Flood Mystery Suggestion.

No. 690

The flash flood on Washington Boulevard in Pittsburgh and the death of four people made the national news all weekend. There was high water on many other streets in the City of Pittsburgh, although not with the deadly effect that the canyon that contains Washington Boulevard had.

Officials from the City and ALCOSAN were quoted as saying that the exact cause of the inability of the storm water sewers to handle the storm waters was a mystery, since the pipes were free of blockage.

While I do not have personal knowledge of the situation on Washington Boulevard, I have been aware that flooding has been caused in the past in the City by the failure of road crews to clear away piles of leaves and debris that accumulate near storm inlets as a result of earlier rainstorms. These debris piles create diversions of storm water onto roads and into basements. Of course, in a storm as fierce as the one last Friday, the dams could have been swept away, but not until after diverting a great quantity of water onto the road.

CLT

Help! I’m Being Held Prism by Microsoft Word!

No. 689

Have you noticed that word processing software has been trying to finish your words lately?

Like in the last sentence, it wanted to complete the partial word that became “processing” to “procession”? If you look at your keyboard all the time like I do because I never learned to type [it suggested “tip” ] you may not even see it happening to you. Then zappo! You look like an illiterate [it says “illiberal”] fool. Of course, when you spell check, the damn thing will never catch the idiot words because the damn thing suggested those words in the first place.

So, you end up super-proof-reading everything — looking for real, core , no, correctly-spelled words the map no sense. [Damn it! I meant “that make no sense.”] In the end, no matter how much technology you buy, you’re on your own.

While we’re on the subject, why don’t I know how to type? Because in the bad old days of manual [no, not “manias”] typewriters, you were only scheduled to take typing class if you were in the “business” program in High School. That was the euphemism [hey! it corrected my spelling and used the word correctly!] for too dumb to go to college. In retrospect, who was really the dumb one?

Of course, the educational establishment got it wrong both ways. Typing you would need big time in the future, especially after the law firm gave you a computer and fired your secretary. [The old guys got to keep their secretaries, but we were expected to sink or swim.] Computational arithmetic, which elementary school teachers emphasized, [ it wanted to make it “emphasis”] of course, became almost useless. Electronic calculators and electronic cash registers that told you how much change to give the customer, made our in-the-head calculations as obsolete as a Royal Standard Desk Typewriter.

So now, I sometimes can’t type the proper word anymore. But I can always spell the wrong word correctly.

CLT

Category: Humor and Satire, Legal Technology
Tags: proof reading > typewriters

PLBT, What Is It?

No. 688

Did we ever mention that a website called Acronym Geek published the three top meanings found on the internet for PLBT?

Yup, they are, in order:

– Pitttsburgh Legal Back Talk

– Pin Loop Back Tester

– Pusat Latiham Berprestasi Tinggi

No kidding!

No, I don’t have a clue either.

CLT

Category: Blawging
Tags: PLBT

Landlord-Tenant: The difference between eviction by the constable and the sheriff.

No. 687

If a landlord obtains an award of possession from the Magisterial District Judge (MJD), the tenant has 10 days to appeal to the Arbitration Division of the Common Pleas Court. If there is no appeal after 10 days, the Constable can serve a writ of possession on the tenant. The Constable schedules the eviction eleven days later. However it is not a true eviction. The landlord is permitted to change the locks. So the tenant is, strictly speaking, locked out. The landlord and tenant are then required to work out a moving arrangement. Of course, if the tenant pays the delinquent rent before the eviction, the eviction is cancelled.

When the tenant appeals and pays rent into escrow with the Department of Court Records, a writ of supersedeas is issued. This prevents the landlord from obtaining a writ of possession from the MDJ and obtaining a constable eviction. So long as the tenant continues to pay rent into escrow, the writ of supersedeas continues. But if a rental payment deadline is missed, the supersedeas may be cancelled. However, before the Dept. of Court Records will permit this, the landlord must send a ten day notice with specific language, warning the tenant if the rent is not paid into the Dept. of Court Records, the writ of supersedeas will be terminated. In order to do this, the landlord must file a praecipe to terminate the writ of supersedeas, with the ten day notice and a Post Office certificate of mailing attached. Then, the landlord can go back to the MDJ and obtain a writ of possession.

Fortunately, most tenants move out before the day of eviction arrives. But not all.

