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Home My WebLink About09-2413John W. Purcell, Jr., Esquire ID #29955 Purcell, Krug & Haller 1719 North Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17102 (717) 234-4178 jpurcell@pkh.com JOHN D. McINTYRE, Plaintiff V. PENNSYLVANIA AMERICAN WATER COMPANY, Defendant IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION - LAW NO. bq - 013 a;vil - T?r?rr? NOTICE YOU HAVE BEEN SUED IN COURT. If you wish to defend against the claims set forth in the following pages, you must take action within twenty (20) days after this Complaint and Notice are served, by entering a written appearance personally or by attorney and filing in writing with the Court your defenses or objections to the claims set forth against you. You are warned that if you fail to do so the case may proceed without you and a judgment may be entered against you by the Court without further notice for any money claimed in the Complaint or for any other claim or relief requested by the Plaintiff. You may lose money or property or other rights important to you. YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW. THIS OFFICE CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION ABOUT HIRING A LAWYER. IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO HIRE A LAWYER, THIS OFFICE MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION ABOUT AGENCIES THAT MAY OFFER LEGAL SERVICES TO ELIGIBLE PERSONS AT A REDUCED FEE OR NO FEE. CUMBERLAND COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION 32 SOUTH BEDFORD STREET CARLISLE, PA 17013 (717) 249-3166 (800) 990-9108 NOTICE CONCERNING MEDIATION OF ACTIONS PENDING BEFORE THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY The Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County believe that mediation of lawsuits is a very important component of dispute resolution. Virtually all lawsuits can benefit in some manner from mediation. The Court has adopted Cumberland County Local Rule 1001 to encourage the use of mediation. This early alert enables litigants to determine the best time during the life of their lawsuit for a mediation session. The intent of this early alert is to help the parties act upon the requirement to consider good faith mediation at the optimal time. The Cumberland County Bar Association provides mediation services and can be reached at 717-249-3166. Free mediation sessions for pro bono cases referred by Mid Penn Legal Services are available through the Cumberland County Bar Association. AVISO USTED HA SIDO DEMANDADO/A EN CORTE. Si usted desea defenderse de las demandas que se presentan mas adelante en las siguientes paginas, debe tomar acci6n dentro de los pr6ximos veinte (20) dfas despues de la notificaci6n de esta Demanda y Aviso radicando personalmente o por medio de un abogado una comparecencia escrita y radicando en la Corte por escrito sus defensas de, y objecciones a, las demandas presentadas aquf en contra suya. Se le advierte de que si usted falla de tomar acci6n como se describe anteriormente, el caso puede proceder sin usted y un fallo por cualquier suma de dinero reclamada en la demanda o cualquier otra reclamaci6n o remedio solicitado por el demandante puede ser dictado en contra suya por la Corte sin mas aviso adicional. Usted puede perder dinero o propiedad u otros derechos importantes para usted. USTED DEBE LLEVAR ESTE DOCUMENTO A SU ABOGADO INMEDIATAMENTE. SI USTED NO TIENE UN ABOGADO, LLAME O VAYA A LA SIGUIENTE OFICINA. ESTA OFICINA PUEDE PROVEERLE INFORMACION A CERCA DE COMO CONSEGUIR UN ABOGADO. SI USTED NO PUEDE PAGAR POR LOS SERVICIOS DE UN ABOGADO, ES POSIBLE QUE ESTA OFICINA LE PUEDA PROVEER INFORMACION SOBRE AGENCIAS QUE OFREZCAN SERVICIOS LEGALES SIN CARGO O BAJO COSTO A PERSONAS QUE CUALIFICAN. CUMBERLAND COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION 32 SOUTH BEDFORD STREET CARLISLE, PA 17013 (717) 249-3166 (800) 990-9108 An adequate supply of forms containing the bilingual notices required by these Rules shall be furnished by the Cumberland County Bar Association to the office of the Prothonotary and shall be available for use by litigants and their attorneys. AVISO REFERENCES A LA MEDIACION DE LAS ACCIONES PENDIENTES ANTES LA CORTE DE SOPLICAS COMUNES DEL CONDADO DE CUMBERLAND Los jueces de la corte de suplicas comunes del condado de Cumberalnd creen que la mediaci6n de pleitos es un componente muy importante de la resoluci6n del conflicto. Virtualmente todos los pleitos pueden beneficiar de cierta manera de la mediaci6n. La code ha adoptado la regla local de condado de Cumberland 1001 para