Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

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

1410 Posts and Counting

Stimulus or No Stimulus?

The Obama Administration came to Washington a few weeks ago with an imperative ringing in its ears: save the country by spending, not a minute to waste. According to the experts, unless the spending reaches a certain level, all will be for naught.

Rule 237.3: Opening Default Judgment

You are served by the sheriff with a civil complaint. The second page informs you that you have twenty days to file a responsive pleading or default judgment may be entered against you. But you don’t. You forgot.

A notice from the Plaintiff’s attorney come in the mail. You have failed to file an answer in the alloted 20 days, it states, so you must file a responsive pleading within ten days or default judgment may be entered against you.

Ten days passes and you still haven’t filed anything. You’ve been busy.

Then, you receive notice of default judgment from the Prothonotary (or Department of Court Records in Allegheny County). Damn, too late!

Maybe not.

An Old Idea is New Again: Borrow from a Community Bank or Credit Union!

When you pay off that Countrywide/Wells Fargo/Bank of America — you name it — mortgage loan, the one that was re-sold immediately on Wall Street, don’t go back to the same old place. This time, go to a Community Bank or Credit Union, preferably one that keeps its own residential loans in portfolio.

High Official Immunity has a Long History in Pensylvania.

Sometimes a case will turn on whether the public official in question is “high” enough. District attorneys, who make policy, are clearly high public officials. But what about the assistant district attorney? In Durham the Supreme Court held that ADA’s were essential to the DA in doing his job. The immunity was not for the purpose of protecting the official, but benefitting the public. It would serve no public purpose if the DA were immune from suit while the ADA who handled the case was required to defend.

Allegheny County Court Filing Fee Increases: More than Might Meet The Eye.

In 1973, when I filed my first Complaint at the Prothonotary (they called it Prothonotary until 2008) I paid $15.50. I distinctly remember that the impecunious I could afford to advance that trifling cost, and the sheriff’s service fee, too. Now, 36 years later, it costs almost ten times more. For a comparison, this is just about double the increase in the price of residential real estate during the same period. Last summer, Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk reported that a fifty thousand dollar sales price in 1973 translates into $217,837.00 in 2008. Filing fees rose twice that. Too bad you can’t invest in court filing fees futures.

Criminal Law: Ashley Anger is on the Loose!

Posted by Cliff Tuttle Just like in the Wild West, the Allegheny County Sheriff has a rogues gallery of “Most Wanted”. Among this bunch of dangerous dudes did you notice one “Ashley Anger”? Did you notice the charges that earned her a place on the “Most Wanted”? That’s right! She gave the law a false […]

Bizz Bam Buzz: If you are an entrepreneur or wish you were, you may want to check it out.

Entrepreneurship is all about imagination. Sewickley Pennsylvania Lawyer Anthony Ceriminaro exudes both. In this blog, he is part business coach, part house counsel and part gadfly. Nevertheless, if you are the type of person who dislikes surprises, disdains the unusual and considers entertainment a waste of time, this blog is not for you. You should be reading the dense, serious and tedious stuff put out by large law firms ( a.k.a. Big Law in the Blawgs) and their wanabees on their websites. Uptight, Bizz Bam Buzz is not.

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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.

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