Rule 1028 - Preliminary ObjectionsAll preliminary objections shall be filed with the Cumberland County Prothonotary's Office. Thereafter, the issues raised (unless specifically excluded by other rule, see C.C.R.P. 330, 1915.5, and 1920.12) will be disposed of at regular sessions of argument court, which shall be scheduled as part of the annual court calendar (See C.C.R.P. 5). All cases will be decided on written argument unless oral argument is specifically requested. If granted, oral argument will be held off the record. The procedure for disposition of matters by argument court shall be as follows:
1) The objecting party shall file a brief with the Prothonotary simultaneously with the preliminary objections. If the brief is not timely filed, the Court may deny the relief sought on that basis alone. This brief shall: a. be limited to twenty (20) double-spaced pages (unless prior court approval has been granted).b. contain a statement of facts, discussion of the issues, and reference to all authorities relied upon.c. address all issues raised in the objections, or else they shall be deemed abandoned.d. note references to parts of the record appearing in a reproduced record shall be to the pages and the lines in the reproduced record where said parts appear, e.g., "(r. pg. 30 l. 15)," and, if references are made in the brief to parts of the original record not reproduced, the references shall be to the parts of the record involved, e.g., "(Answer p. 7)," "(Motion for Summary Judgment p. 2)."2) The objecting party shall immediately serve a copy of the brief upon opposing counsel and any unrepresented party and shall file an affidavit of service.3) Within twenty (20) days of the date of service of the objecting party's brief, the responding party shall file and serve a brief in accordance with the requirements of subsections (a)(1-4) of this rule.4) Except as provided in subsection (e), ten (10) business days following the close of the briefing schedule, the preliminary objections will be automatically listed for decision on the briefs only at the next available argument session.5) If either party wishes to request a later argument date or oral argument (for complex cases or novel legal issues), they must file with the Prothonotary, and serve upon all parties, a praecipe containing the request within five (5) business days following the close of the briefing schedule.6) The Prothonotary shall maintain the argument court list. a. The argument list shall be closed forty (40) days prior to the date for argument.b. The list shall then be prepared by the Prothonotary and the cases shall be set out in order of their listing.c. Upon the closing of the argument list, the Prothonotary shall furnish notification by regular mail to all attorneys and unrepresented parties who have cases listed for argument.7) One week prior to argument, the Court Administrator shall prepare the final list of cases to be decided and post it to the Prothonotary's Website.8) Counsel or any party presenting oral argument shall be limited to fifteen (15) minutes unless prior permission is granted to extend argument in a complex case.9) Briefs will be retained by the Prothonotary and will be on the record.10) If the preliminary objections resolve prior to the argument court date, a preacipe to withdraw the listing shall be filed immediately.11) In the interest of judicial economy, if a single case has objections listed for multiple argument court dates, they shall be consolidated to the latest scheduled argument court session.Amended effective 1/1/2024.