Update: FHLB of Pgh. v. J P Morgan et al.

No. 560

Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh v. J P Morgan Securities, LLC, J P Morgan Acquisitions Corp., J P Morgan Mortgage Acceptance Corporation I, Chase Home Finance LLC, Chase Mortgage Finance Corporation, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Moody’s Corporation, Moody’s Investor s Services, Inc., The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc and Fitch, Inc.

No. GD09-016892

On December 13, 2010, PLBT reported on the decision by Judge Wettick regarding the suit by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh against various J P Morgan companies and other defendants regarding certain mortgaged backed securities, which the Plaintiff says Morgan knew were not investment grade. Wettick granted partial summary judgment, but left enough defendants and causes of action standing to keep the action going.

Since then, the parties have filed a stipulation giving the Defendants until January 28 to file answers. Whether joint or separate answers will be filed remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that JPM has been paying record counsel fees — over 5 Billion in the first three quarter of 2010 and counting. This has resulted in a severe impact on earnings. It seems that everybody wants to sue JPM/Chase, including mortgage foreclosure victims and nine Federal Home Loan Banks.

CLT

Category: Civil Litigation, Pittsburgh
Tags: Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh > J P Morgan > Judge Wettick

Wikileaks on Twitter.

No. 559

I learned just now that you can follow Wikileaks on Twitter. Not that you’d want to.

CLT

Category: Links, News Commentary
Tags: Wikileaks

Will the person who contacted me with oil and gas question please try again?

No. 558

I picked up an email question through the contact box (right margin, scroll down a bit) about oil and gas leasing. I wrote a reply, but it bounced back, apparently due to and error in the email address. Contact me again with an improved email address and I will send the answer.

Category: Oil and Gas

All Leases are not Equal. Some are not Legally Correct.

No. 557

I recently reviewed a residential lease which is distributed by a printer for a fee. Some of the language in it is unclear and could be read as contradictory. Some is redundant, causing confusion over which part should apply. Some of it is just poorly written. However, the thing that struck me the most was a statement that the lease is not enforceable if the proprietary rights of the author of the document have been violated.

In other words, if you use this agreement and don’t pay for it, you can’t enforce it.

Nice try. But this ploy to ensure payment doesn’t work. The drafter of the form has no interest in the contract between the landlord and tenant. He has no right to intervene in that relationship and declare the contract between them void.

So, does that mean you should use the agreement and not pay for it? Absolutely not.

If you have a copy of this document, put it through the shredder.

CLT

Category: Landlord and Tenant law and litigation
Tags: residential lease

Loughren v. Bair Update: Goldbeck Strikes Back.

No. 556

A month ago, on December 4, 2010, we reported about a potentially very important case in which a Pittsburgh lawyer had just filed in an equity action against a Philadelphia law firm specializing in mortgage foreclosure. The gist of the complaint is that the law firm of Goldbeck, McCafferty & McKeever, PC had permitted the paralegals to prepare and file complaints and other pleadings with little or no supervision from the attorneys. This, asserted plaintiff Patrick Loughren, constituted the unlicensed practice of law and rendered the outcome of all of the cases so conducted to be voidable. The assertions that pleadings were routinely signed by paralegals without being reviewed by attorneys appeared to be supported by admissions of all of the named partners in various court documents. For greater detail, refer to the December 4 post.

Since then, all of the Defendants have been served and preliminary objections have been filed. They allege a lack of standing by the plaintiff, who is seeking to attack all of the cases filed by the Goldbeck firm (GMM) on the grounds that any member of the bar has the ethical right and duty to challenge the unauthorized practice of law, including in the courts.

On December 16, the Defendants, represented by Weinheimer, Schadel and Haber, filed preliminary objections in which they set forth five arguments: (1) lack of standing — the Plaintiff has no personal involvement in the cases that are the subject of the litigation; (2) activity by paralegals with the authorization of attorneys does not constitute unauthorized practice; (3) indispensable parties, such as the former owners, mortgagees and post-foreclosure purchasers of affected real estate, have not been joined; (4) under the Rules of Civil Procedure, such matters must be raised in cases in which they occur; (5) the relief sought is beyond that authorized by the statute regarding unauthorized practice.

The case was assigned to the Commerce and Complex Litigation Center and Judge Christine Ward, who entered an order on December 21 scheduling a status conference on January 6, 2011. The Judge also set forth a briefing and argument schedule for the preliminary objections.

CLT

Category: Civil Litigation
Tags: Commerce and Complex Litigation Center > Goldbeck > McCafferty & McKeever > PC > Schadel and Haber > Weinheimer

Baby Boomers and Retirement Age.

No. 555

The first of the Baby Boomers, my generation, are beginning to turn 65 in 2011. Among the early ones, Chief Judge Donetta Ambrose of the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, elected Senior Judge status on her 65th birthday this past November. Being a Senior Judge is not exactly retirement — its probably better. Someone else must squeeze an administrative load into a busy trial schedule. The stress level drops like a rock. Meanwhile, the judicial system and the country are big winners. All of that experience and knowledge is a valuable resource — too valuable to waste. And as more BB’ers pass the retirement threshold, this should be a model for post-retirement employment of seniors in every field.

It wasn’t too long ago that a 65 year old man had an actuarial life expectancy of 2 or 3 years and a pension waiting. Under those circumstances, it made sense to step aside. But that’s not the way it looks to many boomers approaching the traditional retirement age and a considerable number want to work longer and retire later.

