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L4008. Transcript Costs Payable by a Requesting Party Other Than the Commonwealth or a Subdivision Thereof / Waiver of Costs.

A. Costs. The costs for transcripts are established at the maximum rate allowed by Pa.R.J.A. No. 4008(A).

B. Petition to Waive All or a Portion of the Transcript Costs / Letter of Certification.

(1) If a litigant seeks to waive all or a portion of the costs of a transcript, that request shall be in the form of a petition which shall be filed in the appropriate filing office. If the court waives all of the transcript costs, the litigant shall proceed in accordance with L4007(B)(2). If the court waives only a portion of the transcript costs or denies the petition, the litigant shall proceed in accordance with L4007(B)(1).

(2) Litigants who have been approved for representation by legal aid services are not required to prove economic hardship and shall be entitled to obtain ordinary transcripts at no cost. In lieu of a petition to waive the transcript costs, legal aid services may provide a letter of certification verifying that the client meets financial eligibility for legal aid services and that the matter is under appeal or that the transcript being requested is necessary to advance the litigation. If a certification letter is provided, the litigant shall proceed in accordance with L4007(B)(2).

C. Additional Costs. A trial judge may impose a reasonable surcharge in cases such as mass tort, medical malpractice or other unusually complex litigation, where there is a need for court reporters to significantly expand their dictionary. Such surcharges are at the discretion of the trial judge.