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Pittsburgh Legal Newslog: Suspended Attorney Disbarred After Serving Prison Sentence.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| May 11, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
A suspended attorney from Monroe County was formally disbarred after being released from prison following conviction for crimes involving multiple counts of rape and sexual assault. The attorney had been under suspension from practice during the prison term. Here are some of the particulars. Click on the link within the story to see the order of disbarrment.
CLT
Pittsburgh Legal Newslog: Marcellus Shale Gas Play Raises Legal Issues.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| May 9, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
The Marcellus Shale natural gas pool in Western Pennsylvania, called the greatest gas bonanza since [fill in the blank], has made a lot of news lately. It has also raised some legal issues.
Tax Issues
Clean and Green tax preferences, intended to keep agricultural lands agricultural, are subject to “rollback taxes” when land is developed. Two House Bills are trying to change the game. Hearings were held in Williamsport on the subject.
Williamsport Sun Gazette, May 8, 2009.
Meanwhile, Governor Rendell had proposed adoption of a gas severence tax as a way of balancing the State budget. However, Republican legislative leaders have criticized the plan as killing the goose that has yet to lay the golden egg and note that the plunging price of gas has already put a chill on drilling activities.
Philadelphia Inquirer, May 9, 2009.
Bucks County Courier Times, May 9, 2009.
For those who want to read up on Marcellus Shale exploration, here’s a selection of articles compiled by Geology.com.
Pittsburgh Legal Newslog: Greg Fajt Appointed Head of PA Gaming Board.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| May 9, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
Pittsburgh lawyer, former Mt. Lebanon legislator, Greg Fajt was appointed to chair the State Gaming Control Board. By his appointment of Mr. Fajt, Governor Rendell strikes a blow for professionalism and against political influence in the Pennsylvania gaming oversight.
Meet the Subprime 25.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| May 9, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
Who caused the economic meltdown? Who were the first in line to be bailed out by the US Government? Were they the same perpetrators? Were they really too big to fail?
Meet the Subprime 25.
CLT
What Free Credit Report Dot Com Doesn’t Report to You.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| May 8, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
Free Credit Report Dot Com runs television commercials with jingles that stick in your head. But their catchy, sticky songs are putting something else in your head — incomplete (and therefore misleading) information.
The latest FCR.com commercial show the band singer performing in his overcrowded basement apartment at the home of the parents of the “dream girl” he married without first checking her credit. The honeymoon appears to be over, as she pushed aside the guitar while passing through with a laundry basket. Her body language will be familiar to any husband who has ever incurred the wrath of a wife, which means all of us.
Of course, getting married, while important, is not the kind of transaction that authorizes a credit check. Not yet. Mr. Musician would have to ask Dream Girl to order her own free credit report and then share it with him — in time for him to call off the marriage. Anybody who knows anything about men, women and marriage knows that such a combination of events is likely to come off just as successfully as petting a family of rattlesnakes. That is, of course, unless you work in a retail credit department and are planning to marry one of the company’s customers.
But the commercial also doesn’t tell you that bad credit of one spouse need not be fatal to your joint dream of home ownership. Under federal Regulation B, both parties have a right to make an individual application for credit without relying on the income (or credit history) of the other. And contrary to what you might think, jointly held property can be used as collateral.
However, the non-borrowing spouse must still consent to the deal and to the lien upon joint property. Thus Dream Girl must sign the Truth in Lending Disclosure, Mortgage and Notice of Right of Recision. Moreover, just like Mr. Musician, she can rescind the transaction within three business days.
Actually, by living with her parents, the star-crossed lovers can save the money that would have been blown on rent, utilities and maybe even food, to build up a house down payment. The American Dream is more accessible than either of them may think .
So if you see him in his pirate costume serving ice tea to tourists in T shirts, as he does in the original FCR.com commercial, tell him to surf Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk to find out (as Paul Harvey used to say), “the rest of the story.”
CLT
A Connecticut Yankee in King Tut’s Courthouse.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| May 7, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
If you liked the Nutmeg Lawyer recently posted in the blogroll, you may wish to read his email in the comment section after the post on the subject, below.
Apologies to Mark Twain for the title of this post.
Thanks to AVVO for the introduction to Nutmeg Lawyer.
CLT
Nutmeg Lawyer Joins PLBT Blogroll
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| May 6, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
I am always looking for a good legal blog to add to the blogroll. I read quite a few and most of the time I just keep rolling. I discovered the Nutmeg Lawyer tonight in the AVVO Blog and found it interesting, topical and pretty funny, too.
The author is Adrian Baron, a Connecticut lawyer who claims the distinction of being able to conduct a client interview entirely in Polish. As you browse through his posts, though, you may notice that he is pretty good at pulling the reader’s leg. Notwithstanding, the claim to Polish fluency appears to be serious. I think. Well, semi-serious. If he ever comes to Pittsburgh, I’ll take him down to the Falcons Club and evaluate his Polish fluency.
So, go to the blogroll on the right hand margin and lose yourself in the world of the Nutmeg lawyer. But don’t forget to come back to Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk.
CLT
Pittsburgh Legal Newslog: State Property Tax Relief.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| May 4, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
The 2009-2010 Pennsylvania Property Tax Relief figures for 2009- 2010 are posted. Click here.
Comments and Blogs.
Citizens Voice.com, May 4, 2009
This post will be updated if additional news articles or blog comments appear in the next few days.
Pittsburgh Legal Newslog: Chief Justice Cappy
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| May 3, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
Articles reacting to the sudden and unexpected death of former Chief Justice Ralph Cappy are appearing throughout the Commonwealth. Ralph Cappy was well-known in Pittsburgh legal circles as an Allegheny County public defender and Common Pleas Court judge before he was elected to the high court. He is credited with creation of the rule of court that required malpractice plaintiffs to file a certificate of merit within 60 days following filing of the complaint, making it difficult to file a malpractice claim without merit for settlement purposes.
News Coverage:
Commentary and blogs:
Governor’s Press Release, May 2, 2009
UPDATE
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, May 5, 2009
Pittsburgh Legal Newslog: Gas Drilling under Parks Proceeds When Gas is Privately Owned
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| May 3, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
Conservationists are alarmed by the prospect of large scale gas drilling in the Allegheny National Forest and Pennsylvania State Parks. Severences of oil and gas, a common practice for over a century when selling rural land in Western Pennsylvania, were ignored by the federal and state governments when park land was acquired. However, court rulings have opened up parks to drilling, as reported in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on May 3, 2009.
CLT
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.
Recent Posts
- Sheriff Sales in the COVID-19 Era
- MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE: Cares Act creates gigantic opportunity for borrows under federally-backed and owned mortgages.
- PA Appellate Courts Schedule Arguments Using Electronic Media
- US Supreme Court holds that juries must render unanimous decisions in state criminal cases
- Signs of the Times — the future shortage of dentists.
