PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 2433 PRINTER'S NO. 3169
No. 1971 Session of 1991
INTRODUCED BY GODSHALL, HECKLER, REBER, DEMPSEY, NAHILL, CLARK, TRELLO, MERRY, BILLOW, SEMMEL, STAIRS, JOHNSON, FARGO, KRUSZEWSKI, BUNT, HARLEY, NOYE AND D. W. SNYDER, AUGUST 3, 1991
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, MARCH 10, 1992
AN ACT 1 Providing for uniform certification of questions of law; and 2 authorizing the Supreme Court or, the Superior Court OR THE <-- 3 COMMONWEALTH COURT to answer certified questions of law. 4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 5 hereby enacts as follows: 6 Section 1. Short title. 7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Uniform 8 Certification of Questions of Law Act. 9 Section 2. Power to answer. 10 The Supreme Court or, the Superior Court OR THE COMMONWEALTH <-- 11 COURT may answer questions of law certified to it by the Supreme 12 Court of the United States, a Court of Appeals of the United 13 States, a United States District Court, the United States Court 14 of International Trade, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict 15 Litigation, the United States Claims Court, the United States 16 Court of Military Appeals, the United States Tax Court, or the 17 highest appellate court or the intermediate appellate court of
1 any other state, when requested by the certifying court if there 2 are involved in any proceeding before it questions of law of 3 this Commonwealth which may be determinative of the cause then 4 pending in the certifying court and as to which it appears to 5 the certifying court there is no controlling precedent in the 6 decisions of the Supreme Court or the Superior Court or the 7 Commonwealth Court of this Commonwealth. 8 Section 3. Method of invoking. 9 This act may be invoked by an order of any of the courts 10 referred to in section 2 upon the court's own motion or upon the 11 motion of any party to the cause. 12 Section 4. Contents of certification order. 13 A certification order shall set forth: 14 (1) the questions of law to be answered; and 15 (2) a statement of all facts relevant to the questions 16 certified and showing fully the nature of the controversy in 17 which the questions arose. 18 Section 5. Preparation of certification order. 19 The certification order shall be prepared by the certifying 20 court, signed by the judge presiding at the hearing, and 21 forwarded to the Supreme Court or, the Superior Court OR THE <-- 22 COMMONWEALTH COURT by the clerk of the certifying court under 23 its official seal. The Supreme Court or, the Superior Court OR <-- 24 THE COMMONWEALTH COURT may require the original or copies of all 25 or of any portion of the record before the certifying court to 26 be filed with the certification order, if, in the opinion of the 27 Supreme Court or, the Superior Court OR THE COMMONWEALTH COURT, <-- 28 the record or portion thereof may be necessary in answering the 29 questions. 30 Section 6. Costs of certification. 19910H1971B3169 - 2 -
1 Fees and costs shall be the same as in civil appeals docketed 2 before the Supreme Court or, the Superior Court OR THE <-- 3 COMMONWEALTH COURT and shall be equally divided between the 4 parties unless otherwise ordered by the certifying court in its 5 order of certification. 6 Section 7. Briefs and arguments. 7 Proceedings in the Supreme Court or, the Superior Court OR <-- 8 THE COMMONWEALTH COURT shall be those provided in Pennsylvania 9 Rules of Appellate Procedure. 10 Section 8. Opinion. 11 The written opinion of the Supreme Court or, the Superior <-- 12 Court OR THE COMMONWEALTH COURT stating the law governing the <-- 13 questions certified shall be sent by the clerk under the seal of 14 the Supreme Court or, the Superior Court OR THE COMMONWEALTH <-- 15 COURT to the certifying court and to the parties. 16 Section 9. Power to certify. 17 The Supreme Court, the Superior Court or the Commonwealth 18 Court of this Commonwealth, on its own motion or the motion of 19 any party, may order certification of questions of law to the 20 highest court of any state when it appears to the certifying 21 court that there are involved in any proceeding before the court 22 questions of law of the receiving state which may be 23 determinative of the cause then pending in the certifying court 24 and it appears to the certifying court that there are no 25 controlling precedents in the decisions of the highest court or 26 intermediate appellate courts of the receiving state. 27 Section 10. Procedure on certifying. 28 The procedures for certification from this Commonwealth to 29 the receiving state shall be those provided in the laws of the 30 receiving state. 19910H1971B3169 - 3 -
1 Section 11. Construction. 2 This act shall be so construed as to effectuate its general 3 purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it. 4 Section 12. Effective date. 5 This act shall take effect in 60 days. F10L42PJP/19910H1971B3169 - 4 -