Some see this as a negative trend. I don’t. After all those years of self-education and experience, successful seniors can and should be able to make an even greater contribution to employers, the economy and to mankind. However, seniors who continue to work will need to be given a reasonable accommodation for diminishing health, stamina and other physical limitations. Why bother? Because they are a valuable national resource, one that should not be wasted.

However, their greatest role could well be as teachers, teachers of all kinds. This would include acting as mentors and trainers in industry, but should extend much further. A second career in public and private school teaching, at all levels, should be made accessible to retirees. Not mediocre ones, mind you, but the most energetic, intelligent, educated and motivated seniors we can find. And frankly, if you look in the right places, you ought to be able to find candidates who rank about two standard deviations above the mean of the existing teaching corps.

Of course, they should audition for such positions, perhaps annually. And once you find the best candidates, they should be given a high degree of flexibility. In return, those with the right stuff would enrich the education of the next generation enormously. And in the era of cyber-education, their impact could be enormous. As tutorials are being assembled to teach subjects that used to be presented live, experts will be in demand to write, produce and present these cyber-lessons. And where will such experts be found? You’re getting the idea.

And there is another big advantage to hiring the elderly. They probably won’t work long enough at their second careers to earn pensions.

Category: News Commentary
Tags: Chief Judge Donetta Ambrose

Winter Classic Precedent.

No. 554

Just to lighten up for this first post of 2011, allow me to improve your education with a little trivia.

On the very site where the Winter Classic will be played later today — barring a catastrophic meltdown — baseball used to be played on New Year’s Day. That’s right, at Exhibition Park, the baseball field that was used by the Pittsburgh Pirates before Forbes Field was built. In 1892 (and probably other years) a team composed of black players (not the Crawfords or the Grays) would take the field against a team of white players (not the Pirates). The ceremonies were begun by a cannon being fired and a parade.

Just thought you’d like to know.

Happy New Year!

CLT

Category: Pittsburgh
Tags: 1892 > Exhibition Park

Please Explain . . .

No. 553

Would someone please explain to me:

How Twitter makes money. There is no advertising and no fees.
Why so many businesses have set up Facebook pages. Why not just establish up a website?
Why the Winter Classic is such a big deal. It is an ordinary regular season hockey game between ordinary teams, only outdoors.Yet thousands are flying into Pittsburgh to see it.

Category: Blawging, Twitter
Tags: Winter Classic

And Now, from the folk that brought you Blog Law Blog, comes Tweet Law Tweets.

No. 552

Blog Law Blog is a blog about the law of blogs. It is authored by University of North Dakota Law Professor Eric E. Johnson, who appears to have staked out this niche of intellectual property law. Now, in order to expand the reach of Blog Law Blog, Professor Johnson has just rolled out “Tweet Law Tweets”. Some of us only have an attention span of 140 characters for discussions of intellectual property topics. Tweet Law Tweets thus becomes the Blog Law Blog for the rest of us. They don’t call Twitter microblogging for nothing.

Notwithstanding the foregoing (as all lawyers say endlessly) Blog Law Blog is entertaining reading, not your usual IP stuff. Check it out.

CLT

Category: Blawging
Tags: Blog Law Blog > Tweet Law Tweets

A New Years Resolution: Smite the Rude! [Updated With Response Below]

No. 551

Corrine A. Tampas, a lawyer who primarily works as a consultant to other lawyers, sent me a comment on the Bitter Lawyer piece (2 down) in which she set forth her New Years resolution: “I will be a bitch on wheels to anyone who is not nice and/or is rude in the New Year”.

She goes on to say that she has been partially responsible for the climate of incivility in her world and she is not going to tolerate it further.

Interesting response to incivility — escalate the incivility. Will this response stop rudeness in its tracks? Or will it cause a further escalation? On the other hand, if you meet incivility with civility, does that de-escalate the response?

The problem with politeness as a response is that it is frequently interpreted by the bully as a sign of weakness or even acquiescence.

There is, of course a solution. The response must be delivered with measured firmness. Words must be chosen carefully. Eye contact must never waiver. Body language must convey strength. You can also show that you are not intimidated by saying something clever or original. And smile.

CLT

Ms. Tampas’ Response:

It depends. While I may have written my statement in utter frustration, I do think the tone must change. The only way I know how to do it is to call someone on it much as one would do when another blurts out a racial slur.

Obviously, I am not one to swoon and get the vapors whenever I hear something not too nice. (I was a general building contractor long before I became an attorney. I’ve heard it all on more than one job site.) However, if you read my blog, you will find that I was particularly upset with the recent spat of politicians telling opponents to “man up”, “put on your man pants” and assessing whether another politician does or does not have “cajones”.

If you read my newsletter, you will find that I wrote a two page article in the Fall 2010 issue concerning a Google group of attorneys in which I am a member. Seems every August a few think it is “Flame Your Listmate” month. These few will seek a victim and are vicious.

This type of self-indulgent bitter, whiny, sarcastic, and argumentative rhetoric seems to be invading every aspect of American culture at a time when we should be hanging together. … I would not tolerate someone lighting up a cigarette and intentionally blowing smoke into my face. Why would I tolerate someone polluting my space with their vitriol?

Here is the link to my newsletter I wrote about. The article is on page 3.

Category: Practice of Law
Tags: Corrine A. Tampas > incivility

« go back — 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.

1410 Posts and Counting

Categories