Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Document Format Requirements

CRITICAL

Party information and addresses must use upper- and lowercase letters and contain no punctuation.

Party information and addresses must be entered using upper and lower case letters and without using any punctuation.

CRITICALCivil cases

A required signature must be supplied as a scanned original signature, a digitalized signature, or the filer’s name preceded by “/s/” together with the attorney’s printed name.

A required signature shall be supplied either by filing a scanned image of the legal paper that bears the original signature of the filer, or, by affixing the digitalized signature, or the name of the filer preceded by /s/, and the printed name of the filer’s attorney, to the electronically filed legal paper.

CRITICAL

Transcript requests must use the standardized Request for Transcript or Copy Form.

All requests for transcripts shall be set forth on the standardized form, Request for Transcript or Copy Form, available at http://www.lccpa.org/forms/RequestforTranscript.pdf

CRITICAL

Margins

top 3 in

Each document must leave a 3-inch top margin on its first page for official use.

A 3-inch margin at the top of the first page for timestamp and other official use.

CRITICALCivil cases

A continuance application must use the court-approved continuance request form.

Any application for a continuance of a scheduled arbitration hearing shall be presented on the approved continuance request form to the administrative judge, civil division, or his designee, at least five (5) days prior to the arbitration date. The continuance request must be on a form approved by the court, and shall contain all of the reasons for the request for continuance.

CRITICALCivil cases

Whenever briefs are required, an original and one copy must be filed with the Clerk and served on the other interested parties.

In all matters where briefs are to be filed, an original and one copy shall be filed with the Clerk and served upon the other interested parties in accordance with these Rules.

CRITICALCivil cases

The first sheet of every pleading, motion, or other legal filing must leave a three-inch space at the top for the Clerk’s stamp and other official use.

Pa.R.C.P. No. 204.1(3) requires that the first sheet of all pleadings, motions and other legal filings shall contain a 3-inch space from the top of the paper. This space shall be reserved solely for the use of the Clerk of Judicial Records – Civil Division for the electronic date and time stamp, and other official use.

CRITICALCivil cases

Format

PDF

Electronically filed legal papers must be submitted in PDF format.

All electronically filed legal papers shall be in Portable Document Format (hereafter, “PDF”).

CRITICAL

Margins

top 3 in

A proposed order must leave a 3-inch top margin on its first page for official use.

Contain a 3-inch margin at the top of the first page for timestamp and other official use.

CRITICALCivil cases

Format

PDF

All legal papers filed electronically must be in PDF format.

All legal papers shall be filed electronically in Portable Document Format (PDF).

CRITICALCivil cases

Briefs must use proper legal citations conforming to the Uniform System of Citations.

All briefs shall include proper legal citations conforming to the Uniform System of Citations and contain:

CRITICALCivil cases

Legal papers must reserve a 3-inch top space on the first sheet, be bound only with a metal binder clip, and have consecutive numbering at the bottom.

All legal paper shall conform to the following requirements: (a) The first sheet shall contain a 3-inch space from the top of the paper for all court stampings, filing notices, etc.; (b) Be firmly bound by means of a metal binder clip only and numbered consecutively at the bottom;

CRITICAL

Format

PDF

Documents filed through OFS must have page numbers, be sequentially ordered, and be legible PDFs.

All documents filed through OFS must include page numbers, be in proper sequential order, in legible PDF format

WARNINGCivil cases

Pages must be numbered consecutively, with each number at the bottom center of the page.

(9) All pages shall be numbered consecutively. The number shall appear at the bottom center position of each page.

WARNINGCivil cases

Copies attached to documents must be clear and legible.

(10) All copies attached to documents shall be clear and legible.

WARNINGCivil cases

Depositions must be taken in Lehigh County unless the court grants leave or all parties agree otherwise; videotape depositions for trial are excepted.

Unless leave of court is obtained or all parties agree otherwise, and excepting videotape depositions for use at trial, all depositions in cases filed with this court shall be taken in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Requested points for charge

Points for charge requested from the Pennsylvania Suggested Standard Civil Jury Instructions must be identified only by section number, not reproduced verbatim.

The points for charge requested from the Pennsylvania Suggested Standard Civil Jury Instructions shall be listed only by section number and not set forth verbatim.

WARNINGCivil cases

Documents must be single-sided and double-spaced, except quotations, footnotes, and exhibits may be single-spaced.

(4) All documents shall be single-sided and double-spaced, except that quotations, footnotes and exhibits may be single-spaced.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Settlement conference report

The settlement-conference report must follow the format approved by the court and provided by the civil court coordinator.

Within five (5) days following each settlement conference, the lawyer mediator shall submit to the court administrator’s office a written report in the format approved by the court provided to the lawyer mediator by the civil court coordinator at the time of appointment, which report shall identify the parties to the litigation, their counsel, whether any attorney failed to appear, offers/demands of settlement (except as provided in (e) (4) above), recommendations of the lawyer mediator, whether the case settled and/or the possibility of settlement, and whether additional involvement of the lawyer mediator is necessary to effectuate settlement.

WARNINGCivil cases

Backers and toppers may not be used on documents submitted for filing.

(1) The use of backers and/or toppers is prohibited.

WARNINGCivil cases

Documents submitted for filing must be fastened together by staples.

(2) All documents shall be fastened together by staples.

WARNINGCivil cases

Attachments smaller than 8½ by 11 inches must be attached to regular-size paper using Scotch tape.

(7) Attachments smaller than 8-1/2” x 11” shall be attached to regular size paper by using scotch tape.

WARNINGCivil cases

Do not highlight original-document text with colored markers; bolding or a different font style or size may be used instead.

(3) The text of original documents shall not be highlighted by the use of colored markers. Highlighting of text can be done by bolding or by using a different style and size of font.

WARNINGCivil cases

Supreme Court-approved forms are to be used exclusively in Orphans’ Court and Register of Wills practice; the Court may also approve other forms, which are maintained on its website.

Except to the extent of Supreme Court-approved forms, which are to be used exclusively in practice before the Orphans’ Court and Register of Wills, and which are available on the website of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, from time to time, the Court may approve other forms to facilitate practice and procedure before the Court and such forms are maintained at the Court’s website at www.lccpa.org/orphans.

WARNINGCivil cases

All documents must use a font size of at least 12 points.

(5) The font size of all documents shall be not less 12 points.

WARNINGCivil cases

Paper must be of good quality and no larger than 8½ by 11 inches.

(6) Paper shall be of good quality and shall not exceed 8-1/2” x 11” in size.

WARNINGCivil cases

Exhibits must be identified at the bottom center of each document and by exhibit tabs.

(8) All exhibits shall be identified as such on the bottom center of each document as well as by exhibit tabs.