Q: How can a Property be Disruptive? A: When the Dog Gets Loose.

What are the unintended consequences of this disruptive properties ordinance? Properties that can’t be sold? Streets full of boarded up properties? Purchasers of rental properties avoiding the City? Tenants avoiding the City? All of these bad outcomes seem likely. All of these bad outcomes would be more disruptive than the problem the ordinance is trying to solve.

Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk Turns 100 (Posts)

Another milestone. I posted my 100th piece on this blog early yesterday morning. The first was in July 2008. It wasn’t long before I started receiving real comments. One of the first was from a Magisterial District Judge who pointed out a missing piece of information in a post on landlord-tenant statutes. We’ve grown steadily since then. Today, after just 100 posts, we’re ranked number 245 in traffic on the Avvo Top Legal Blogs List.

Will the Federal Mortgage Modification Guidelines Change the Game?

As the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas begins mediating mortgage foreclosures, the federal guidelines may provide a means for accelerating the resolution of local cases. Home lenders who receive bailout funds should come prepared to make offers consistent with the guidelines. Having a tangible, enforceable standard to measure lender compliance should make a great deal of difference in the mediation process.

Introducing Philadelphia Immigration Lawyer Blog.

Posted by Cliff Tuttle Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk is adding Philadelphia Immigration Lawyer Blog to its blogroll. Although the author, Philadelphia immigration lawyer Jim Tyler, has only posted once in 2009, the posts from December appear to be of high quality. This blog could be a valuable resource to someone in search of information about […]

Time is Running Out to Register Rental Properties in the City of Pittsburgh.

670.2(b): “When the Director determines that the owner(s), tenant(s) or occupant(s) of a property, or any person present at the property with the permission and knowledge of he owner(s), tenant(s) or occupant(s), has either been arrested or issued a citation or summons for disruptive activities occurring on the property on three (3) separate occasions within any sixty day period, the director my declare the property a disruptive property and proceed with the notice and enforcement procedures set forth in this chapter.”

What Does Peanut Corporation of America Bankruptcy Mean to Salmonella Victims?

The type of claim that salmonella victims are likely to bring is called “products liability.” There are several products liability theories that may be applicable, depending upon the specific facts of the case, the law of the state where suit is brought and the target defendant. Without going into detail, all parties in the chain of distribution of a dangerous or defective product may be liable under statutes enacted to protect users of the product. That means that attorneys representing victims of salmonella poisoning from products originating with Peanut Corporation of America will be looking at where the product went after it left the plant and whose brand name is on the package. In some cases, evidence concerning the contamination and injury, as well as the chain of distribution, may be readily available. In others, evidence of some element of the case may be difficult or impossible to obtain.

Real Estate: Who will Get the proposed $15,000 Tax Credit for Buying a New Home? Sellers, of Course!

Over 35 years of handling real estate transactions, both as a lawyer and (years ago) a real estate broker, I have had the opportunity to observe the interaction between the price of real estate and other financial factors. In the days when a sales transaction did not immediately affect the assessment of a property, a low tax assessment was a selling point and increased the selling price. Similarly, when home loan interest rates go up, sales prices go down. When interest rates go down, that’s right.

Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk is 235th most visited law blog

Avvo informed us that Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk is currently the 235th most visited on its list of Top Legal Blogs. This is based upon the rankings by Alexa, the Web Information Company. On February 12, 2009, Alexa gave PLBT a traffic rating of 3,276,329. That means that there are 3,276, 328 sites with more traffic. No. 1 rank by Alexa is Yahoo.com, No. 2 is Google, No. 3 is You Tube.

Client Confidentiality Includes the Identity of the Client.

Some people ask how to respond to a pointed question involving confidential information without giving away the answer. No reason to lie to protect a secret, ever. Just say, with a wise look in your eye, “You know I can’t answer that question.” And mean it.

Rooting for the Underdog.

Kudos to “Stump”, the Sussex Spaniel who was voted best of show in the Winchester Dog Show and the oldest winner ever. Last year, when they chose the Beagle with endless charm, Uno, the Club found that it had a bona-fide celebrity on its hands. Now there are two.

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Welcome

CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

Legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus.

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