Marcellus Legal News: Multiple Lease Assignments Must Be Recorded and Indexed.

No. 860

The Commonwealth Court has ordered the Recorder of Deeds of Wayne County, PA to record multiple assignments of oil and gas leases. The Recorder had refused to accept multiple assignments because their computer system was unable to index the names. The increase in Marcellus Shale leasing has, according to the Wayne County Recorder, put a burden on its operations.

CLT

Category: Oil and Gas

Is Hitchhiking a Crime? Apparently Not in New York.

No. 859

Hitchhiking is a lost art. There has been a precipitous decline since the Sixties, when college students routine stuck out a thumb and traveled hundreds of miles on the way to and from campus. Yes hitchhiking a dead almost everywhere. But not at one location in New York City where the practice has been picking up.

One hitch hiker appealed the ticket he was given and reportedly won. Its not a crime in New York, it seems.

Where is this mysterious place and why are hitch hikers on the comeback?

Read the Answer.

CLT

Category: Criminal Law

Don’t Say it — Olym — Shut Up!

No. 858

Here’s a little puzzle for you to solve. What organization is trying to protect its exclusive right to use a word that is about 4,000 years old? And at the same time trying to deter unauthorized use of their ridiculous logo.

Here are the pieces to the puzzle. Answer below.

Category: 2012, News Commentary

Answer to Puzzle

No. 857

The Answer for the puzzle.

But don’t tell anybody. You might be sued for trademark infringement.

CLT

Category: 2012, News Commentary

Abuse of Power in a Good Cause

No. 856

There is a sound bite all over the news today of Ed Rendell, former Governor of Pennsylvania but also former Philadelphia DA, stating that in a case like Sandusky, “every prosecutor knows” that you should bring the case even if you don’t have enough evidence because prosecution will act as a deterrent.

I’ll bet. So will being unjustly convicted and serving time in jail.

A prosecutor has the power to turn anybody’s life upside down. That power should only be used when a dispassionate evaluation of the evidence yields a strong belief that the case can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. That rule applies to suspected pedophiles, too.

That’s what America is all about.

CLT

Category: Criminal Law, News Commentary

Watergate Turns 40

No. 855

Isn’t it amazing? The third class burglary that brought down a President happened 40 years ago. It appears to be one of the most important events in the 20th Century and in American History. The consequences were multiple.

One response: they started teaching a required course in Ethics in law school. Another was the continuous reiteration of the question, “What did he know and when did he know it?”

CLT

Category: Milestones, News Commentary

Allegheny County Bench Bar Breaks Out into Fireworks.

No. 854

Rumor has it that Seven Springs Resort put on a fireworks display on Friday Night for the Allegheny County Bench Bar Conference.

Category: Pittsburgh

Dining with the Enemy.

No. 853

If you are bored with the usual dining fare, here is (as far as we know) something you won’t find anywhere in America but, yes, Pittsburgh.

Conflict Kitchen.

Yes, Conflict Kitchen serves authentic take-outcuisine from places which are in conflict with the US. It is located in East Liberty, at Highland Avenue. Venues (one at a time) have included Iran, Afghanistan, Venezuela. It rotates identity every six months (so you don’t get bored) and has had Skype dinners with groups in the countries being featured.

Walk right up for window service. But unlike Alice’s Restaurant, you can’t get anything you want. It is a lot closer to the railroad track than Alice’s, though. Carnegie Mellon University started it, to stimulate dialogue with other countries. And so, if you ever meet an Iranian, you can break the ice by saying something like: “I really hate your food.”

Its been reviewed in the LA Times and economics blog Marginal Revolution.

Category: Pittsburgh

Camping in Style

No. 852

If you would like to camp out by a river, but sleep in a real bed, try the Castaway Caboose. During a ride on the Durban Rocket, a steam-powered train on the Durban & Greenbriar Valley RR, the caboose you are riding is turned loose along a deserted stretch of the Greenbrier River. In the morning, the train picks you up and hauls you back to (relative) civilization.

Category: Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

First American Financial Corp. v. Edwards — this US Supreme Court Decision, Due Next Week, Could Change How We Do Residential Real Estate.

No. 851

Everybody is waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision on Obamacare. But there are other important cases before the United States Supreme Court. Among them is First American Financial Corp. v. Edwards, Docket No. 10-708.

Scotusblog states the plain English issue of this case as follows:

Whether lawsuits under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which allows homebuyers to sue banks and title companies when they pay kickbacks for the closing of a mortgage loan, are constitutional if the kickback does not affect the price or quality of the services provided?

Referrals are the lifeblood of residential real estate. By the nature of the business, settlement services and title insurance companies could not exist without a continuous flow of referrals. How to establish thiswithout violating RESPA is the dilemma. If Edwards prevails, RESPA plaintiffs will not have to prove economic harm from a kickback in order to get into court.

A decision for Edwards by the Supreme Court at this stage would only establish the right to sue. It would not determine the result on the merits. That would come after a trial.

CLT

Category: Constitutional Law, Real Estate

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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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