Every Day’s a Snow Day in the Neighborhood.

Its getting tough to keep the driveway clear, what with two inches or more of new snow falling every night. The sides of the driveway are now becoming too high to throw a shovelful of heavy snow on top. And if you let it go for a while, it might get packed down into ice, just like the main roads in the City were.

Our neighbor was trapped inside his car this morning when he tried to gun it through the accumulated snow, only to discover that the snow plow had recently erected a wall of ice and snow at the end of the driveway. Fortunately, a group of good Samaritans in the neighborhood discovered his plight and dug him out.

And why did the City Schools cancel class again today? Why? Because in many locations, there is no place to walk except in the street.

Meanwhile, the TV newscast is full of stories about a dog killed and owner injured by an apparent hit and run driver, a man dying while waiting two days for the paramedics, an elderly woman falling and dying of exposure on her front sidewalk and of course, a succession of collapsing roofs.

Be careful. Its dangerous out there!

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

A New Look.

If you read this blog regularly, you have undoubtedly noticed that a new look appeared yesterday. Although not quite complete, the new WordPress template is up. The dinosaur, my brand ID, is back on the masthead. Additional features will be added during the next few days, including a contact box for those who wish to have a private discussion with the author.

Starting next week, to celebrate our new look, I’ll be reprising some of the best posts of the past 18 months. This will give newer readers, including the Twitter crowd, to catch up on what Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk is all about.

Category: Uncategorized

Mortification of the Flesh.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Holy Season of Lent. It is a time for reflection and penitence.

By the standards of any other era, we the fortunate few of 20th and 21st Century America, are overfed, over-entertained and that is just the beginning. From time to time in the Gospel, Jesus says, in consolation of the poor, that the wealthy will have effectively “used up” their reward on earth. I cannot hear that without a chill, wondering whether He was talking about us.

And so we come to Lent. It offers a chance for a new beginning. An opportunity for the soul to take back some measure of control from a self-indulgent body. Let’s take it. And then, when these 40 days have passed, we might be better, stronger and even happier people.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Social Security on the Ropes Again?

According to a column in the Chicago Tribune, the Social Security system will once again be earning less every year than it is paying out. The author predicts that the fund will be broke again by 2037. Of course, a lot of things can and will change between now and then, including the deaths of a large number of those pesky baby boomers.

Even if Congress can’t agree on how to fix it (and they eventually will), I predict that a much larger number of us will not be retiring at 65 and will elect to postpone taking benefits. What do most retired men do anyway? That’s right, watch television. Better to work.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Washington and Lincoln: Extreme Leadership.

President’s Day was a consolidation of two Presidential birthdays in February as a Monday holiday and although it has been said that it is now intended to honor all of the Presidents, it is all about Washington and Lincoln. Although we have had several other great leaders among the 44, none is universally recognized as being in the class of Washington and Lincoln and perhaps none ever will.

There are reasons. Washington and Lincoln, in their times, managed, by ingenuity and tenacity, to hold together a nation that was literally crumbling. They inspired those around them and many others that they had never met. And they did it in an age when communication was mostly by word of mouth.

Ironically, their triumphs were slow to come and hard won — they had mostly bad days, disappointment and even serious reverses. For a long time, just surviving to fight another day was all that could be achieved. They improvised, they experimented, they tried one approach after another, but they never stopped trying. When a make or break crisis arose, they met it.

But they didn’t do it alone. No leader ever does. They found other leaders, plenty of them. Washington and Lincoln’s Presidential cabinets were perhaps the greatest assembly of talent at that level in the nation’s history.

Washington’s General Staff during the Revolution was composed, by necessity, mostly of men with almost no military experience. But he had a knack for finding talent, Greene and Hamilton were prime examples. The most experienced, Lee and Arnold, became traitors who very nearly delivered final victory to the enemy. But Washington managed to outlast it all, even treachery.