animar el use de la mediaci6n. Esta alarma temprana permite a litigantes determiner la mejor epoca durante la vida de su pleito para una sesi6n de la mediaci6n. El intento de esta alarma temprana es actuar sobre la mediaci6n de la buena fe en el tiempo 6ptimo. La asociaci6n de la barra del condado de Cumberland proporciona servicios de la mediaci6n y se puede alcanzar en 717-232-7536. La sesi6n libre de la mediaci6n para los favorables casos del bono se refinio por MidPenn que los servicios juridicos estan disponibles con el Cumberland County Bar Association. An adequate supply of forms containing the bilingual notices required by these Rules shall be furnished by the Cumberland County Bar Association to the Office of the Prothonotary and shall be available for use by litigants and their attorneys. John W. Purcell, Jr., Esquire ID #29955 Purcell, Krug & Haller 1719 North Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17102 (717) 234-4178 jpurcell@pkh.com JOHN D. McINTYRE, Plaintiff V. PENNSYLVANIA AMERICAN WATER COMPANY, Defendant IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION - LAW Tu-? NO. 09- ),'113 COMPLAINT AND NOW COMES Plaintiff, John D. McIntyre, by his attorneys, Purcell, Krug & Haller, and avers as follows: 1. The Plaintiff is John D. McIntyre (hereinafter "Plaintiff'), an adult individual, with an address of 10476 Stansfield Road, Laurel, Maryland 20703. 2. The Defendant is Pennsylvania American Water Company (hereinafter "Defendant"), a Pennsylvania utility company with a business address of 800 West Hersheypark Drive, Hershey, PA 17033. 3. At all times relevant herein, Plaintiff was the legal title owner to certain real estate located a 406 Brick Church Road, Enola, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 17025. 5. At all times relevant herein, Plaintiff was the landlord for tenants who rented the aforementioned property from the Plaintiff. 6. At all times relevant hereto, Defendant contracted with the Plaintiff to provide water service to the Plaintiff's property for the benefit of the Plaintiff and any and all tenants renting from the Plaintiff by reason of its waterlines connected to the aforementioned property. 7. On or about July 26, 2005, Plaintiff was informed by his tenants that the water had been turned off by the Defendant. 8. Plaintiff contacted the Defendant and informed then that they were not allowed to cut off water to a commercial property while tenants were living in the apartment. 9. Defendant, after some delay, agreed to turn the water back on, and sent a crew to the property to do so on July 28, 2005. 10. To the best of Plaintiff's knowledge, information and belief, in the process of turning the water back on, the Defendant, by its employees or agents, broke the street valve, resulting in an inability to continue to provide water to the property. 11. Defendant also informed Plaintiff that it was his responsibility to repair the broken valve, despite the fact that it was an employee and/or agent of Defendant that broke the valve. 12. As a result of the broken valve and the inability of Defendant to provide water to the premises, the tenants were forced to break their lease with Plaintiff and 2 remove themselves and their possessions from the property, thereby depriving the Plaintiff of income under the lease. 13. Plaintiff, being an absent landlord and unfamiliar with what was occurring at the property, and believing the statements of Defendant, proceeded to hire a contractor to repair the problem with the valve and water line, in order to restore water service to the property and make the property habitable. 14. As a result of the problems referenced above, Plaintiff incurred expenses relating to the repair of the water line and the loss of income from the tenants who removed themselves from the premises in an amount in excess of $5,000. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests this Honorable Court to enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant in an amount in excess of $5,000, plus interest and costs of suit, the exact amount to be proven at trial. COUNTI 15. Paragraphs 1-14 above are incorporated herein as if fully set forth herein. 16 Defendant owed a contractual obligation to Plaintiff to maintain its water supplysystem in a manner that allowed an uninterrupted supply of water to the premises referenced above. 17. Defendant was continuously paid for all water in accordance with its contractual relationship with the Plaintiff, either directly by the Plaintiff or by his tenants. 