Certification by Attorney General; Rule-making Authority

Certification by Attorney General; Rule-making Authority. (a) Upon certification by the Attorney General that the defendant employee was acting within the scope of his/her office or employment at the time of the incident out of which the claim arose, any civil action or proceeding commenced upon such claim in a court against an employee shall be deemed an action against the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth shall be substituted as the party defendant, if the Commonwealth was not already a defendant in the suit. An order dismissing the employee from the suit shall be entered. (b) In the event the Attorney General has refused to certify scope of office or employment, the employee may at any time before trial petition the court to find and certify that the employee was acting within the scope of his/her office or employment. Upon such certification by the court, such action or proceeding shall be deemed to be an action or proceeding against the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth shall be substituted as the party defendant. A copy of the petition shall be served upon the Commonwealth. (c) Upon certification, any action or proceeding shall proceed in the same manner as any other action against the Commonwealth and shall be subject to the limitations and exceptions applicable to those actions. (d) Whenever an action or proceeding in which the Commonwealth is substituted as the party defendant is dismissed for failure to first present a claim pursuant to the requirements of this title, such a claim shall be deemed to be timely presented under this title if: (1) The claim would have been timely had it been filed on the date the underlying civil action was commenced, and (2) The claim is presented to the Attorney General within 60 days after dismissal of the civil action. (e) Rule-making Authority. The Office of the Attorney General may promulgate needed rules and regulations to implement the intent of this Act. Source: (a)-(d) by PL 15-22, § 10; (e) by PL 15-22, § 12.