Received 11/08/2021 Supreme Court Eastern District

Filed 11/08/2021 Supreme Court Eastern District

SR CHRISTIAN LEGAL CLINICS OF

4455 N 6th Street Suite 100

Philadelphia, PA 19140

Phone: (215) 399-0064

Fax:484-352-3717

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Jaimee L. Hatcher, Esq., LLM

Executive Director

Peter M. Hileman, Esq.

Director Emeritus

Heather Hulit, Esq.

Director of Client Advocacy

November 5, 2021

The Honorable Max Baer

Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

c/o Office of the Prothonotary

468 City Hall

Philadelphia, PA 19107

Re: Response in Support of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Order No. 21 EM 2020

Authorization for Continuation of the Philadelphia Municipal Court Landlord-

Tenant Diversion Program

Dear Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,

I am writing to request your ongoing support for Philadelphia's nationally renowned use of Alternative

Dispute Resolution in eviction proceedings. I appreciate your leadership m continuing to extend

authority for Philadelphia to require landlords to apply for rental assistance and participate in

Philadelphia's pre-filing Eviction Diversion Program, most recently via your Order dated October 28,

2021, No. 21 EM 2020. I would like to request that you continue to extend this authority beyond

November 30, 2021.1 further request that you grant this authority to other counties, so that residents

there can also benefit from collaboration between the courts, rental assistance, and other stabilizing

measures. To do so, I respectfully request that you issue a mle that allows a local coiuity's President

Judge to issue their own local rule creating or coordinating with Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

procedures m eviction proceedings, if they so choose.

I have been seiving as volunteer mediator since Fall 2020 and I also have represented tenants in

landlord-tenant court, on and off, since 2012. Out of 40 mediations I have handled, only one was unable

to come to an agreement. The rest resulted in agreements that made sense and satisfied the landlord and

the tenant. There is a wholly different quality to mediation when it is done between two equally infonned

parties without the pressure of a same-day court hearing. In my five years experience as a paralegal

assisting pro-se tenants, I saw over and over how tenants would sign terrible agreements in court because

they were terrified of being in front of a judge and they were not infonned of their rights and options.

They need the time with a housing counselor to consider their specific circumstances and discuss the

best options for them, without the pressure and fear that is present with mediations at court.

Consider that:

Since April 1, 2021 Philadelphia Municipal Court has required that landlords apply for rental

assistance and participate in Philadelphia's Eviction Diversion Program before filing an

eviction case for non-payment of rent.

Philadelphia's Eviction Diversion Program began on September 1,2020 and has helped over

2,300 landlord tenant pairs in reaching an agreement or resolution with the support of housing

counselors and trained mediators in over 90% of cases. The Program has also helped an

additional 7,000 landlords and tenants access rental assistance without the need for mediation.

4455 N. 6 • STREET SUITE 100 PHIUDELPHIA, PA 19140 | TEL: 215 399 0064 | FAX: 484 »2 S713 | EMAIL: CLC@aCPHILA.ORG | WEB: WWW.CLCPHILA.ORG

Jaimee L. Hatcher, Esq., LLM

Executive Director

Peter M. Hileman, Esq.

Director Emeritus

Heather Hulit, Esq.

Director of Client Advocacy

I -T CHRISTIAN LEGAL CLINICS OF

^PHILADELPHIA

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