Q: The Police took a dog out of my home and are refusing to give me a report concerning the seizure of my animal. Can I sue them? (Turtle Creek, PA)
A: No, you cannot. There are privacy rules in PA regarding the dissemination of police reports, and the laws are strict. If this dog was removed from your home by Animal Control due to abuse or neglect, you will be receiving papers in the mail. When you do I suggest taking them to an attorney.
Q: I was at red light. The light changed, and I drifted into car in front of me who started moving and then stopped. There was no visible damage to his car and none to mine at all. called. The police who said to stay in car until they got there because he was so mean to me. Now he is calling me to find out how I want to handle THE DAMAGE to his car. He had mentioned he was in a prior accident two months ago and lady hit him and gave him wrong info and “he isn’t going to get taken again”. I only drifted into him. I am totally afraid of him. I did not have the insurance at 12:00pm. I just went home and paid the premium. I forgot to pay it. If he was in accident before. There was no police report even written and the police had to get his information for me. (McKeesport, PA)
A: You need to verify that you had or did not have motor vehicle insurance. Just because you missed a payment or two does not mean they terminated your coverage. Call to be sure. If you are insured, report the accident and give them the information. They will handle it. If you are certain you did not have insurance at the time, you need to get ready for his potential claim. Gather your evidence. Make a written log of events, get the police report, log or accident report. If possible without trespassing or creating a disturbance, photograph the back end of his car. If he sues and you are not insured, do not ignore the papers that come in the mail. Take them to a lawyer and see if one can defend you at a reasonable cost.
Q: I have a garage built on my lot long before I moved into my house. It straddles the property line. My neighbor and I each own one-half of the garage. My neighbor has failed to maintain his one-half to the point it is unsafe to use in its entirety. Can I compel him to repair his one-half? Can I remove entire structure, or can I effect repairs without his permission? (Plum Borough, PA)
A: This is a difficult situation and there are few things worse than bad neighbors. The easiest way would be to work this out with him. If that is not possible, talk to your local zoning officer. If his half of the garage is unsafe, unsightly or not up to code, the zoning officer can issue a citation and he will be given so many days to make repairs. If no such compliance is met, he can be hauled into court and fined or ordered to comply. As far as a civil or equity suit filed at the local magistrate or in the Court of Common Pleas, there is a remedy against property owners whose failure to maintain their property adversely affects adjoining or neighboring property. I once used it to get a judgment against the owner of an adjoining wall who failure to maintain it undermined the yard and foundation of my client’s house. I would need to research this cause of action more. Beware that having a judgment against another person can be useless if they do not pay or have no assets to attach. I suggest that you go through the zoning officer first.
Q: We suspect our feeble but mentally sound grandparent is being emotionally and financially blackmailed by a private home caregiver who has recently come onto the scene. The grandparent has become somewhat secretive and it has been very difficult to meet this “caregiver”. They have begun a legal contract together regarding care of our grandparent. Upon death the caregiver will receive an overly generous financial gain. There are several requests that the caregiver has made that are illogical and very concerning to have in the contract to gain legal power over our grandparent. Our grandparent has started to withdraw from family since this caregiver has come along. The grandparent is acting out of character & trusts the caregiver. Our grandparent has already been influenced by the caregiver in a way that has put their health/life at risk. The caregiver does not like to meet with family to discuss their arrangement. There are many red flags at this stage with this relationship and we are sick with worry. Can we record conversations without consent to help prove undue influence as it is so difficult to find other proof at this time How else can we collect proof regarding undue influence of an elderly person? (Pittsburgh, PA)
A: Not unless you want to take the risk of the caregiver filing criminal charges against you. PA is a two-party consent state. I suggest calling Adult Protective Services and have them do a home visit to assess the situation. Your grandparent can do as they wish if they are competent. However, if the caregiver is becoming an heir and receiving more than just compensation for services, something is wrong and there is a legal course of remedy based on the doctrine of undue influence. You could also make the local police aware of the situation. Some police have training in elder and may have suggestions as to what help they can provide.
Q: I am my father’s medical power of attorney. His girlfriend is trying to take him to get medical treatment without me being present or notified. What can I do and what should I do? (Penn Hills, PA)
A: If you have a Medical Power of Attorney which is fully complaint with the law, and you are the named Agent, you have authority to handle his medical needs and no one else. As mentioned, you need to get a copy of this document to his doctors, the hospital and all his medical providers.
