Rule 1303 - Procedure For Scheduling And Holding Arbitrations(a) Duty of District Court Administrator. The District Court Administrator shall maintain a monthly list of all actions for arbitration in the order in which they are placed at issue. The District Court Administrator shall assign all cases listed in a calendar month to the Arbitration Board scheduled to sit in the second month after the month of listing or in the month selected by the parties.(b) Duty of Arbitration Board Chairperson. The Arbitration Board Chairperson shall organize the cases to be heard during the week into a list and send a copy of the list to all attorneys and pro se parties involved in the cases. The list shall indicate the date, time, and place of each hearing.(c) Motions. Any party to the action may raise questions of the action being arbitrable under these rules, or the composition of the board, first by informally notifying the District Court Administrator in writing, with notice to opposing counsel. Within three (3) days of such informal notice, the party raising the question shall file with the court a written motion based on such question, and shall specify the relief requested. The court shall decide such motion before the case is heard by the board. Failure to raise such questions within ten (10) days of receipt of a notice of such appointment, constitutes a waiver of those issues.(d) Continuance by parties. Once the case has been scheduled for a hearing and the parties notified as provided in subsection (b) hereof, there shall be no unilateral continuance. A request of a party or counsel for continuance of such scheduled hearing shall be granted only by the Chairperson of the board to a specific date, time and place after consultation with the District Court Administrator, and notice thereof shall be given by the chairperson to all parties, board members and the District Court Administrator. At the discretion of the Chairperson, a continued arbitration hearing may be held at a suitable, neutral location away from the assigned hearing location, such as a law office conference room, provided that the location is not more than five miles from the Judicial Center. For any case in which a continued hearing cannot be held within twenty (20) days of the date originally fixed therefor, the Chairperson shall direct the removal from the Arbitration List without prejudice to any party to relist the matter again.(e) Removing matter from arbitration. No party shall unilaterally remove a matter from the arbitration list without leave of court. Voluntary non-suits shall be in accordance with Pa.R.C.P. 1304(a).(f) Settlement, voluntary non-suit, summary judgment. In cases of settlement, voluntary non-suit and summary judgment, arising after a case has been scheduled, the parties or counsel shall notify the chairperson, whereupon the board shall enter an award in conformance therewith.(g) Procedure after board convened. Once a board has been convened, the procedure shall follow Pa.R.C.P. No. 1303(b).(h) Inability of Board to hear all assigned cases. If a Board cannot hear all assigned cases, it shall return the unheard cases to the District Court Administrator for assignment to a subsequent arbitration board.(i) Overload. If the District Court Administrator determines that the number of referred arbitration cases exceeds the ability of the Boards to hear them so that hearings are being delayed beyond ninety (90) days from reference, he shall meet with the Arbitration Committee, and additional arbitration boards shall be assigned from the arbitration panel members to hear the excess cases as soon as possible.Amended effective through 8/1/2023.