Notice to Attend and Produce
(PA)

Summary

This template is a notice to attend and produce. You may use it to command a party in a Pennsylvania action to appear at a trial and/or to produce the requested information. The template provided complies with Pa. R. Civ. P. 234.7 and 234.8. It contains practical guidance, optional clauses, and drafting notes. A notice to attend and produce is used to command the attendance or production of documents by a party whose attendance is not required by law but whose attendance at trial is necessary to another party's case. You can use this template to ensure that the party will appear and/or produce. If not, the party who fails to appear/produce can be subject to an order to compel or sanction. You can use this notice for an out-of-state party. Pa. R. Civ. P. 234.3. See Pa. R. Civ. P. 234.5 for penalties available for failure to comply with a notice to attend and produce. There is no time requirement or advance notice required. The party who serves the notice to produce/attend must serve the notice "reasonably in advance" of the date of the required appearance. Pa. R. Civ. P. 234.3(a) and 234.3(b). A notice to attend and produce must be served in accordance with Pa. R. Civ. P. 440 for legal papers other than original process, which means you can serve it by mail. Pa. R. Civ. P. 234.3(c). Note that you may also consider using requests for production of documents under Pa. R. Civ. P. 4009.1, 4009.11, and 4009.12. These are traditionally used as part of a party's general discovery and are not used to compel attendance or production at a hearing or deposition. However, document requests pursuant to Rule 4009 are subject to the 30-day response period, and a party can move to compel or sanction a non-responsive party. Also, document requests under Rule 4009 are more encompassing and contain definitions and a signed verification. For information on requests for production and relevant templates, see Document Requests: Drafting and Serving RFPs (PA), Document Requests: Responding to RFPs (PA), Requests for Production of Documents and Things (RFPs) (Defendant to Plaintiff) (PA), and Requests for Production of Documents and Things (RFPs) (Plaintiff to Defendant) (PA). If you wish to compel a nonparty's attendance or production of documents, you must use a subpoena under Pa. R. Civ. P. 4009.21–4009.27. Rules permit you to serve a notice to produce along with a subpoena. SeeSubpoena to Attend and Testify (Discovery) (PA).