Dunkirk, 70 Years Later.

No. 450

On June 2, 1940 the German Army broke through defenses around Dunkirk and ended the evacuation of troops across the English Channel. It would be another 2 1/2 years before the United States would enter the war. An invasion was believed to be weeks away.

From the vantage of 70 years, it seems incredible that the United States was willing to watch the entire European continent submerge to Nazi Germany. We thought we were safe behind an ocean, just as the French thought they were safe behind a fortified trench. So what is the equivalent mythology of today? What makes us feel safe now when we are not?

We feel safe against nuclear weapons because nobody has used them against us — yet. We feel safe from a massive environmental catastrophe because that hasn’t happened either. Or has it?

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Coming up on Two Years.

No. 449

In a little over a month, July 7, PLBT will have its second anniversary. We will also be approaching post number 500 — 448 posts have been published to date. We made it to 300 on August 25, 2009. Lets see whether we can put out 51 worthwhile posts in the next 37 days and hit 500 by July 7. That’s ten a week.

I hear that two years of steady blogging surpasses the normal life span for most blawgs. What is the secret? I think it is refusing to narrowly limit the scope of the blog. Lawyers who try to write exclusively about their own practice and legal specialty run out of material before very long.

This has been an eventful year. Not that long ago we started promoting the blog on Twitter. PittsburghLegal currently has 459 followers around the world, mostly lawyers, but also quite a few legal bloggers and publications. We hit the landmark of 450 Twitter followers a week ago. It would be great to pass the milestone of 500 Twitter followers by July 7.

Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk was also syndicated recently as a featured blog on Network Pittsburgh under the Twitter nome de keyboard PittsburghLegal. Network Pittsburgh is a Link-in Group of local professionals with about 80 bloggers on various subjects. There are about 25 featured bloggers.

Of course, none of this means anything unless people read and gain information from this blog. This seems to be happening, so lets go onward and upward together into year three!

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

You Can Bet Your BP.

Old joke, new meaning. But this time its not funny.

The oil leak in the Gulf has already reached catastrophic size and it is gradually dawning on the world that we do not know its limits. The pool of oil that is now pluming into the oceans of the world (they are all connected, you know) is incredibly large. Some estimate it is discharging 5,000 barrels per day. It has been 40 days, so that would make 200,000 barrels and counting. No one is saying what the potential worst case scenario could be. Or how long it will take to clean it up, if ever, or restore the damage, if ever.

Does it make you feel better to know that BP and its engineers are publicly seeking technical proposals from anyone in the world? Did you know that consideration is being given in some quarters to plugging the leak with nuclear weapons?

Even if the funnel works (time line 4 – 7 days) or if the the relief wells work (time line August) this will still be the biggest environmental disaster in American history.

I’ll bet you a month of lunches that this turns out to be the number one news story of 2010. Its impact will be felt for decades and it will change the course of American and world history in ways yet to be determined. And once the full extent of the tort claims are known, is is very likely that BP America will become one of the largest — if not the largest — bankruptcy cases of all time. You can bet your BP on that one.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Landlord Tenant Question: Can Landlord Cancel Lease after Fire?

The following question, which was posted on a website called “Our Pets” was forwarded to me through the message box. Since there is no reply address, I am posting the question and answer.

Q: My family lived in a rental house. There was a fire in the kitchen which totally destroyed it (the kitchen). The house is not liveable and we did not have renters insurance. We found temporary shelter, but the landlord is cancelling our lease, keeping our deposit and the payment for May’s rent, which I had already sent him. He says he is keeping the payment to help him pay his insurance deductible, or we’d have the pay out the lease for the rest of the term. Is that right or legal even. Need help quick!

A: Do you have a copy of the lease? The lease will probably contain specific language setting forth the landlord’s remedies. I suggest you take the lease to a lawyer who is familiar with landlord-tenant law if you are still confused after reading the lease.

Leases often say that one party or either cab terminate the lease if the extent of the damage is so great that the premises cannot be restored to livable condition in a specified period of time. The lease may also address other important details. Read the lease carefully.

What were the circumstances of the fire? Did the landlord blame you for negligently starting the fire? Or was it caused by an electrical or appliance malfunction? The landlord must have a reason to hold you liable for the deductable. Again, talk to a lawyer.

