Rule 1920.51 - HEARING BY THE COURT. APPOINTMENT OF MASTERNOTICE OF HEARING
(a) Upon Motion of either party or upon its own Motion, the Court may appoint a Master to hear testimony and return the record together with the Report and Recommendation to Court. The Motion shall be filed with the Office of the Prothonotary. If the Motion is filed by a party, then the Motion must be accompanied by the appropriate fee, as established by the Court. The moving party shall certify that all the parties have complied with the requirement of Pa.R.C.P. 1920.31, Pa.R.C.P. 1920.33 and Pa.R.C.P. 1920.46. The Motion and proposed Order requesting the appointment of a Master shall be in conformity with L.R.C.P. 1920.74. (1) Masters shall be appointed in rotation from the list of permanent part-time Masters appointed as such by the Court to determine issues of divorce, equitable distribution of property, permanent alimony and all other issues relevant thereto. If all Court appointed Masters are conflicted out of serving, the Court may appoint a one-time Master for the hearing.(2) A Master shall be appointed to hear a claim of child and/or spousal support only upon presentation of an Affidavit of the party supplementing the Motion for appointment of a Master showing special circumstances which justify a departure from the procedure of Erie L.R.1920.16. Should it later appear that special circumstances justifying referral of a claim for child and/or spousal support do not exist, either party or the Master may petition the Court to refer the claim to the Non-Support Intake Office.(3) Upon appointment of a Master to hear issues which require expedited disposition (including, but not limited to, alimony pendente lite, child and/or spousal support when referred to a Master, occupancy of the marital residence, maintenance of insurance policies, and Counsel fees and expenses), a preliminary record hearing will be held before the Master within thirty (30) days of the entry of the Order appointing a Master. Where discovery has not been completed or where all documents required to be filed by Pa.R.C.P. 1920.31 have not been filed prior to the preliminary hearing, the Master may, in his or her discretion, proceed with the hearing and filing of a report and recommendations (which may include recommended sanctions for failure to comply with Pa.R.C.P. 1920.31) or continue the hearing until said documents have been filed.(b) PRE-HEARING STATUS CONFERENCE In actions where expedited disposition is not required,
(1) The Master shall within fifteen days after receiving notice of the Master's appointment schedule a date for a pre-hearing status conference to be held prior to the date of the Master's hearing and shall give notice of the time and place of the pre-hearing status conference by First Class Mail to counsel for represented parties and directly to any unrepresented party. Said notice shall be mailed at least five business days prior to the scheduled date of the conference. The conference shall be attended by Counsel of Record, only, if all parties are represented by counsel.(2) At the pre-hearing status conference, the Master shall review: (A) The positions of the parties on each Claim, including those issues on which settlement has been reached;(B) Discovery which has been completed, including the inventory and pretrial statements pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1920.33; (C) Any documentary evidence to be presented at the hearing;(D) The names and addresses of each witness any party proposes to call at the hearing; (E) All matters which may be stipulated by the parties at the hearing;(F) Establish a schedule for filing of Pretrial Narrative Statements, completion of discovery and any other relevant matters; and(G) Such other relevant matters as should be raised by either of the parties or the Master.(c) POST-STATUS CONFERENCE (1) After the pre-hearing status conference the Master shall: (A) Prepare a summary of the discussions and action taken at the pre-hearing status conference, including a statement of any stipulations, and of any matters which have been settled between the parties and which will not be raised at the hearing before the Master;(B) Establish a schedule for the filing or service of any additional pleadings or discovery which may be deemed necessary and set hearing date(s);(C) Serve a copy of the summary and filing schedule on counsel for the parties, or on any unrepresented party; and(D) Indicate the amount of additional master's fees to be paid by the litigants prior to hearing.(d) MASTER'S HEARING (1) The Master shall establish a hearing date or dates at the pre-hearing status conference. These dates shall be included in the summary prepared pursuant to Section c (post status conference), as well as in the formal notice of Master's hearing as required by Pa.R.C.P. 1920.51(b). At least twenty (20) days written notice of the time and place of any Master's hearing shall be given to the attorneys of record (or the parties where no attorney has appeared in the case) by the Master by ordinary mail.(2) Counsel and parties will be expected to be present and participate during the entirety of the Master's hearing; otherwise they shall be subject to sanctions or other remedies deemed appropriate by the Court.(e) CONTINUANCES (1) A request shall be granted by the Master if both parties consent in writing.(2) All other requests for continuance shall be at the discretion of the Master, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. (f) SETTLEMENT (1) In the event the parties reach a negotiated settlement, then both parties must notify the Master of such agreement in writing, and both parties must request a postponement or cancellation of the Master's hearing, in order to postpone or cancel the Master's hearing.(2) The parties may attend the scheduled Master's hearing at the time scheduled for the purpose of entering the substance of their agreement on the record.(g) FEES AND COSTS (1) The initial fees, costs and compensation of the Master shall be in accordance with Administrative Order In Re Divorce Masters Miscellaneous Docket No. 90001-07 and any amendments thereto.(2) The Master shall determine additional fees due in accordance with the rate set by the Court and shall require an advance deposit of said amount prior to scheduling any further hearing. The Master shall have the authority to apportion the additional fees and advance deposits between the parties prior to trial, and the Master may reapportion such fees in the Master's Report.(3) The Master shall receive compensation for a minimum of four hours for each day of a scheduled hearing that is not either: (A) Continued in accordance with Erie L.R.1920.51(e); or(B) Cancelled with notice to the master in writing at least fourteen (14) days prior to the scheduled hearing date for the reason either that the case has been resolved or withdrawn.(4) In the event the Master fails to grant the continuance, the parties may petition the Court for a continuance. The Court may grant a continuance and will determine the amount of additional master's fees, if appropriate.(5) At the conclusion of the case, the Master shall prepare a certification indicating the amount of Master's fees paid the disposition thereof.Amended effective 7/1/2020; amended effective 8/1/2022.