Washington’s greatest military achievement was a retreat, saving the Continental Army from destruction when nearly surrounded at Brooklyn Heights. At the end of that long retreat, he rallied a demoralized army and nation by a difficult and daring raid on Christmas. Over his years as Commander of the Continental Army, the aftermath of the war and finally as President, he disarmed various internal revolts, usually by standing alone before angry dissidents with no other weapons but personality and persuasion.

Lincoln was required to replace one commander after another. Even great victories such as Gettysburg and the Western Campaign could not bring the war to an end. In order to defeat the enemy’s great generals, he was forced to implement an unprecedented strategy yielding massive death and destruction. And, of course, he was the last casualty of a war that far exceeded the American death toll in the bloody World Wars.

Yes, Washington and Lincoln were survivors. But, more importantly, they each had a vision. That vision has become our heritage.

Category: Uncategorized

Goodbye, Creditor’s Rights Endorsement.

Most title Insurance Companies have announced that they will no longer issue the Creditor’s Rights Endorsement in connection with title insurance. This includes First American (who sent me an email along with, apparently, every other lawyer in their databank). It also includes the Fidelity “family” — Fidelity, Lawyers, Chicago, Commonwealth and a few others. However, Stewart and Old Republic are reportedly still willing to write them. The price, however is rumored to be substantial.

Most of us who have done real estate transactions for a long time can’t remember receiving a request for this endorsement. As I understand the subject, it relates to the possibility that the transaction may be attacked and perhaps reversed in bankruptcy as a preference or a fraudulent conveyance.

When a bankruptcy filing occurs, the trustee may investigate whether the debtor “took care” of his friends within 90 days after filing. Paying selected creditors could be a preference. So could a non-arms-length real estate transaction — a sweetheart deal. There are different definitions of a fraudulent conveyance, but the most common is when a property owner transfers the ownership of the property to keep it away from creditors.

The best protection for a real estate lawyer handling an ordinary transaction, it seems to me, is the seller’s affidavit. The seller is required to swear under oath that the full consideration is being paid on the table and that the transaction is not for the purpose of defrauding creditors.

So, Goodbye Creditor’s Rights Endorsement. We never needed you anyway.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Allegheny County Courts Reopen on Thursday, Feb. 11.

Posted by Cliff Tuttle

The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas was closed on Monday (February 8), open on Tuesday (February 9) and closed again on Wednesday. As of 6:20 PM on Wednesday evening, the Wednesday closing notification had been trailing all day on the Court’s website, saying nothing about Thursday February 11. However, the website contained a new notice that the Courts would reopen on February 11, posted at some time before 7:50 PM. In order to get this information, you must know where to look and be lucky enough to check at the right time. There is always a chance that a new bulletin will appear on the website at a later time and the information you thought you knew is out of date.

This emergency has demonstrated that the determination to stay open, close and re-open may depend upon weather and road conditions which cannot be predicted very far in advance. In fact, the news that roads are impassable may not even be known until the morning rush hour begins. An emergency communication system from courts to judges, the bar, court personnel and other interested parties is needed. It should be capable of instantaneously informing as many people who need to know the information as possible.

The Allegheny County Bar Association sends email alerts to its members — all of its members who sign up for such notification — frequently. The other day, when the Federal Courts closed early, they sent such a notice. The ACBA would undoubtedly be happy to send along the word to its members when the Allegheny County courts close and reopen. But, unfortunately, the ACBA was also closed on Wednesday for the same snow emergency.

This raises the question whether any court ought to consider setting up its own email alert system, or arrange for a court-related office to do it. The technology to accomplish this task is now inexpensive and readily available. Once in place, such a system could be used to communicate other non-emergency but vital information, such as cancellation or rescheduling of events.

Periodically checking a website might work for someone at a desktop computer who is already aware that an emergency is in progress. But the next emergency may be quite different and those who need to know may not be aware of the need to look for the information on the court’s website. An email comes to you whether or not you expect it. It is easy to get and read on an iPhone or Blackberry when you are not near a computer. This means that the emergency information sent by email will reach more people faster. And it will be cheap.

