Bucks County Court of Common Pleas
New Procedure for Postponement of Sheriff’s Sales
In an effort to streamline and standardize procedures for obtaining continuance/postponement of a scheduled Sheriff’s sale, beginning July 12, 2019, the Court is adopting a new protocol for handling such requests.
The procedure will be as follows:
Uncontested Motions for Continuance
Uncontested motions for continuance that are NOT time-sensitive may be filed at any time. Such motions will be processed by Court Administration, Law and Research, and forwarded to the Court in the usual course. An order on such motions will ordinarily be entered 7-10 days from the date of filing.
More time-sensitive uncontested motions may be filed on Monday through Thursday of the week of Sheriff’s sales and walked by counsel to the Office of the Court Administrator, 2nd Floor, Bucks County Justice Center. Court Administration, Law and Research, will process the motion and at that time counsel will be permitted to proceed to the chambers of the assigned Sheriff’s sale judge for execution of the order.
Uncontested motions filed on the Friday morning of Sheriff’s sales must be walked by counsel to the Office of the Court Administrator. Court Administration, Law and Research, will process the motion and send counsel to a pre-assigned courtroom, where the Sheriff’s sale judge will be available to sign the order at 9 a.m.
Contested Motions for Continuance
Contested motions for continuance should be filed the Friday morning of Sheriff’s sales and walked to the Office of the Court Administrator no later than 8:30 a.m. Court Administration, Law and Research, will process the motion and prepare docket entries for the case as necessary. Counsel/parties will then be sent to a pre-assigned courtroom, where the Sheriff’s sale judge will hear contested motions beginning at 9:00 a.m. Moving counsel/parties will be expected to provide information to the Court regarding the time and manner in which notice of the filing and presentation of the motion was provided to any opposing party. Failure to provide proof of such notice may be grounds for denial of the motion.
No telephone conferences will be permitted.
Motions Filed After Sheriff’s Sale Hearings Have Concluded
Any motion filed after completion of contested hearings on the Friday morning of Sheriff’s sales but before commencement of the Sheriff’s sale at 11 a.m. will be directed to the chambers of the Sheriff’s sale judge for consideration.