9
As you note, it does appear that this tenant has committed one or more crimes.
In Pennsylvania crimes are prosecuted by the state, and you can begin the process by filing a private criminal complaint with your local Magisterial District Court, which will forward it to your county's District Attorney for review and prosecution.
You've essentially written ...
8
Generally yes, but it depends on both context and jurisdiction.
For example, if you arrived from a different street segment at 4-way stop at the same time as another car, and give a flash to indicate "go ahead," that by itself is not likely to be sustained as sufficient to justify a stop.
If you come up close behind another car and flash your high ...
8
Under 28 Pa. Code 1.6,
The child of an unmarried woman may be registered with any surname
requested by the mother. If no other surname is so requested, the
child shall be registered with the mother’s surname
Registration is the point at which there is parental discretion. Subsequently, a name change is possible by court order, however as maintained ...
7
You have misread the DMLP page. In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to record a conversation if you are a party and if the other party does not consent.
The fact that federal law doesn't ban something doesn't mean that states can't ban it. There is generally a presumption that when both the feds and the states can legitimately regulate something, the feds weren'...
6
An LLC is a legally distinct entity from your person. Basically, if your LLC is sued, and you lose, you can lose only what you put into your LLC. Your personal assets are untouched.
A very sophisticated plaintiff may try to get around this suing both your LLC and you personally. (I've done this myself.) Even so, if you are careful to keep the business of ...
5
The default rule is that a landlord can refuse to rent to anyone for any reason, in which case the landlord can refuse to rent in this case.
There are civil rights laws that limit this discretion in the case, for example, of discrimination based on race, or family status. But, those laws often have exemptions for owners of small amounts of property (e.g. a ...
4
Regular maintenance does not include repairs for being broken – I have a contract with a company that (for a monthly payment) provides regular maintenance on the furnace, which does not cover the situation where the motor wears out, or whatever. In the worst case scenario of an oil line breech, the tenant would not be liable for the tens of thousands of ...
4
I am not a lawyer either, though I have been through Pennsylvania a few times. The relevant law is 18 Pa.C.S. 5703, which prohibits recording without consent of all parties (Penna is a "two-party consent" state, like Florida and Washington). Unfortunately, violation of that law is a third degree felony, which has a maximum of 7 year prison. A specific ...
4
The tenant has certainly committed one or more civil wrongs against you, and you have the right to sue for those (as you know). There could be criminal activity here such as fraud or perjury - but I do not believe it constitutes theft by taking.
The tenant did not use deception to obtain property from you. They used deception to obtain a business deal with ...
4
There is a relevant law, Title 18 section 907 which states that "A person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if he possesses any instrument of crime with intent to employ it criminally". So possession of lock picks is not a crime per se. In Com. v. Gendrachi 389 A.2d 604 we are reminded that "intent need not be directly proved, but may be inferred ...
4
In the U.S. severance payments are not provided for statutorily, and are rarely made when an employee quits or is fired for cause. However, even when not provided for within contracts it is common to see voluntary severances paid during lay-offs.
Furthermore, in the U.S. it is more likely that they would be "laid off" in order to qualify for unemployment ...
4
I intend to close on the house as I've already signed all the loan
paper work, but is there anything that can be done about a Realtor
that breaks contract?
You have probably waived your claim if you proceed with the deal knowing about the Realtor's conduct. What would your damages be? Could you have mitigated them by not agreeing to the deal?
Also ...
3
You're missing some pretty important details in describing the facts of this case.
The most important of which is: What were the agreed terms upon which Alice obtained possession of the car prior to paying?
Your description says:
Alice takes the car and doesn't pay.
If that's literally true, then this case is both criminal theft and the tort of ...
3
Your tax advisor was legally correct, but perhaps not very savvy.
Unfortunately, the best way to resolve this sort of situation is to avoid it: You should have insisted your employer stop withholding for PA as soon as you moved out of state. Once someone else has possession of your money the burden is on you to get it back, and the burden can be (...
