Pennsylvania Code
Pennsylvania Code & Bulletin
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

• No statutes or acts will be found at this website.

The Pennsylvania Bulletin website includes the following: Rulemakings by State agencies; Proposed Rulemakings by State agencies; State agency notices; the Governor’s Proclamations and Executive Orders; Actions by the General Assembly; and Statewide and local court rules.

PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 12-476

THE COURTS

Title 231—RULES OF
CIVIL PROCEDURE

PART I. GENERAL

[ 231 PA. CODE CH. 200 ]

Order Amending Rule 240 of the Rules of Civil Procedure; No. 557 Civil Procedural Rules Doc.

[42 Pa.B. 1363]
[Saturday, March 17, 2012]

Order

Per Curiam

 And Now, this 2nd day of March, 2012, upon the recommendation of the Civil Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been published for comment at 38 Pa.B. 337 (January 19, 2008) and in the Atlantic Reporter (Second Series Advance Sheets, Vol. 939 No. 3, Vol. 940 No. 1):

 It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rule 240 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure is amended in the following form.

 This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective April 2, 2012.

 Mr. Justice Saylor and Madame Justice Todd dissent.

Annex A

TITLE 231. RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

PART I. GENERAL

CHAPTER 200. BUSINESS OF COURTS

Rule 240. In Forma Pauperis.

*  *  *  *  *

 (c) Except as provided by subdivision (d), the party shall file a petition and an affidavit in the form prescribed by subdivision (h). The petition may not be filed prior to the commencement of an action or proceeding or the taking of an appeal.

 (1)(i) If the petition is filed simultaneously with the commencement of the action or proceeding or with the taking of the appeal, the prothonotary shall docket the [action and petition or shall accept the appeal] matter and petition without the payment of any filing fee.

 (ii) If the court shall thereafter deny the petition, the petitioner shall pay the filing fee for commencing the action or proceeding or taking the appeal. A party required to pay such fee may not without leave of court take any further steps in the action, proceeding or appeal so long as such fee remains unpaid. Not sooner than ten days after notice of the denial of the petition pursuant to Rule 236, the prothonotary shall enter a judgment of non pros in the action or proceeding or strike the appeal if the fee remains unpaid. The action, proceeding or appeal shall be reinstated only by the court for good cause shown.

 (2) If the action or proceeding is commenced or the appeal is taken without the simultaneous filing of a petition, the appropriate filing fee must be paid and shall not be refunded if a petition is thereafter filed and granted.

 (3) [The] Except as provided by subdivision (j)(2), the court shall act promptly upon the petition and shall enter its order within twenty days from the date of the filing of the petition. If the petition is denied, in whole or in part, the court shall briefly state its reasons.

*  *  *  *  *

 (f) A party permitted to proceed in forma pauperis shall not be required to

 (1) pay any cost or fee imposed or authorized by Act of Assembly or general rule which is payable to any court or prothonotary or any public officer or employee, or

 (2) post bond or other security for costs as a condition for commencing an action or proceeding or taking an appeal.

*  *  *  *  *

 (j)(1) If, simultaneous with the commencement of an action or proceeding or the taking of an appeal, a party has filed a petition for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, the court prior to acting upon the petition may dismiss the action, proceeding or appeal if the allegation of poverty is untrue or if it is satisfied that the action, proceeding or appeal is frivolous.

 Official Note: A frivolous action or proceeding has been defined as one that ''lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact.'' Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 109 S.Ct. 1827, 104 L.Ed.2d 338 [(1990)] (1989).

 (2) If the petitioner commences the action by writ of summons, the court shall not act on the petition for leave to proceed in forma pauperis until the complaint is filed. If the complaint has not been filed within ninety days of the filing of the petition, the court may dismiss the action pursuant to subdivision (j)(1).

*  *  *  *  *

Explanatory Comment

 Present subdivision (j) provides for a court, prior to acting on a petition to proceed in forma pauperis, to dismiss an action, proceeding, or appeal if the allegation of poverty in the petition is untrue, or if the court is satisfied that the action, proceeding, or appeal is frivolous. However, subdivision (j) did not consider the situation where an action is commenced by the issuance of a writ of summons. The amendment to subdivision (j) requires the party commencing an action by writ of summons and seeking to proceed in forma pauperis to file the complaint within ninety days of filing the petition. The court would not make a determination on the petition until the complaint is filed. If the complaint is not filed within the ninety-day time period, the court may dismiss the action pursuant to procedures set forth in subdivision (j)(1).

By the Civil Procedural Rules Committee

DIANE W. PERER, 
Chair

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 12-476. Filed for public inspection March 16, 2012, 9:00 a.m.]


No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.

This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.