18. Defendant breached its contractual obligation to the Plaintiff by causing the interruption to the supply of water to the premises, resulting in the damages set forth above. 3 WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests this Honorable Court to enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant in an amount in excess of $5,000, plus interest and costs of suit. COUNT II 19. Paragraphs 1-18 are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 20. Plaintiff had asserted a claim against Defendant, which claim was handled for Defendant by Defendant's insurance company, Travelers' Insurance Company. 21. By letter of October 10, 2006, Defendant, through its authorized agent Kelly D. Meunier, offered to settle the Plaintiffs claim for the amount of $2,995.94. 22. No time limitation was placed on that offer. 23. By letter of August 13, 2007, Plaintiff accepted the offer. Copies of the offer and acceptance are attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit A and B. 25. By letter of August 15, 2007, Exhibit C hereto, Defendant reneged on its offer to settle the matter for the aforementioned amount, citing the statute of limitations, 26. The statute of limitations for contracts in Pennsylvania is four (4) years; hence that statute had not run as of the date of the offer, nor has it run as of the date of this Complaint. 27. Under Pennsylvania contract law, an offer and acceptance constitutes a contract, which Defendant has breached by failing to comply with the contractual agreement. 4 WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests this Honorable Court, in the alternative, against the Defendant Pennsylvania American Water Company in the amount of $2,995.94 , plus interest from August 13, 2007 as well as costs of suit DATE: Respectfully submitted, PURCELL, KRUG & HALLER By: o urcell, Jr., Esquire #29955 1719 North Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17102 (717) 234-4178 Attorney for Plaintiff 5 ??,e?+ ? STPALIL TRAVELERS Fairway Corporate Center II 4350 Haddonfield Road Suite 219 Pennsauken, NJ 08109 October 10, 2006 John W. Purcell Jr. Purcell Krug & Haller 1719 North Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17102-2392 Insd: Pennsylvania American Water Co. Cmt: John D. McIntyre DOL: July 28, 2005 Claim #: 145 LR CIL3024 K Company: Travelers Property Casualty of America Dear Mr. Purcell: Thank you for the documents in support of Mr. McIntyre's claim received by correspondence dated September 26, 2006. The majority of the documents were previously submitted. However, based upon proof of Mr. McIntyre's deductible with Nationwide,I will increase our offer accordingly to a total of $2995.94. If you have any questions, please contact me at 856-488-6005 between the hours of 8:30a.. and S:OOpm dail . Very ly yours, Kelly D. Meunier Technical Specialist 856-488-6005 (?-,w J 8 LAW OFFICES HowARD B. KRUG LEON P. HALLER JOHN W.PURCELLJR. JILL M. WINEKA NICHOLE M. STALEY O'GORMAN LISA A. RYNARD LATOYA C. WINFIELD 0 1719 NORTH FRONT STREET HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17102-2392 TELEPHONE (717) 234-4178 FAx (717) 233-1149 August 13, 2007 St. Paul Travelers Attn: Kelly D. Meunier Fairway Corporate Center R 4350 Haddonfield Road, Suite 219 Pennsauken, NJ 08109 Re: Insd: Pennsylvania American Water Co. Cmt: John D. McIntyre DOL: July 29, 2005 Claim #: 145 LR CIL3024 K Company: Travelers Property Casualty of America Dear Ms. Meunier: HERSHEY (717) 533-3836 JOSEPH NISSLEY (1910-1982) JOHN W.PURCELL Of Counsel The last correspondence I had from you, I believe is from October 10, 2006, in which you made an offer to resolve the above claim for $2,995.94. Please be advised that my client accepts the offer. Please forward to my attention a Release and/or check so that we may close out this claim. I await your reply. Very truly yours, John W. Purcell, Jr. JWP,JR: cm c: John D. McIntyre fx A, ?- / ?L TRAVELERS J? Fairway Corporate Center II 4350 Haddonfield Road Suite 219 Pennsauken, NJ 08109 August 15, 2007 John W. Purcell Jr. Purcell Krug & Haller 1719 North Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17102-2392 Insd: Pennsylvania American Water Co. Cmt: John D. McIntyre DOL: July 29, 2005 Claim #: 145 LR CIL3024 K Dear Mr. Purcell: This will acknowledge your correspondence of August 13, 2007 in which you advise that Mr. McIntyre has accepted our October 10, 2006 offer of $2995.94. Please be advised that the Statute of Limitations expired on July 29, 2007. Therefore, unless you provide me with the appropriate documentation to prove that the Statute of Limitations has been protected, then I must respectfully deny the claim of John