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My friend is a landlord who lives out of state. Can I represent him at the District Justice level for an eviction hearing ?
I already served notice upon the dwelling for him and would like to assist him further. I am a retired police officer and am familiar with testifying in court.
The other party has no lease and is just hanging on after her boyfriend abandoned the residence.
This is in PA.
Get a letter from your friend assigning you to represent him in the case. That should be sufficient.
No, unless Pennsylvania has some very unusual laws governing the practice of law, retired peace officers are not allowed to represent others in court. Now, if you know about the circumstances, you might make a good witness in the matter, but your friend will have to ask about possibly attending by telephone. That is commonly allowed by most courts.
Can't the owner appoint the OP as his agent for the property which would allow him to appear on his behalf? Housing courts generally do not require attorney representation (much like small claims).
I don't know of anything about being a retired police officer that would disqualify the OP from acting as the owner's agent.
I'm in NY and I would question whether it is appropriate for the supposedly disinterested person who served the papers to also "represent" the person landlord in Court.
Suddenly the server is not a disinterested party.
And the person doing the "representing" is not an Attorney.
Even if OP were to be appointed manager or something similar there's the question of legal service should that issue be raised.
I think it's a bad scenario.
Hello again,
I think you need to be a lawyer in order to represent people in court - ANY court.
excon
There is a PA law that allows non-lawyers with specific knowledge to represent another in District Court ( the same court for landlord complaints) for summary violations. I have done this several times for my employer.
In fact I am 7 for 7 in winning traffic citation cases. I just haven't ventured into the Civil side of things.
A person who does this must have written consent and cannot advertise and do so for compensation. I have only done this for citations issued to employees who were working when they got them or the cite was filed against the company.
Thanks for the confirmation. Can you cite the statute?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcsap9213
246 PA Code 207. You can see the actual form at www.19301.org on the left side of the screen click on Misc. Forms. It will then be the top form.Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottGem
I couldn't do this in downtown court during a trial but have done this very successfully in our Distict Courts where all summary, misdemeanor and felony criminal cases begin. Also civil cases under I think 12 k can be heard there.
I went to Philadelphia Traffic Court last year and got $850 worth of poorly written commercial trucking citations dismissed.
Sorry on the website. It is. District Court 19-3-01 Welcome Page
Hello again, M:
Then go for it and kick some a$$.
excon
Thank you. Good luck and keep us posted.
Which title? The Pennsylvania Code is organized by title, chapter, and section.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcsap9213
The site appears to be bugged. Every time I click on the forms link, IE crashes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcsap9213
Pa Rules of Criminal Procedure. Chapter 200. Rule 207.
I have no problems opening the document link on the district court web page.
And the person who served is now the person who appears - ?
Why was this asked if you already knew?
And I also can't open the citation - busy internet, perhaps?
If the landlord can serve notice and than represent himself , why couldn't I ? There is no conflict of interest attained by taping a piece of paper to a door.Quote:
Originally Posted by JudyKayTee
The PA Rules of Criminal Procedure are for criminal cases , not necessarily civil cases. THAT'S why I posed the question.
I am in my iPad and it opens perfectly for me.
What kind of notice? Let's start there.
And the LL doesn't serve notices in NY because if service is question he/she is going to lose due a possible reason to lie - and I see these thrown out on a regular basis.
And that's why I own and operate a process service company - in NY.
Obviously PA doesn't feel that having the landlord swear that the papers were properly served could be a reason for the landlord to lie...
A notice drawn up by the landlord IAW PA Landlord / tenenat law giving the person in question 30 days to vacate the premises as they have no lease , have paid no rent and have no legal standing to remain.
I posted it in a conspicious place ( the front door at eye level) and than took three pictures of the posted notice. Up close , father back and far enough back to get the house number. Pics are date and geo tagged and of course I will testify under oath as to their being posted. A LL here can send a certified letter , deliver the notice in person or post it in a conspicious place. Either way , the LL would have to testify under oath as to what they did.
Process servers are NOT required in PA. I can see where a lazy process server could lie if they were a little too busy to actually do their job. Sure , they are handy for a landlord who doesn't want to get his hands dirty but I have dealt with a LOT of people in my former career and don't have a problem doing this type of work.
I KNOW Law Enforcement can vary greatly from state to state. It looks like the LL / Tenant Laws do as well. While NY information is perhaps a curiousity , I am truly looking for PA specific info.
Every source OP has given us, with the exception of the main court web site, has failed to open.
In any event, whatever the criminal procedure rules say, they have no bearing on representation in civil court. My previous answer stands.
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