3
Regarding concern one:
I don't know much of anything about historical landmarks and how they get exempted from certain laws. However, I can tell you that the law generally prefers safety over preserving historical value. It is highly unlikely that a court would ever consider a plant that has existed for any number of years to be of more value than a ...
3
Either party can petition the appropriate court for an adjudication of paternity (if this has not already been established in connection with the issuance of the birth certificate), and for a parental responsibility and child support order, at any time, if no such order is in place (assuming that Pennsylvania is the "home state" of the child and venue is ...
3
The general rule in the sale of a "used" house is "buyer beware", but the seller of a "used" house must disclose latent defects of which the seller is aware. (Different rules apply to the first buyer of a newly built house.)
While a natural spring would not always be a defect, one that causes structural or foundation problems is clearly a defect.
So, the ...
3
There are several questions in the OP. The answers to all of them depend on the lease terms.
If Person A wants out of the lease, is the only option to just try to negotiate a way out of their portion of the lease with the landlord, presumably by payment or other means?
Yes, usually. Regardless of who is on the lease, Person A is on the lease. In order ...
3
This doesn't sound like fraud (against you, at least), but it does sound like an unfair or deceptive trade practice, which is outlawed by Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and perhaps the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, both of which prohibit unfair and deceptive trade practices.
I don't know about Pennsylvania, ...
3
I suspect that the statute in question may be Section 11-104(1)(F) of municipal ordinances of the Town of Bloomsburg, PA, a university town (home to Bloomberg University of Pennsylvania, a public college) that purports to have special need for regulation based upon the large number of student rentals in the town and apparently applies primarily to house ...
3
The other answers are correct that you should speak to a lawyer, but you should expect your lawyer to tell you that you don't have a viable lawsuit.
I can't speak to Pennsylvania law, but these facts would make a pretty weak claim for sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. To win a hostile-work environment case, you must demonstrate:
...
2
Note, further, that it's not only a question of whether or not to use an LLC, but also where to form that LLC. For example, Delaware is a very popular home for LLCs that are owned and operated elsewhere due to relatively unique protections, including exceptional confidentiality provisions.
Savvy operators often layer LLCs to add additional protections, ...
2
Google results show the fact that Pennsylvania doesn't have specific laws concerning possession of what are called "lock picking tools." https://www.google.com/search?q=lock+picks+pennsylvania
Some states have laws that state the tools are legal and law enforcement must show intent to use them maliciously; some state laws say that possession of such tools ...
2
I see you've edited the question and added a second scenario. So I'll answer that one here.
The jury can award damages in whatever amount they decide, subject to the judge's discretion and authority. The judge can change damage awards if s/he considers the jury's award amount inequitable, unfair or inconsistent with the law.
2
I'm not an attorney but it seems to me that refusing to lease housing to an undocumented immigrant, who meets all other requirements and is only an Occupant, based solely on their immigration status is nearly equivalent to refusing to sell other necessities such as food, water or clothing to a person simply because of their immigration status. Or perhaps ...
2
Rental law varies greatly by state, so I won't be able to offer concrete advice as to actions you can take, but I will advise to be careful about the actions you do take. For instance, withholding rent is allowed in some states for some conditions, but other states do not allow it at all. I would immediately get in touch with a tenants' rights group, ...
2
I assume that the fence and dog are outside, not within the premises (buildings) of the property. An outside dog area with two 8 foot sections missing and patched with thin wire mesh such as chicken wire fails to satisfy the requirements of "other device so that it cannot stray beyond the premises on which it is secured", though it could satisfy a weaker and ...
2
First, please note that we do not give legal advice on this site. Here is some general information about gambling laws in Pennsylvania, but if you are planning to do something and want to know whether it is legal, you will have to hire a lawyer.
I believe this sort of thing would be a lottery under Pennsylvania law, which is prohibited in Consolidated ...
2
The process of collecting a judgment once you win one is really no different in small claims court than it is in any other court, and as you note, it isn't easy. You may decide that once you have won, that it is easier to turn the judgment over to a collection agency or an attorney to collect (admittedly at a price).
Often, garnishment of wages and bank ...
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