These questions may also bear upon your ability to reclaim all or part of your security deposit. You need to weigh the pros and cons of suing to obtain the May rent and the deposit, but you ought to have some legal advice. Otherwise, you cannot make an informed choice and probably do not have the skills to carry it off. Remember, there are always two sides to the story and you will have to counter the other side if you go to court.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Good Show, Whitelocke!

There are a lot of interesting people out there in the world. I just ran into one of them on Twitter. This morning T.B. Whitelocke, K.C. of Australia, author of the book and blog “Lawmanship, 3d Edition” showed up as a follower of PittsburghLegal.

I’d been hoping to find someone who could fill the void left by the retirement from letters of Horace Rumpole, sealed forever by the death of John Mortimer, his creator. Perhaps Whitelocke will be the one. Like Rumpole, he was never able to achieve his secret ambition (an open secret) to wear the scarlet (or is it purple?) of the bench. Although from his designation of “K.C.” he seems to have achieved that lofty designation over 60 years ago, before the crowning of Queen Elizabeth. Rumpole never was permitted to call himself “QC”, being the oldest junior barrister at the Bailey and therein lies the key to why Whitelocke will never be judge. If you ever intimate to the powers to be that you are smarter than they are (even though it is manifestly true in court) they will never bestow any power on you, the troublemaker. Rumpole at length created his own appellation: “CT”. Counsel to the Timsons, that large family of petty criminals that provided so many of his cases and so much of our enjoyment.

In the latest chapter of Lawmanship, 3d Edition, Whitelocke explains how he has turned his natural hair into a judicial wig — lemon juice and curlers — so that he can maintain the appearance of a supreme barrister 24/7, wherever he goes. This must be a breathtaking sight.

I might just read the book, provided of course, that I can find A$20.00. Meanwhile, Lawmanship,3d Edition, the blog goes on the blogroll of Pittsburgh Legal Backtalk.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Goodbye, Old Arbitration Room.

Arbitration in the Allegheny County Court House Arbitration Room, Fifth Floor, is almost a thing of the past — almost. Landlord Tenant cases will be heard for a few days over the Summer months, but then its off to new quarters on the Seventh Floor, City-County Building in September.

Speculation abounds why. Some say it is engineered to get away from the horrific lines outside the old courthouse every morning, engendered by the high readings on the security gates. There are people, you know, who don’t like taking off their belts and shoes in public. Others say it was because the greedy Criminal Division or the greedy DA or the greedy PD wanted the space. Whatever the reason, it makes sense for Civil Division to be located entirely in one building.

Actually, since the jurisdictional limit went up, it is not uncommon to see a dozen witnesses and spectators, multiple parties and a court reporter try to cram into one of those little arbitration rooms. And the table sometimes gets very crowded with paper. A little more space would be a good idea all around.

But for whatever reason, its happening. So if you are filing an arbitration case, take note of the address. If you follow old habits, you’ll be late.

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

Real Estate: Minding Your P’s and Q’s.

Proofread your descriptions with care. Double check Block and Lot Numbers. When in doubt, get approval in advance. Because the Deed Registry Police are coming to a Department of Real Estate (pronounced Recorder of Deeds) Office near you.

Yes, beginning on June 1, 2010, you won’t be able to record a deed or mortgage (or anything else) without passing muster with the Deed Registry. You’ll find them in the glass enclosure that used to contain the microfilm library.

And yes, if you happen to get behind the courier from one of the bigger outfits in town (you know the one’s, they have fifty or sixty transactions) then you are probably in for a long wait to get your one deed approved, followed by a longer wait to have it recorded. Bring along a good book.

But, as they say on the infomercials, wait! There’s more!

If you manage to get past the inspection, only to discover an error after recording, don’t expect to mark up the document and re-record it. That procedure was way too simple. No, expect to have your clients re-sign, plus you must re-notarize, mark the document as corrective, attach a Statement of Value and, of course, attach a copy of the uncorrected document for the benefit of the Department of Revenue.

Oh, yes, by the way, you’ll be picking up the tab for extra recording fees with no extra pay.

So, as your Dad used to say: “Do it right the first time.”

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

According to Form

Starting today, May 26, 2010, we will all be filling out a two page cover sheet for Civil Litigation, except in the Family Division.

I wish there was something interesting to say, but it is just another form containing mundane information in a format keyed for data collection. But, you can’t get past the Prothonotary (Dept. of Court Records in Allegheny County) without it. The first page is not yet on the Allegheny County Civil Division Website, which does contain various special page 2 cover sheets.

