Montgomery County, PA

Rule *920.                 Board of Assessment Appeals

(a)      The Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure shall be applicable to all

assessment appeals filed in Montgomery County before the Court of

Common Pleas. Nothing in this rule shall be construed to limit discovery

as permitted under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.

(b)      In all cases where an appeal is taken from a real estate assessment

fixed by the Board of Assessment Appeals, the petition for allowance

of appeal shall have the parcel numbers of the property being appealed

in the caption and shall have attached to it a photocopy of the appealed

from order of the said Board and shall have attached to it a proposed

preliminary decree which shall provide:

(1)      that the appeal to Court is permitted and said case is to

proceed in conformity with the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil

Procedure;

(2)      that within five days from the date of the preliminary

          decree, appellant shall serve a copy of the petition and

          preliminary decree upon the said Board, upon the Board of

          County Commissioners of Montgomery County, the

          governing body of the municipality and the Board of

          School Directors of the school district in which the real

          estate is situate and their Solicitors, and upon the

          property owner, if the property owner is not the

          appellant;

(3)      that the taxing authorities of the aforesaid and the

          property owner, if the property owner is not the

          appellant, be and are hereby entitled to intervene as

          parties appellee.

(c)      Appellant, within 60 days of filing the appeal, shall provide to

appellee and intervening parties a copy of their appraisal report (which

need not be the trial report) with copies of income and expense

statements and rent rolls (if applicable) for the last three years. In

cases where a taxing authority is the appellant, the appraisal report

must be provided to appellee and intervening parties within 60 days of

appellant’s receipt of discovery requested of the taxpayer, including

but not limited to inspection of the subject property provided that the

taxing authorities forwarded their discovery requests to the taxpayer

within 30 days of filing their appeal. Where exemption is the sole

issue, this paragraph is not applicable.

(d)      The appeal shall be forwarded by the Court Administrator to the

Court for a settlement conference upon the filing of a trial praecipe

signed by all counsel of record.

(e)      A settlement conference shall be convened by the Court upon the

filing of a trial praecipe which shall be attended by the appellant and

all intervening parties. All parties must have a preliminary evaluation

of the subject property at the conference and be prepared to exchange

information with opposing counsel. Expert witnesses may attend the

conference but are not required to do so.

(f)      If the assessment appeal is not settled, the Court shall place the

matter in the trial pool. The parties shall exchange expert appraisal

reports, to be used at trial, within 10 days of the receipt of notice of

the first trial listing.