Pennsylvania Civil Litigation Legal Questions

If the hearing you missed was before the Magisterial District Justice, you can appeal within 30 days by filing a Notice of Appeal and serving it certified mail on the DJ and other party.  I strongly suggest speaking with counsel to ensure the procedures are strictly followed.  If not, the appeal could be dismissed. If the hearing was before the court of common pleas, appeal is not so simple.  In any event, you should speak with counsel. I trust this answers your questions but feel free to call or email me on a free initial basis. Matthew R. Nahrgang, Esquire 35 Evansburg Road, Ste 400 Collegeville, PA 19426 610 489-3041 o 610 489-3042 fax mnahrgang@verizon.net nahrganglaw.com ... Read More

It is unclear if the case was heard before a magisterial district justice which has a maximum jurisdictional amount of $12,000.00.  If that is the case, it is relatively simple to appeal, but must be filed within 30 days as you noted.  The appeal must then be served and a proof of service filed within 10 days after the appeal.  You must then file a Complaint which the defendant must respond to within 20 days. If the case was heard before the Common Pleas, the appeal is much more complicated and expensive. I trust this answers your questions and if you live in the Delaware Valley, feel free to call or email on a free initial basis.       Best Regards,   Matthew R. Nahrgang, Esquire 35 Evansburg Road, Ste 400 Collegeville, PA 19426 (610) 489-3041 o (610) 489-3042 fax nahrganglaw.com... Read More

In most courts, you start a civil action by filing a complaint and then serving the defendant(s) with it along with a summons.  The court website would be your best source for information about the exact procedure to follow, and if you have any questions the Clerk of the Court should be able to help you.  HOWEVER, you should check your policy because I suspect that it contains an arbitration clause requiring you to arbitrate any disputes with your insurer.... Read More

Anyone can sue for anything, so the technical answer to your question is yes.  From what you've written, you do seem to have a good case against the people who claimed that you were a thief, assuming that they knew this to be false when the published it.  Not sure about Facebook; it may depend on how indisputable the proof was that you showed facebook to prove that the statements were false.... Read More

You should move to dismiss the complaint on the grounds of a settlment.  You may not be able to enforce the oral settlement agreement, but the court is unlikely to default you if hte reason you were late responding is because of a contemplated settlement.  The longer you wait, however, the more likely that you will lose on default.... Read More

The answer to "can I sue" is always yes, but the question is how strong is your case.  You say the trains were "handed down."  What does that mean?  Did your father leave them to you under his will?  Did he give them to you before he died?  Assuming the latter, can you prove it?  If your father did not give them to you before he died or leave them to you in his will, they would have passed to whoever inherited the residuary of his estate (the part left over after specific bequests are satisfied), presumably your mother.  If so, what if anything did she direct regarding the trains, either in her will or gifting them before she died?  What I'm getting at is that you may not be able to prove that the trains legally belong to you.  Another issue is the statute of limitations.  Your sister has had the train collection for years.  You would have a finite amount of time to sue her to recover them; I don't know the exact period in Pennsylvania, but it sounds as if a great deal of time has passed.  If you had an agreement that your sister could keep them until her kids reached a certain age, and agreement which was only breached a short time ago when the kids reached that age, you would be within the limitations period because her wrongdoing would have occurred only recently, but if her wrongdoing occurred when she took the trains years ago, your claim will probably be barred.... Read More

Assuming that the statement was untrue, and that the person making the statement knew it to be untrue when he/she made it, you have a slander claim against that person.  Such a statement would probably be considered defamation per se, meaning that you would not have to show any actual monetary damages to assert your claim.  You should be aware that defamation claims generally have short statutes of limitation (1 year in NY; not sure in PA), so if you want to assert your claim you have to do so in a relatively short time period.... Read More

You propbably purchased an owners policy of title insurance when you bought the house.  You should have received the title policy.  You should contact your title insurance company and ask that they get involved to put pressure on the closing company to resolve the water bill.  This should be able to be worked out short of filing an actual lawsuit.  If not, you probably have a good case against both the seller and closing company.... Read More

