The following are recent Pennsylvania appellate court cases of note to real estate law practitioners.

• In re Condemnation by the Franklin Township Sewage Authority, 1237 C.D. 2019 (2019), the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held that sewage overflows from a public sewage treatment facility onto private lands did not constitute a de facto taking.

William Ott was the owner of a commercial rental property that was serviced by the Franklin Township Sewage Authority. The sewage system at issue was more than 50 years old, and was constructed of terra cotta pipes, which had begun to deteriorate over time. As a result, stormwater, tree roots and other matter began to infiltrate the system. Further complicating the situation was the fact that many property owners whose lands were serviced by the system had improperly connected their stormwater pipes into the system, thereby further increasing the amount of water directed into the already compromised pipes. While the authority was aware of the problems facing the system, repeatedly inspected the system and took steps to disconnect the unauthorized connections, a total upgrade of the system was cost-prohibitive.