D. McIntyre pursuant to the Statute of Limitations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If you have any questions, please contact me at 856-488-6005 between the hours of 8:30am and 5:00 pm daily. Very truly yours, vier Technical Specialist 856-488-6005 VERIFICATION I, JOHN D. McINTYRE , hereby verify that the facts contained in the foregoing Complaint are true and correct to the best of mfr knowledge, information and belief. I understand that false statements made herein are subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. Section 4904, relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. J HN D. McINTYRE Date: D CS-) CUP. TY Ji t- - f 7$.so PA ATty air-* a3145 RT* O,384A Sheriffs Office of Cumberland County R Thomas Kline 10"I' of cum6rr.11#4 Edward L Schorpp Sheriff Solicitor Ronny R Anderson Jody S Smith Chief Deputy icE 0"7,E SHERIFF Civil Process Sergeant SHERIFF'S RETURN OF SERVICE 04/17/2009 R. Thomas Kline, Sheriff who being duly sworn according to law states that he made a diligent search and inquiry for the within named defendant, to wit: Pennsylvania American Water Company, but was unable tc locate them in his bailiwick. He therefore deputized the Sheriff of Dauphin County, PA to serve the within Complaint and Notice according to law. 04/22/2009 Dauphin County Return: And now April 22, 20091, Jack Lotwick, Sheriff of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, do herby certify and return that I served a true copy of the within Complaint, upon the within named defendant, to wit: Pennsylvania American Water Company by making known unto Terry Yingst, adult in charge at 800 West Hersheypark Drive Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033 its contents and at the same time handing to her personally the said true and correct copy of the same. SHERIFF COST: $37.42 April 24, 2009 SO ANSWERS, R THOMAS KLINE, SHERIFF 2009-2413 John D. McIntyre VS Pennsylvania American Water Co. OF THE 2009 APR 2n 14H S: 17 (011itt of the 'Sh'Vrqj Mary Jane Snder R al Estate Depu William T. Tully Solicitor Dauphin County Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101 ph: (717) 780-6590 fax: (717) 255-2889 Jack Lotwick Sheriff Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Charles E. Sheaffer Chief Deputy Michael W. Rinehart Assistant Chief Deputy JOHN D MCINTYRE VS County of Dauphin PENNSYLVANIA AMERICAN WATER COMPANY Sheriffs Return No. 2009-T-0999 OTHER COUNTY NO. 20092413 And now: APRIL 22, 2009 at 10:25:00 AM served the within COMPLAINT upon PENNSYLVANIA AMERICAN WATER COMPANY by personally handing to TERRY YINGST 1 true attested copy of the original COMPLAINT and making known to him/her the contents thereof at 800 WEST HERSHEYPARK DRIVE HERSHEY PA 17033 RECEPTIONIST So Answers, Sworn and subscribed to Q before me this 23RD day of April, 2009 A*?w NOTARIAL SEAL RY JANE SNYDER, Notary Publi Highspire, Dauphin County LM Commission Ex Tres Sept 1 2010 Sheriff of Dauphin County, Pa. I By V AV ' Deputy Sheriff Deputy: R HOPKINS Sheriffs Costs: $49.25 4/21/2009 WILLIAM J. FERREN & ASSOCIATES BY: Mary Kathleen Boyle, Esquire Attorney ID#: 84663 10 Sentry Parkway Suite 301 Blue Bell, PA 19422 (215) 274-1728 JOHN D. McINTYRE Plaintiff VS. PENNSYLVANIA AMERICAN WATER COMPANY Defendant Attorney for Defendant Pennsylvania American Water Company COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY NO. 09-2413 ENTRY OF APPEARANCE TO THE PROTHONOTARY: Kindly enter my appearance on behalf of Defendant, Pennsylvania American Water Company regarding the above-captioned matter. Kindly demand a jury of twelve (12) persons on behalf of defendant. WILLIAM J. FERREN & ASSOCIATES BY: -) gj_.?e' Marya en Boyle, Esquire Attorney for Defendant WILLIAM J. FERREN & ASSOCIATES BY: Mary Kathleen Boyle, Esquire Attorney ID#: 84663 10 Sentry Parkway Suite 301 Blue Bell, PA 19422 (215) 274-1728 JOHN D. McINTYRE Plaintiff vs. PENNSYLVANIA AMERICAN WATER COMPANY Defendant Attorney for Defendant Pennsylvania American Water Company COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY NO. 09-2413 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Marty Kathleen Boyle, Esquire, do hereby certify that a true and correct copy of my Entry of Appearance in the above-captioned matter was served via U.S. First Class Mail this 150Q6 - day of May, 2009, addressed as follows: John W. Purcell, Jr., Esquire PURCELL, KRUG & HALLER 1719 North Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17102 WILLIAM J. FERREN & ASSOCIATES BY: a Teen Boyle, Esquir dA' 4ary Attorney for Defendant FILED-'D E- 'O1 j iµ{wr. tf.. ff'4'-•l \t i`t