By contrast, the time of law clerks, secretaries, tipstaves and even judges making and answering a large number of telephone calls is expensive.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Make/Read Reports on Snow Road Conditions on CMU Website.

Check out this cool website! City Zen Mobile. It enables you to report conditions, making comments, on your street and read what others report. Red means “Not passable” Green means “Clear”.

Of course, reports are on the honor system. Tell the truth! Somebody’s life and limb may depend upon it.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Will the Wind Bring More Power Lines Down?

After spending the weekend in the dark and the cold, nothing sends a shiver up my spine like the thought of another major power loss so soon and while some have not even been restored from Round I. The first strain on the system was due to heavy snow. Now come the winds.

A gasoline-powered generator on the front porch is starting to sound like a necessity.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Educating Sarah.

The Trib ran a front page story today on Sarah Palin after her address to the Tea Party convention. She has her answer to the question whether she will run for President pretty much down pat and it all boils down to whether the prospects will look good for her after the 2010.

However, one thing she said that caught my eye was that she recognized that she needed to improve her education in certain key areas. She mentioned international affairs in particular. But Sarah says that she is already hard at work studying. She says that certain in-the-know people in Washington are keeping her informed of political developments with hundreds of emails, which she is devouring.

This raises an interesting and perhaps critical question. What kind of education should a 21st Century President of the United States have? We have a lot of folklore about Presidents with little or no formal education. Lincoln, as usual, tops the list, with Jackson perhaps occupying a close second. However, truth was, they were both lawyers, which meant that they had to follow a course of study leading to admission to the bar. Yet, both had some formal education (more than Washington)and both were, to a remarkable degree, self-educated.

Should the President have the benefit of a legal education? Probably. Law is the study of the rules of the game. Yet, there have been enough great Presidents, starting with George Washington, a military man and land surveyor, who never had the benefit of a legal education, that a legal education can’t be called essential. After all, the President has an Attorney General and an army of lawyers standing by.

What about Political Science? My guess is that a bona-fide presidential candidate (or anyone at the center of a national election campaign) is getting the kind of education in the science of politics that cannot be offered in any course taught at any University by any professor. And the emails from Washington should fill in the gaps quite nicely.

How about History? Now we’re on to something! Presidential candidates in general and Sarah Palin in particular, could benefit from a solid education in History. Of course, American History is first. A couple of generations ago, this could be supplemented by a solid dose of European History (mostly Western) beginning with Greeks — Herodotus, Thucydides, you get the picture. However, that curriculum is woefully out of date. The foundation and development of Islam and Islamic culture are now an essential element of any Presidential education. This investigation must begin in the Seventh Century and end with yesterday’s newspaper. Since the subject is so vast, perhaps it must be focused — focused on the American Presidential essentials.

Then there is the history of China and India. Any President will have to know more than the basics about those two great cultural traditions. Which brings us to Economics.

How can any President today afford to be ignorant of the field of Economics? He or she may not need to be an economist — but the level of education must be at minimum sufficient to understand the advice being offered by Treasury, the Fed, the Counsel of Economic Advisors. But wouldn’t it be nice if the President could critically analyze this advice? Maybe, think for himself?

Which brings us to leaning and critical thinking itself. The primary purpose of education is not simply to fortify the student with facts and information. Education is wasted if it does not train the mind to think and learn. A Presidential calibre mind must be able to learn at a prodigious pace and — this is critical– analyze what is learned.

So, Sarah, if you would be President, you must apply your mind to History and Economics — lots and lots of it. To do this properly, you must be really smart — as smart as Barack Obama. If you’re not up to that, move over.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

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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.

1410 Posts and Counting

Categories

Every Day’s a Snow Day in the Neighborhood.

A New Look.

Mortification of the Flesh.

Social Security on the Ropes Again?

Washington and Lincoln: Extreme Leadership.

Goodbye, Creditor’s Rights Endorsement.

Allegheny County Courts Reopen on Thursday, Feb. 11.

Make/Read Reports on Snow Road Conditions on CMU Website.

Will the Wind Bring More Power Lines Down?

Educating Sarah.

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