If the landlord obtains an award of possession from the arbitrators, and the writ of supersedeas has not been terminated, a writ of possession must be delivered to the sheriff. The Sheriff will serve the tenant and schedule an eviction. But the sheriff’s eviction is a true eviction. The landlord must be prepared to move the tenant’s personal property to a storage facility and pay one month’s storage. This, of course, involves more time, trouble and cost. The good news is that the premises are empty and can be re-let.

If the landlord does not desire to follow the sheriff’s procedure, it is still possible to send the ten day notice, revoke the supersedeas and go back to the MDJ and the constable. However, bear in mind that the procedures must be strictly observed.

When the tenant moves, he frequently leaves behind property which has value, sometimes virtually everything in the unit. Landlords are understandably wary about discarding property that may not have been abandoned. It is a good idea to provide for this in the lease. However, if the lease says nothing and there is an award for rent and other damages, the landlord may wish to execute against the personal property, buy it at a constable’s sale or sheriff’s sale, and resell it.

If the foregoing explanation seems a bit daunting, find a lawyer who has some experience in the with tenant evictions.

CLT

Category: Landlord and Tenant law and litigation, Real Estate
Tags: Constable > Dept. of Court Records > Magisterial District Judge > supersedeas

Three Days in August, Plus 20 Years: The Bloodless Fall of the Soviet Union.

No. 686

August 19 – 21, 1991

Twenty Years ago the Soviet Union fell without a shot being fired. A military coup caused Gorbachev to flee And Boris Yeltsin became the hero of the day with his famous speech atop a tank, calling for leaders of the government and KGB to change allegiance, on the last of those dramatic three days.

CLT

Category: Milestones, News Commentary
Tags: Boris Yeltsin > Gorbachev > Soviet Union > speech atop a tank

Westinghouse: Think about Tomorrow, not the Past.

No. 685

The Westinghouse corporations are marking their 125th anniversary this year with a series of radio commercials focusing on their founder, the great Pittsburgh industrialist, inventor and pioneering engineer.

These include a George Westinghouse quotation worth remembering. I don’t think about the past, he said, I think about what I am going to do tomorrow.

When we catch our mind dwelling upon past events — especially in a repetitive loop — Westinghouse advises us to cut off these thoughts and replace them with thoughts about what we should be doing in the future. If this transition does not come easily, make a list.

George Westinghouse’s creative mind was as productive as it had ever been during the weeks and days before his death in 1914. With World War I looming, he was busy inventing a new propulsion system for ships. He literally died at work, building a prototype for an electric wheelchair.

CLT

Category: Personal Productivity, Pittsburgh
Tags: George Westinghouse

More Evidence that the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 is Just Another Day.

No. 684

In the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001, events of all kinds were cancelled, including professional football. I’m not suggesting that this be done this year on the tenth anniversary. But I am suggesting that September 11, 2011 is almost an ordinary day.

Perhaps it was inevitable.

CLT

Category: News Commentary
Tags: 9/11

Please Send a Candidate That Doesn’t Scare Us to Death!

No. 683

No matter how unpopular the President may be, he won’t be beaten next year unless the Republicans can find a candidate that a majority Americans feel good about entrusting with the enormous power of the presidency. Michele Bachmann has not, at least not yet, shown that she has what it takes to win that kind of confidence.

Its not all about ideology. But it wouldn’t hurt to tone that down, either.

CLT

Category: News Commentary
Tags: Michele Bachmann

Where Do You Find a Typewriter to Use Once?

No. 682

So. I need a typewriter, just once, to type on a form that can’t be hand printed. I see you can still buy them. But that would mean that I will have a piece of junk lying around that I will probably never use again. Or should I buy one on Ebay for $75.00, use it and resell it? That would work — if I didn’t need it tomorrow.

Perhaps I should stop by the Cambridge Typewriter Company in Arlington Mass. It has a blog. Owner Tom Furrier [sic] says that all of the “great typewriter stories” in the blog came from the typewriter enthusiasts who dropped over to have the the platens fixed on their Olympia desk models, or the like. I’ll bet he has some real humdingers. I wonder if he ever serviced a machine that belonged to Paul Revere.

I don't suppose the museum will let me borrow one.

Category: Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

Fifty Years Ago, August 13 1961

No. 681

Category: Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

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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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