Harper J Dimmerman

October 01, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

This past summer, the Pennsylvania Superior Court filed a noteworthy opinion highlighting just how strictly statutory timing requirements can be construed.

By Harper J. Dimmerman, Bradley J. Osborne and James M. Lammendola

6 minute read

January 29, 2007 | The Legal Intelligencer

Our Commonwealth Court recently considered the question of whether an arguably makeshift greenhouse should properly be considered real estate for the purpose of assessment and taxation under the Fourth to Eighth Class County Assessment Law.

By Harper J. Dimmerman

6 minute read

July 02, 2007 | The Legal Intelligencer

It is irrefutable that behemoth lending institutions enjoy supreme bargaining positions in residential-loan transactions. The contracts of adhesion that memorialize these deals are indicia of this harsh economic reality. These contracts are tolerated and accepted under the assumption that the consumer understands what he or she is getting into. And of course, no borrower is under any obligation to borrow at all.

By Harper J. Dimmerman Special to the Legal

6 minute read

November 02, 2009 | The Legal Intelligencer

A veritable sea of mortgage defaults and the accompanying foreclosure litigation undoubtedly represents a sign of the current economic times.

By Harper J. Dimmerman And James M. Lammendola

5 minute read

April 30, 2007 | The Legal Intelligencer

Last year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court was called upon to answer a very specific and seemingly obvious question in the land use context.

By Harper J. Dimmerman

7 minute read

November 02, 2009 | The Legal Intelligencer

A veritable sea of mortgage defaults and the accompanying foreclosure litigation undoubtedly represents a sign of the current economic times. And, with such activity, allegations of predatory lending practices in the form of Truth in Lending Act, or TILA, violations should come as no surprise to practitioners on either side of the bar. These demands for relief, whether rescissionary or monetary in nature, at times, may never be asserted until after foreclosure litigation has already commenced.

By Harper J. Dimmerman and James M. Lammendola

4 minute read

October 10, 2005 | The Legal Intelligencer

Although the concept of tenancy by the entirety property may seem fairly obvious, lien issues present an obstacle for the spouse seeking to hide behind the veil of entirety protection. Most recently, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed down an extremely important decision that paid great homage to the federal tax lien and its power.

By Harper J. Dimmerman

6 minute read

August 29, 2011 | The Legal Intelligencer

The recent case of Goldstein v. The Zoning Hearing Board of the Township of Lower Merion filed April 21 by the Commonwealth Court emphatically illustrates the importance of not disregarding the mandates of local ordinances when constructing additions or new structures on one's real estate. As we shall soon see, neither the long-standing nature of a nonconformity, the expense of compliance, nor the acquiescence of one's immediate neighbors will afford relief to the landowner when a hardship is not directly tied to a pre-existing unique physical condition on one's property.

By James M. Lammendola and Harper J. Dimmerman

7 minute read

January 09, 2006 | The Legal Intelligencer

Something as mundane as including the names of the proper borrowers within a mortgage would seem a relatively low-risk undertaking. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in Regions Mortgage v. Muthler, most recently defined the limitations of reformation of a legal instrument like a mortgage where that instrument is inaccurate.

By Harper J. Dimmerman

7 minute read

October 04, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

Any student of debtor creditor law learns very quickly that, except for a certain degree of protection under the bankruptcy code and state statutory exemptions, the creditor has numerous remedies available in the case of default.

By Harper J. Dimmerman and James M. Lammendola

6 minute read