Yearly Archives: 2009
The New Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act
On July 1, 2009, a new law entitled the Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act will take effect. The Act is designed to protect against several abuses that some home improvement contractors have inflicted on innocent consumers. The Act as a whole does three… Continue reading
Luzerne County’s
Attorneys are often their own worst enemies in the realm of public relations. We have become a favorite butt of many comedians; and while most of it is good-natured, much of the mocking seems excessive. Attorneys as a group are generally good citizens, making… Continue reading
Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeals
Recently we sent out a notice to clients and friends of the firm setting forth the deadlines for appealing your real estate tax assessments. The deadlines for filing a reassessment petition are as follows: County Filing Deadline Bucks … Continue reading
Wine Boutiques in Pennsylvania?
As part of its plan to evolve into a customer-focused specialty retailer, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (“LCB”) is investigating the idea of wine “boutiques.” These boutiques would operate as sublets from high-end gourmet food shops in select Pennsylvania communities. The LCB is proposing… Continue reading
The Queen’s English – Odds & Ends
Certain adjectives express conditions that are beyond improvement; that is, the words express perfection and cannot be improved upon, though sometimes we feel compelled to embellish them unnecessarily. (I pause here to acknowledge that one of the world’s most important documents commences, “In order to… Continue reading
Schoolhouse Rock
In the 1970’s ABC television introduced a series of animated musical educational short films aimed at children called Schoolhouse Rock. Perhaps you remember some of the catchy tunes that usually ran on Saturday mornings such as: Conjunction Junction; Mother Necessity and I’m Just a Bill. … Continue reading
Renovating Your Home? Get a Contract in Writing!
Renovating Your Home? Get a Contract in Writing! So you are you considering adding a master bedroom, building a new garage, perhaps a new in-law suite or a finished basement? You have financing in place, and you have met a contractor that you like and… Continue reading
The Queen’s English
Old words with new meanings have a way of creeping into our consciousness.Some years ago when I heard a presidential assistant say of a cabinet appointee whose checkered past had become an embarrassment to the President, “We just didn’t vet him sufficiently,” I only vaguely… Continue reading
Watch Out For The 100% Penalty!
The Internal Revenue Code requires employers to withhold from wages and pay over to the government employment taxes at specified intervals. Because funds withheld from employee wages are not property of the employer but instead are earmarked for the government, they are commonly known as… Continue reading
Mortgage Contingency Update: A Helpful Court Decision
We recently reported on the “standard” mortgage contingency clause which the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (“PAR”) has promulgated in its form residential agreement of sale which is used widely. The form provides that if the mortgage contingency fails, it is the seller, not the buyer,… Continue reading