Pa. Patriot ARRESTED at the OC dinner @ The Old Country Buffet in Dickson City 5/9

[Pa. Patriot]

Originally Posted by -JD-

DISCLAIMER: Bold mine & this is not a commentary on the DC incident & suit.

Umm ... N0! HELL NO. Depending on the jurisdiction, it can cost $$$$$$ to defend a suit BEFORE the plaintiff even articulates any detail about what the hell they are even suing about and the presiding judge just says, give them a little more time ...

Frivolous suits are often tossed at the first motion to dismiss (which is typically immediately upon filing answers to complaint)

[-JD-]

Originally Posted by Pa. Patriot

Frivolous suits are often tossed at the first motion to dismiss (which is typically immediately upon filing answers to complaint)

Bold Mine: Jurisdiction. Nuff said. (Someday I'll tell you the story, once it is [far] behind me.)

[paemt]

Another $9,600 bill from Mr. Jones was related to the purchase of a fire engine on behalf of the Dickson City Fire Department. Mr. Jones said there is more to buying fire apparatus than people would think. “Take two telephone books and put them together — that’s the file,” he said.

I have sat on Fire department apparatus purchase committees. That is a bunch of bull Sh*t. Our latest one, has the thickest file I've ever seen and the file is about as thick as a CD case. I have NEVER heard of needing an attorney to purchase a Fire Truck. Draw up specs, put out bids, write up a purchase order, go inspect it during construction, wait for it to be delivered! Obviously, this city is screwed up in more ways than 1.

[normanvin]

Originally Posted by paemt

I have sat on Fire department apparatus purchase committees. That is a bunch of bull Sh*t. Our latest one, has the thickest file I've ever seen and the file is about as thick as a CD case. I have NEVER heard of needing an attorney to purchase a Fire Truck. Draw up specs, put out bids, write up a purchase order, go inspect it during construction, wait for it to be delivered! Obviously, this city is screwed up in more ways than 1.

You do when you want to spread the wealth around. Yes it is that kind of town.

[GunLawyer001]

Originally Posted by paemt

I have sat on Fire department apparatus purchase committees. That is a bunch of bull Sh*t. Our latest one, has the thickest file I've ever seen and the file is about as thick as a CD case. I have NEVER heard of needing an attorney to purchase a Fire Truck. Draw up specs, put out bids, write up a purchase order, go inspect it during construction, wait for it to be delivered! Obviously, this city is screwed up in more ways than 1.

I can't comment on the specifics of this (because I'm not familiar with any of the facts or the law or the players), but I can tell you that there's a reason why good lawyers limit themselves to certain areas of the law.

No matter how smart you are, no matter how many years you've been practicing, it's literally not possible to know every area of law. Just look at guns, and a simple question like "I want to carry a gun with me when I do my shopping, go to the bank and the Post Office and pick up the kids at school, and visit my mother in New Jersey. Is that legal?" A lawyer who's unfamiliar with the laws of PA, NJ and the Federal government could easily spend a couple of weeks familiarizing himself with the law before he can provide you with a written opinion that he can stand behind, and he'd bill you for every hour of that time, probably at $200-$300 per hour. Or you could ask a PAFOA member and he'd explain the process and the laws off the top of his head.

I'm sure that there are many laws and regs that restrict what a fire department can do with tax dollars while buying a major piece of equipment, and that there are OSHA rules and fire department safety regs, and every other agency with the power to do so will weigh in with requirements and mandates and prohibitions and forms. I'd guess that a lawyer who's gone through the process once could do it a second time fairly efficiently, but the first time would be an expensive bitch.

The point is that a municipality shouldn't be married to one lawyer, but should instead be open to shopping out certain jobs to "specialists". Even insurance companies routinely hire outside counsel to handle sophisticated litigation, and insurers have plenty of lawyers on staff.

[Paradigm]

Originally Posted by GunLawyer001

The point is that a municipality shouldn't be married to one lawyer, but should instead be open to shopping out certain jobs to "specialists".

Our borough (Grove City) has a darn fine solicitor. And he's quick to point out when something is out of his area of specialty and can recommend 1-3 lawyers who are specialists in that area.

Again, it comes down to running your town well, which seems to be a huge problem in DC.

[Statkowski]

Originally Posted by paemt (Pa. Patriot ARRESTED at the OC dinner @ The Old Country Buffet in Dickson City 5/9)
I have sat on Fire department apparatus purchase committees. That is a bunch of bull Sh*t. Our latest one, has the thickest file I've ever seen and the file is about as thick as a CD case. I have NEVER heard of needing an attorney to purchase a Fire Truck. Draw up specs, put out bids, write up a purchase order, go inspect it during construction, wait for it to be delivered! Obviously, this city is screwed up in more ways than 1.

First off, Dickson City is a borough, not a city, which has a lot to do with how it's operated (correctly or incorrectly). A city would normally have, as part of its infrastructure, a fire department. A borough, on the other hand, would not.

Dickson City's "fire department" is Eagle Hose Company No. 1. By it's name, it sure sounds like a volunteer fire company, which is a private, not-profit entity. As such, equipment purchases are normally handled in-house without any government involvement. Of course, as part of its contract to provide service to the borough, perhaps the borough has, through its largesse, volunteered to purchase major expenditures for use by the fire company. Some boroughs provide buildings or equipment purchases for volunteer companies, and some do not. If they do, I can see the borough solicitor getting involved.

What I can't see, however, is a two-telephone-book-file just to purchase one fire engine, including all the state grant paperwork.

[rwilson452]

Firetrucks and fire fighters are nice subject but I think we are getting a bit off topic here. What you think .

[gnbrotz]

A recent settlement conference was canceled three business days prior to the scheduled date by the defandant's attorneys.

Their letter explaining the reasons is here.

The defendants are now being represented by new counsel. No clear word on exactly why.

[BIA_Design]

Originally Posted by gnbrotz

No clear word on exactly why.

My first guess would be $$$. Any idea who is footing the legal fees on behalf of the defendants? IMO, the giveaway is "Insurance Coverage Issues" and there are some problems arising with the legal team not getting paid or no longer can be covered.