House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

Posted:	December 27, 2012 03:00 PM
From:	Representative Bryan Cutler
To:	All House members
Subject:	Co-sponsorship- Change of Venue (Previously HR 792)

In the near future, I am planning to reintroduce former House Resolution 792. This piece of legislation will call upon the PA Supreme Court to conduct an impact evaluation of the existing rules of civil procedure pertaining to venue in personal injury cases. This legislation would define the following: Cites the PA Supreme Court’s 2002 response to the medical malpractice insurance crisis by adopting rules limiting venue in medical professional liability claims to the location where the cause of action arose and notes that the number of suits brought in Philadelphia has declined by 40 percent since that time. The Resolution notes that national studies have pointed to Pennsylvania, and particularly Philadelphia, as places where the rules of venue are routinely abused, creating a disproportionate burden on the courts, government and citizens who have cases pending or who are called upon to serve on juries in Philadelphia as a result. Calls upon the PA Supreme Court to conduct a study to determine the impact of the existing Rules of Civil Procedure regarding venue in personal injury cases on parties, jurors and the finances of the Commonwealth and its local governments. The Resolution further petitions the Court to examine the efficacy and justice of applying the venue rules applicable to medical professional liability cases to all personal injury cases.
View Attachment

Introduced as HR283