Category: Uncategorized

JERMAN V. CARLISLE: GETTING IT RIGHT ON THE LAW.

The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) requires a debt collector, under Section 1692 g(a)(3), to send the consumer a written notice within 5 days following an initial communication regarding the debt “a statement that unless the consumer, within 30 days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector.”

Such a notice was attached to the Complaint in a mortgage foreclosure action filed in Ohio by Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. against Karen L. Jerman. However, the notice stated that the debt would be assumed to be valid unless Jerman disputed it in writing. Jerman’s attorney sent a letter disputing the debt and Countrywide acknowledged payment and withdrew the action.

But that was not the end of the matter. Jerman sued the attorneys who filed the foreclosure contasining the incorrect FDCPA warning, asserting a violation of Section 1692e (2)(A), prohibiting false representations as to the debt’s character, amount or legal status.

The defense: Section 1692 k(c), providing that a debt collector is not liable if “the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid any such error.”

The issue presented is whether the debt collecting law firm that made an erroneous statement to the debtor that she must dispute the debt in writing under FDCPA, is excused from liability under the bona fide error rule.

On April 21, 2010, Justice Sonya Sotomayor, writing for the majority, concluded that an bona-fide error of fact could be excused under the statute, but not an error of law. See Jurman v. Carlisle, 538 F. 3d 469. In addition to Justice Sotomayor’s opinion, Justices Breyer and Scalia filed concurring opinions and Justice Kennedy dissented with Justice Alito joining in the dissent.

The immediate lesson here is that when mandate to give a notice, you should give the mandated notice — no more, no less. Don’t say “in writing” when the prescribed statutory notice doesn’t.

But the real question is: where is this going? Does this rule apply to averments in the Complaint? If so, what kind of averments that turn out to be mistakes of law will bring liability upon a debt collector? Must we disclose defenses? Does failure to do so constitute mischaracterization of the legal status of the debt? For example, what do you do if you know that the statute of limitations has run? Not sue at all?

CLT

Category: Uncategorized

What to Do on Jury Duty.

I have heard a lot of complaining over the years about how much waiting time jurors and prospective jurors must endure. The following is a suggestion.

In addition to being an opportunity to meditate, Jury duty is an excellent opportunity for reading a book. During the course of the first day on jury duty, you will be given the gift of several hours of time when you are not required to do anything but sit and wait. Chances are, if you hadn’t been summoned, your day would be full of things to do. But now you have a break from all that.

However, in order to take advantage of this gift, you must be prepared. You must have selected a book in advance (not a magazine, since you will be finished too quickly) that you are looking forward to reading. And you must also prepare your mind.

Banish those thoughts about what an imposition this is. Don’t listen to, or worse, join into complaining conversations you will hear around you. Be determined that you are going to seize the chance to read something really good, a chance you don’t give yourself often enough.

Yes, there is a TV in the lounge area, but don’t watch it. Daytime TV is toxic and the biggest time-killer there is. Don’t let anything deprive you of the chance to get into that book, and once you get going, to finish it. If you fritter away this chance, you’ll probably never read that book. So get started!

Unfortunately, sometimes we can’t concentrate, despite best efforts. So, come prepared for that contingency also. Bring along a small notebook and several pens. Make a list of all of the things you intend to do once your tour of jury duty is over. You may be surprised how calming this activity can be. Once listed, items vanish from your consciousness. You don’t have to constantly remember things that are on a list, so you don’t. Now, suitably relaxed, try getting back with that book.

If you are picked for a jury, you will again have time while sitting in the hall or other waiting areas to read. But make sure that your book is tucked away, out of sight, while in the jury box or during any other time when you are supposed to be paying attention to matters relating to the case. If you don’t, the tipstaff may confiscate your book, just at the point where you can hardly put it down.

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.

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Categories

Dunkirk, 70 Years Later.

Coming up on Two Years.

You Can Bet Your BP.

Landlord Tenant Question: Can Landlord Cancel Lease after Fire?

Good Show, Whitelocke!

Goodbye, Old Arbitration Room.

Real Estate: Minding Your P’s and Q’s.

According to Form

JERMAN V. CARLISLE: GETTING IT RIGHT ON THE LAW.

What to Do on Jury Duty.

Welcome

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