Landlord & Tenant: City Rental Registration Program Put on Hold Until September.

challenging the Ordinance that created the Program and seeking to enjoin its enforcement.

After some testimony had been taken, the Plaintiffs in these suits obtained a consent order for the purpose of giving the parties time to work out a settlement with the City. Under the consent order, signed by Judge Joseph James on March 19, enforcement is suspended until September or further order of court.

Please Email; Please Don’t Fax; But Whatever You Do, Don’t Telex.

I can remember observing a Telex machine in the late 70’s, early 80’s in an office where I once worked. In the quiet of the night, you could hear it pounding away down the hall. But the only communications I ever saw come out of it were Associated Press news dispatches. I never sent or received a telex, but every now and then I would come across a Telex address on someone’s letterhead. In a wireless world, Telex apparently still has a niche. But not with me. Don’t try to send me one, I don’t have a wiring address.

It happened in Pittsburgh.

I suppose that I ought to read the decision before exercising my right of free speech to criticize it. But reading takes work and writing about decisions takes thought. Better to just flip off the judge. But don’t do it in court. It may not be disorderly conduct, but I guarantee you, in any courtroom in the world, it is contempt.

How Much Money Other People Make.

Posted by Cliff Tuttle One staple feature of magazines for lawyers and now websites, electronic newsletters and blogs for lawyers, is the feature about how much money other lawyers make. This stuff can give you a serious inferiority complex. It is almost guaranteed that reported median salary for in-house counsel, corporate general counsel, partner (or […]

Q: When is a Billboard not a Billboard? A: When it is 25 SF.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Township of Exeter v. Zoning Hearing Board of Exeter Twp., 962 A.2d 653 (2009) upheld a finding by the Zoning Hearing Board and affirmed by the Court of Common Pleas, based on expert testimony, that an ordinance that limited the size of a billboard to 25 feet effectively banned billboards, since 25 square feet was too small to display an advertising message of the kind commonly found on billboards to passing motorists. (Exclusionary Zoning)

Conquering Law School in One Easy Lesson.

Old timers who went to school before Law Preview are left to muse: could it have been that easy? Could we, in the words of Law Preview, have “conquered law school” with one more week of focused preparation?

Those of us who didn’t rank in the top 20.7% will never know.

Fair and Biased — Strike That — Balanced.

The story involved an incident where a bag containing boiled ham was placed on the table in the cafeteria where a group of Somali Muslims were seated. In the blog piece, the bag of ham became a ham sandwich and quotes lifted from a factual local newspaper account were livened up with fictitious quotes.

Backtalk Requested: Bonusteria.

So, answer a few simple questions:
1. How did the AIG employees who earned bonuses qualify for them?
2. What benefit did AIG derive from the efforts that earned the bonuses?
3. Are the people who received the bonuses earning more money for AIG than the value of the bonuses? How much more or less?
4. Can AIG find people to replace the bonus-earners who will make as much or more money for AIG without being paid a bonus?

What? Not a clue?

Then why are you so outraged?

New Government Website on Refinance and Modification: Making Home Affordable.

Posted by Cliff Tuttle MakingHomeAffordable.gov is the new website launched today by HUD and Treasury to provide information on federally funded modification and refinance opportunities. It offers “interactive self-assessment tools” to determine eligibility for government-sponsored programs. CLT

Twittering away the Idle Hours on Jury Duty: Forget It.

If you have to report for jury duty, it may be a good idea to leave your iphone or Blackberry behind. No one has made any public announcements, at least not to my knowledge, but don’t be surprised to see the tipstaff collecting electronic devices at the door. Word has been going around the internet for a while, and now the main line news about jurors causing mistrials by getting and giving out information on the web during trial.

keep looking »

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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