If you seek reimbursement by writing a letter, that's not a civil suit.  If you seek to enforce your rights in court as you were doing, that is a civil suit.  I'm not sure if you asked, but I don't see the basis for any claim against Kent, unless the bike was defective, but getting a flat doesn't demontrate any defect. ... Read More

I'm assuming this occurred in Pennsylvania.  You may be the contractor's "employee" for puproses of workes comp.  If the contractor did not have insurance, you can file a workers comp claim against him as well as the uninsured employers' guarantee fund.  Your best way to get medical bills paid and compensation is doing that versus a private cause of action against the homeowner.  You may also be able to sue the homeowner but you'll have to pay back comp from any recovery from suit against the home owner.  ... Read More

I'm assuming that you've asked her to remove these things and she's refused or simply not responded.  Is she nearby that you could pack them up and take them to her?  Is the issue that she needs help moving them -- if so you should offer to help.  At some point after asking her to remove things and she doesn't, you can throw them away but that's really a last resort.  You'd need some sort of proof that you communicated with her, requested that she remove the items and the action you intend to take by the date if she fails to respect your request.... Read More

First off, I would dispute the charge with your credit card company.  Did you contact U-Haul to dispute the charge?  I presume they have an internal dispute process or at least you can contact customer service.  As a last resort, you could file a claim against U-Haul with the local magistrate for beach of contract or fraud.  ... Read More

Have you made a claim with the water company?  Usually you are responsible for water lines from the connection at the street to your home.  Your homewoners does not cover water damage from underground -- that's pretty standard so I don't see a claim there.  It may be that no other party is at fault here and that the cost to repair is on you alone.  ... Read More

Most communities do NOT want an adult entertainment venue.  That's just reality and part of doing the business you've chosen to do.  Do you have some kind of legal case?  Maybe but do you really want to take on the entire community?  Do you have the money for an extended litigation (and you won't be getting your attorneys fees paid if you win most likely)?  My suggestion is that you try and engagein the community as a good citizen.  Attend meetings.  Meet with local regulators and ask them about their concerns and see if you can reach a meeting of the minds on how you operate your business in light of their concerns.  Donate to local charities or events.  Kill them with kindness and maybe they'll lay off. But maybe not and that's just what comes with your type of business. Not a moral statement -- just reality.... Read More

I can't tell you the specifics of Pennsylvania collection law, but every jurisdiction has procedures for collecting on a judgment ranging from taking discovery about the debtor's assets, to garnishing the debtor's income, and executing on the debtor's assets so that they are sold at auction to satisfy the judgment.  I don't know how much is involved, but rather than attempt to carry out these procedures yourself, it may be easiest for you to simply hire a collection attorney, who will represent you in exchange for a share of what he/she collects.... Read More

I think your remedy here is to claim a credit against any child support order entered against you.  The credit would be for the full value of the car.  She is not able to bargain away your child's right to be supported by you.  You made an unenforceable bargain.  That doesn't result in you getting the car back.  Best you can hope for is a credit against support you will owe. ... Read More

If the guns belong to you, the fact that someone else posses them doesn't change how you can exercise your ownership rights.  You can "gift" them to your son anytime you like.  Once your son is the "owner" he can pursue regaining possession of them from this other person.  Your son won't have of your restrictions on possessing them.... Read More

It is very unlikley that someone is going to give you ala carte free legal advice on narrow issues in your divorce case.  You really need to retain counsel to avoid your case going against you.  There are many legal resources for those with low income or lack of resources.  If I knew where you were, I might be able to give you some links or phone numbers.  You can certainly look on-line or in your yellow pages or call your local bar association and they can probably help direct you to some resources. ... Read More

You've not provided any information about your claim so I'm not sure what you're expecting by posting this question.  I'd suggest that you provide some facts about the situation and the redress that you want either here or contact an attorney local to you through the bar association or through this website .... Read More