Are Your Real Estate Taxes Too High?
Watch Attorney John Fiorillo as he addresses ways to reduce your property tax assessment and tax bills and the reasons that your assessment might change. This is the first in a series of videos for residents of Chester County, Montgomery County and Delaware County, Pennsylvania who need to reduce their personal or business …
For Creditors – A Mistake Of Law Is Not A "Bona Fide Error”
The old adage, “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” has been underscored in the context of debt collection practices in a recent decision issued by the United States Supreme Court. In Jerman v. Carlisle (2010 WL 1558977 U.S.), the Court held that the “bona fide error” defense to civil liability under the Fair …
Are Charter Schools Subject To Real Estate Taxes?
Read our recent blog about charter schools being subject to real estate taxes. For more information, contact our offices.
Securing Possession of Residential Property from a Holdover Tenant
By: Christopher L. Turner A residential landlord who seeks to evict a tenant from leased premises must follow certain steps and procedures outlined in the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure and comply with the terms of Pennsylvania’s Landlord and Tenant Act. A landlord is not permitted to perform a self help eviction except against …
Investors Beware of Alternative Investments
“Selling away” is when a broker leads an investor to investments that are not offered through their brokerage house. Investing in securities outside of your brokerage account can be extremely risky, because investors will miss important investor protections that flow from the broker’s and the firm’s regulatory obligations, including the firms supervision of the brokers …
Real Estate “Offer” vs. Contract
With the approach of Spring and Summer comes a more active residential real estate market. The process of buying or selling a home may have become just a little more complicated due to the recent decision handed down by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in Trowbridge v. McCaigue. Buyers, sellers, and real estate agents need to …
If I win my case, will they have to pay my attorneys fees? The American Rule
By: James C. Dalton More often than not, the answer to the question posed above is “No”. The general rule in American courts provides that each party to a lawsuit is responsible for paying their own attorneys fees, unless one of the following exceptions applies: A statute or rule of court authorizes the recovery …
Securities Arbitration: FINRA May Reconstitute Panels
By: Stephen P. Lagoy The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which administers the arbitration program to which brokerage customers must bring their complaints, is considering using arbitration panels comprising all “non-industry” members. Presently, panels must include at least one industry member among the three-person panel. The remaining member(s) are “public” (i.e. from outside the …
Chrysler Changes Its Tune On Terminated Dealers
By: Stephen P. Lagoy After initially indicating that terminated dealers would be reinstated through the federally-mandated arbitration procedure or not at all [see blog post: Chrysler and GM Take Different Approaches to Dealer Arbitration], Chrysler now says that it will offer to reinstate 50 of the 789 dealerships it terminated last year. The …
Chrysler and GM Take Different Approaches to Dealer Arbitration
By: Stephen P. Lagoy Unlike GM, which has notified more than half of its terminated dealers that they will be offered reinstatement without going to arbitration, Chrysler has announced that dealer reinstatement will occur through arbitration, or not at all. The key difference in the approaches of the two auto manufacturers may lie in …