Hearing Officer.(d) An argument regarding discovery, if requested by either party, shall be scheduled before the Hearing Officer. At the conclusion of the argument or within a reasonable time, the Hearing Officer may make a recommendation and advise the parties they have ten (10) days in which to request an argument before the Court. At the conclusion of the ten (10) days, if no objections have been filed, the recommendation shall become an order of the Court. In the event objections are filed, the matter shall be listed, in the normal course of business for argument before the Court. Argument shall be limited to the issues raised by the pleadings.(e) All Objections to the discovery order shall be in writing and filed within ten (10) business days of the recommendation. A copy shall be served upon the Family Court Administrator who shall schedule the case for argument before the Court and promptly notify all counsel and unrepresented parties in the case. Comment: Nothing in this rule with respect to discovery in complex support matters is intended to require a party to seek a court order for discovery as that issue is addressed in Pa.R.Civ.P. 1930.5(b) but outlines the procedure for a court order for discovery when a hearing officer has been appointed.
(iii)Settlement Conference(a) The Hearing Officer shall conduct a settlement conference at which both parties shall submit a statement, which:(b) Gives biographical information of each party, including but not limited to, age, education, occupation, income, health and children;(c) Identifies any and all legal or factual disputes or issue.(iv)Certification of Trial Readiness(a) At the conclusion of the settlement conference, if all discovery has been completed and, the deadline for discovery has passed, the case has not settled the parties may file a Certification of Trial Readiness.(b) A time-stamped copy of the completed Certification of Trial Readiness shall be served upon the assigned Hearing Officer and proof thereof, shall be filed with Domestic Relations Office. Any certificate that fails to include an estimated time of trial will be rejected by the Hearing Officer and not placed on the Hearing Officer's trial list.(c) Upon receipt of the Certification of Trial Readiness by the Hearing Officer, the matter shall be placed on the assigned Hearing Officer's trial list in accordance with the filing date as indicated by Domestic Relation's time-stamp.(d) All certifications of trial readiness shall be filed on blue paper with the Domestic Relations Office. SEE FORM # 9
(j)Hearing:(a) Each party shall submit to the Court and opposing counsel at least five (5) days before the scheduled hearing date a Pre-Trial Statement not exceeding three (3) pages setting forth:(1) a brief statement of the claim(s) being made by the moving party or the defense(s) being made by the responding party;(2) a concise statement of the facts;(3) a concise statement of the factual or legal issues involved including citations to the applicable statutes or case law, if any;(4) a list showing the names and addresses of all witnesses each party intends to call at trial;(5) copies of all exhibits to be offered at trial intended to be admitted during your case in chief.(b) Any and all reports of any experts intended to be called and a form of proposed Order setting forth the requested disposition and supporting calculations shall be attached to the PreTrial statement.(k)Exceptions:(1)Dismissal-Exceptions shall be dismissed in any case in which the notes or tape recording of testimony have not been ordered, and paid for if required, within five (5) days of the filing of exceptions.(2)Briefs: (i) No less than thirty (30) days before the date set for oral argument, the excepting party or parties shall file a brief with the Domestic Relations Office, shall serve copies of the Brief upon all counsel, unrepresented parties and the Judge assigned to hear the exceptions, and shall file a Certification that service has been made.(ii) No less than fourteen (14) days before the date set for oral argument, the responding party shall file a Brief and Certification of Service in the manner prescribed above.(iii) In the event both parties file exceptions, each party shall be treated as an excepting party for the purposes of the briefing schedule as set forth above.(iv)Argument-If either party fails to file a brief within the time prescribed by these rules, or within the time as extended, the non-filing party will not be heard at oral argument except by permission of the Court.(3) A time-stamped copy of any exceptions filed shall be served upon the assigned Hearing Officer.(4)Oral Argument-Argument before the Court shall be made only on the basis of the record made before the Hearing Officer. The parties may, by agreement, supplement the record by depositions or stipulations prior to argument, but no live testimony will be heard by the Court, unless the Court shall permit same for cause shown.(l)Interpreters:(1) Requests for interpreters in accordance with C.C.R.C.P. 233.3 shall be made no less than twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the proceeding when an interpreter will be needed.(2) Requests for interpreters shall be made by going to http://www.chesco.org/formcenter/Courts-39/interpreter-request-form-166, completing the template and submitting the request, or e-mailing intrpcalcta@chesco.org . If the cancellation is less than forty-eight (48) hours before the scheduled hearing, the party shall call the Court in addition to e-mail.Chest. Cnty. Ct. Comm. Plea. R. 1910.12.A
Amended effective 6/13/2022; amended effective 1/22/2024.Comment. Any motion to dismiss may be made at any time prior to commencement of oral argument and is not subject to the requirements of C.C.R.C.P. 206.1.