Local Rule Rule 40.1: Assignment of Court Business
E.D. Pa. — Civil rule
Rule 40.1 Assignment of Court Business
I. All civil litigation in this Court shall be divided into the following categories:
a. Federal Question Cases:
i. Indemnity contract, marine contract and all other contracts. ii. FELA. iii. Jones Act -- Personal Injury. iv. Antitrust. v. Wage and Hour Class Action/Collective Action vi. Patent. vii. Copyright/Trademark viii. Employment ix. Labor-Management Relations. x. Civil Rights. xi. Habeas Corpus. xii. Securities Cases xiii. Social Security Review Cases xiv. Qui Tam cases xv. All other federal question cases.
b. Diversity Jurisdiction Cases:
i. Insurance Contract and other Contracts. ii. Airplane Personal Injury. iii. Assault, Defamation. iv. Marine Personal Injury. v. Motor Vehicle Personal Injury. vi. Other Personal Injury. vii. Products Liability. viii. All Other Diversity Cases.
II. Location
a. For general civil matters, where it appears from the complaint, petition, motion, answer, response, or other pleading in a civil case, that a plaintiff or defendant resides in or that the accident, incident, or transaction occurred in the counties of Berks, Lancaster, Lehigh, or Northampton, the case shall be assigned or reassigned for trial and pretrial procedures to a judge stationed in Reading, Allentown, or Easton. Unless otherwise directed by the court, all trial and pretrial procedures with respect thereto shall be held in Reading, Allentown, or Easton. Cases assigned to judges in Reading, Allentown, or Easton shall be given appropriate credit by category for any case so assigned, reassigned, or transferred.
b. All other cases, unless otherwise directed by the court, shall be tried in Philadelphia. As each case is filed, it shall be assigned to a judge, who shall thereafter have charge of the case for all purposes.
III. General Case Assignment
a. Case assignment shall take place in the following manner:
i. Cases are randomly assigned to judges on an equal basis using the automated Case Assignment System.
ii. The numbering and assignment of each case shall be completed before processing of the next case is begun.
IV. Related Cases
a. Newly filed cases are related to a prior filed civil case if they:
i. involve property included in an earlier numbered suit; ii. involve a transaction or occurrence which was the subject of an earlier numbered suit; iii. involve the validity or infringement of a patent which was the subject of an earlier numbered suit; iv. are filed by the same pro se individual as an earlier numbered suit, other than a habeas or social security action; v. are filed by the same habeas petitioner, whether proceeding pro se or with counsel; or vi. involve a social security appeal filed by the same individual, whether proceeding pro se or with counsel.
b. Attorney Designations. Attorneys must indicate relatedness on the Civil Cover Sheet and the Designation Form. If none of the relatedness categories on the Designation Form apply, but the attorney believes the case is related to an earlier numbered suit, the attorney must explain why the case is nonetheless related.
c. Defense counsel may raise the issue of relatedness by motion to the assigned judge before defendant's initial pleading. The motion must be filed on the docket in each potentially affected case, with a copy delivered to the Chief Judge, who shall decide the issue of relatedness in consultation with the assigned judges in accordance with the provisions of this Rule.
V. Assignment of Related Cases
a. If at the time of filing the fact of relationship is indicated on the appropriate form, or is otherwise apparent based on the face of the complaint under these Rules, the assignment clerk shall assign the case to the same judge to whom the earlier numbered related case is assigned. If the judge receiving the later case is of the opinion that the relationship does not exist, the judge shall refer the case to the assignment clerk for reassignment by random selection in the same manner as if it were a newly filed case.
b. If the fact of relationship does not become known until after the case is assigned, the judge receiving the later case may refer the case to the Chief Judge for reassignment to the judge to whom the earlier related case is assigned. If the Chief Judge determines that the cases are related, the Chief Judge shall transfer the later case to the judge to whom the earlier case is assigned; otherwise, the Chief Judge shall send the later case back to the judge to whom it was originally assigned.
c. Whenever related cases require handling in such a way as to amount to substantially separate treatment of each case, and one or more of these related cases remain to be tried after disposition or trial of the other related case, the judge in question may call the matter to the attention of the Chief Judge and request leave to reassign a case of like category and approximately similar age. If the Chief Judge determines that such reassignment is desirable in promoting the substantially equal distribution of the workload, the Chief Judge shall reassign such equivalent case, either to the judge who originally transferred a later related case, or to a judge selected by lot (by reference to the assignment clerk), as the case may be.
d. If a pending civil action or proceeding and a pending criminal action are related, the Chief Judge, at the request of any party or judge, may reassign the civil action or proceeding, in the interest of justice, to the judge to whom the criminal action is assigned.
Note: In order to conform to the request of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the Court, on December 19, 1974, effective January 1, 1975, ordered as follows:
i. The Clerk is authorized and directed to require a completed and executed AO Form JS44c, *Civil Cover Sheet, which shall accompany each civil case to be filed.
ii. The Clerk has the authority to direct counsel to provide a properly completed civil cover sheet if counsel does not provide one at the time the case is filed.
iii. At the time of filing a civil case, those persons who are in the Custody of a City, State, or Federal Institution and persons filing civil cases pro se, are exempt from the requirement that the Civil Cover Sheet accompany their filing.
*Forms and instructions are available in the Clerk's Office and on the Court website.
VI. Procedures for Assignment of Bankruptcy Matters
a. Appeals
i. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(a), the district court has jurisdiction over appeals from final judgments, orders and decrees entered by bankruptcy judges in cases and proceedings referred to the bankruptcy court.
ii. After an appeal from the bankruptcy court has been docketed pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8003(d)(2), the clerk of the district court shall assign a civil action number to the appeal and, subject to subdivision (4) below, assign the appeal to a district court judge at random from a district-wide wheel.
b. Motions for Withdrawal of the Reference
i. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 5011(a), a motion for withdrawal of the reference shall be heard by a district judge.
ii. Pursuant to Local Bankruptcy Rule 5011-1(c), (d), a motion for withdrawal of the reference shall be filed with the clerk of the bankruptcy court who shall promptly transmit the motion to the clerk of the district court.
iii. After a motion for withdrawal of the reference has been transmitted to the district court, the clerk of the district court shall assign a miscellaneous number to the matter and, subject to subdivision (4) below, assign the motion to a district court judge at random from a district-wide wheel.
c. Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
i. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(c)(1), Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9033(a) and Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S. 462 (2011), in non-core, related proceedings and certain core proceedings in which the parties do not consent to entry of a final judgment or order by the bankruptcy judge, the bankruptcy judge is required to file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.
ii. Upon receipt of the bankruptcy judge's proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, the clerk of the district court shall assign a civil action number to the matter and, subject to subdivision (4) below, assign the matter to a district court judge at random from a district-wide wheel.
d. If there has been a previous appeal, motion for withdrawal of the reference or transmittal to the district court of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law arising from the same bankruptcy case, the subsequent matter shall be treated as a related matter and assigned to the same judge of the district court to whom the first appeal, motion or proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law was assigned.