Q: I was at a party and some people were being quite loud and campus police were checking in and had eventually entered the home. They shut down what was going on and lined everyone up before exiting the home warning people not to flee out of the rear of the house. Checking people’s bags for alcohol in which they had to throw out if they did possess it and asking them for ID which they verbalized names over a body cam. Now, if no one was arrested could there still be future ramifications? (Pittsburgh, PA)
A: For summary offenses, citations can be issued at the scene, or by mail. The police can also charge misdemeanors without physically arresting someone. They can take the information and mail a summons to the person. You will likely receive a citation in the mail and a hearing date. Do not plead guilty. Underage drinking under section 6308 of the PA Crimes Code is a summary offense, which if you are convicted of, will stay on your record for 5 years before you can pay to have it expunged. Additionally, it carries a driver’s license suspension which will come in the mail from PennDOT, weeks later. Many District Justices offer a first-time offender’s program which will allow you to avoid a conviction, but it is not always offered unfortunately. Make sure the address the police have is a good one. If you do not receive mail at the address you gave them, miss the hearing and are convicted, you are out of luck. Hire an attorney if you can.
Q: What exactly can they do? Wise to attend the magisterial hearing sans defense? It is an unsecured debt. I have no viable defense I’m aware of. The magistrate may have mercy as she knows me. The attorney for Discover is from NY. (Pittsburgh, PA)
A: Once an award is obtained from the District Justice, it can easily be turned in to a judgment. Once it is a judgment it acts as a lien on all real estate you own. It is possible that the company will go further and execute on personal property (cars, namely) or real estate (your home). Often there are defenses to these credit card law suits. I would review the paperwork with an attorney. The attorney from New York will likely have local counsel represent the company.
Q: I got pulled over the other night, I had just left work and before even asking me for my license and insurance he told me to get out of the car. They then searched my car for 45 minutes without my permission and without asking me. They then claim to find money with drug residue on it and are now trying to give me a paraphernalia charge. I’m afraid that if I plead not guilty they’re going to figure out a way of proving there is drug residue on the money. Therefore. I don’t want to be charged with possession because I did not plead guilty to the paraphernalia. (Pittsburgh, PA)
A: I would need to know more and therefore advise you to hire an attorney to review the complaint and get more details on the facts. It sounds like you are charged with summary offenses now, but you are wondering if a potential misdemeanor for paraphernalia or possession may be filed? It is possible. The Commonwealth can amend the charges almost at any time before an adjudication occurs. If you are found guilty of the summaries and they later attempt to charge you with the misdemeanors, and the new charges arise from the same event, you may have a double jeopardy argument under PA Rules of Criminal Procedure 109 and 110. However, if you have no criminal record, you may not want to plead to these summaries as they will stay on your record for 5 years until you can expunge them. There are a few issues here for which I think you need counsel.
Q: I missed a probation appointment and haven’t contacted my probation officer. She called and said to contact her today or she is putting a warrant out for me! (Pittsburgh, PA)
A: Hmmmmm. That is a tough one. The choice is to call your PO and not go to jail, or ignore her and have a warrant issued, which will land you in jail at some unsuspecting future time. If it is not too late already, call your PO and apologize and think of a damn good excuse for not calling her back. If you call and she says, tough, I already requested a warrant, you have two options. You can turn yourself in and expect to sit awhile in the Allegheny Iron Hilton. Or, you can hire an attorney to prepare a petition to lift detainer which puts a good spin on your screw-up and walk you into the probation judge’s court room. It may or may not keep you out of jail, there is no guarantee.
Q: I had a one-year lease for which the contract states I must give 60-days’ notice if I intend not to renew. I thought I needed to give 30 days-notice. I purchased a home and informed my landlord I was not renewing. I gave him over 30-days-notice and he won’t release me, says I must pay the full years rent. Do I have any options? (Swissvale, PA)
A: If it was written in the lease, you agreed to it and therefore are bound to give 60 days-notice. However, with your notice, although only 30 days or so, the land lord has a duty to mitigate by finding another tenant and preparing the apartment to rent. He has a strict legal duty to find another tenant as soon as reasonably possible. He just can’t sit back and expect to collect the balance of the lease contract. I would continue to move. Demand a return of your deposit in writing by certified mail stating your new address. He will settle with you or sue you. If you go to court, he will not likely get a judgment of the balance of the rent.