(a) All cases which are at issue, where the amount in controversy (exclusive of interest and costs) shall be twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or less, except those involving title to real estate, equity actions upon bail bonds and recognizances, actions upon penal statues, and other actions which do not involve the recovery of money damages, including divorce, mandamus and quo warranto, shall be presided over and decided by a Board of Arbitration which shall be composed of three (3) attorneys who are member of the Bar of Potter County. If there are an insufficient number of Potter County attorneys available for a given case, the Board may include attorneys from adjacent counties who regularly practice in Potter County. The Court may also assign to arbitration any case in which the Court makes a preliminary determination that the defacto amount in controversy is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or less, regardless of the pleadings.(b) Cases shall be placed on the arbitration list in the same manner cases are placed on the trial list under Local Rule L511. Ten days after a case has been praeciped onto the list, if no objections thereto have been filed, the Prothonotary shall then promptly appoint a panel of three arbitrators, who shall be members of the Potter County Bar, except as provided herein, to hear and decide the case. The chairman so appointed shall forthwith establish the time, date, and place of trial and notify all counsel of record, unrepresented parties, and members of the arbitration panel thereof at least thirty (30) days in advance unless a shorter time is stipulated to. All trials shall be held within forty-five (45) days of the date the chairman is appointed.(c) Each member of the Board of Arbitration who has signed the report or files a minority report shall receive as compensation for his services in each case a fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00). The chairman of the board shall receive one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175.00). In cases requiring hearings of unusual duration or involving questions of unusual complexity, the Court, on petition of the members of the Board and for cause shown, may allow additional compensation. The Court may also, on petition of any party to a case, on cause shown and to prevent injustice, reduce the amount of such compensation or disallow compensation entirely. The members of a Board shall not be entitled to receive their fees until after filing a report with the Prothonotary. When the same is filed, the Prothonotary shall issue an order for payment of such fees which shall be immediately paid from County funds as in the case of all other County debts. Fees paid to Arbitrators shall not be taxed as costs or follow the award as other costs. (d) Once Arbiters have been appointed hereunder, the Prothonotary shall not mark the case discontinued, settled or ended or terminate the case in any other way until the Chairman of the Board of Arbitration has received the sum of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) settlement costs and the other two members of the Board the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00) each as Arbitrator's settlement costs, the above sum to be paid through the office of the Prothonotary of Potter County. The party initially requesting that a Board of Arbitration be appointed shall remain liable for settlement fees above indicated. Settlement fees shall be due and payable any time after appointment of the Board and before the settlement of any case prior to trial or hearing, but in no event more than forty-five (45) days after the date of the appointment, unless said time is extended by the Chairman of the Board.
(e) Before entering upon their duties, the members of the Board of Arbitrators shall subscribe to an oath to perform their duties and decide the case submitted to them justly and equitably, and with due diligence, which oath shall be filed with their report. In all cases, a decision by a majority of the members of the Board of Arbitrators shall be conclusive.(f) The Board of Arbitrators, or a majority of the members thereof, shall conduct the hearing before them with due regard to the law and according to the established rules of evidence, which, however, shall be liberally construed to promote justice, and shall have the general powers of a court including, but not limited to, the power to administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses, to determine the admissibility of evidence, to permit testimony to be offered by deposition and to decide the law and facts of the case submitted to them.(g) If, after the appointment of the Board of Arbitrators, but before hearings, one of the members thereof shall die or become incapable of acting, or shall refuse to attend the hearing, or shall remove or depart from the county, upon the agreement of all parties the remaining members of the Board shall proceed to hear the matter at issue. Otherwise, the Prothonotary shall fill the vacancy as provided herein.(h) If a member of the Board dies or becomes incapable of acting, or shall fail or refuse to perform his duties, after hearing but before a report shall be made, upon the agreement of all parties, the case shall be decided and the report signed by the remaining members of the Board. If the remaining Arbitrators cannot agree, the matters shall be heard de novo by a new Board, to consist of the remaining members plus a third to be appointed by the Prothonotary. (i) The Board shall have the right to proceed ex parte in a proper case if, after due notice, one of the parties fails to appear at the hearing and does not request a continuance for good cause. (j) The Board of Arbitrators shall file a report with the Prothonotary, which shall contain an award in appropriate cases, within twenty (20) days after hearing. The Report shall be signed by all or a majority of the members of the Board. The Prothonotary shall record any award in the judgment index as verdicts are now recorded. (k) The award, if any, unless appealed from as herein provided, shall be final and shall have all the attributes and legal effect of a judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction. If no appeal is taken within the time allotted for such appeal, execution process may be issued on the award as in the case of other judgments. (l) An appeal from an award by the Board of Arbitration may be taken pursuant to procedure established in Pa.R.Civ.P. 1308. (m) All appeals shall be de novo. Despite any costs which a successful appellant my recover from the adverse party, he shall nevertheless not be entitled to recover the Arbitrators' fees paid by him as a condition of taking his appeal. (n) Any party may file exceptions with the Court from the decision of the Board of Arbitration within twenty (20) days from the filing of the report for either or both of the following reasons and for no other: (1) That the arbitrators engaged in misconduct in the conduct of the case;(2) That the action of the Board was procured by corruption or other undue means. If such exceptions shall be sustained, the report of the Board shall be vacated by the Court.
(o) This Rule shall apply to cases involving more than one claim, including counter claims, if none of such claims exceed $25,000.00. (p) This Rule shall govern cases pending in the Court of Common Pleas of Potter County on the effective date hereof, and all such cases to which the rule shall be applicable which are listed for trial shall be stricken from the trial list and referred to arbitration under the provisions hereof.Amended effective 4/18/2019.