new neighbor property line violation

[beitiris]

A new neighbor and her builder are totally rebuilding a house on the 29' wide non-conforming lot next to mine. The builder politely requested copies of our, and the further adjoining neighbor's, survey maps, so he would not have to pay to have one done before starting work. Why one wasn't done in May when the title changed hands is a mystery to us. Now the builder has removed our own, and the adjoining neighbor's survey markers, and is proceeding to encroach, having already bulldozed 2' of the adjoining neighbor's land, and says he is removing a 100 year old paved public path immediately across our own common boundary on the new neighbor's side. He says Ohara township never makes him put anything back once it's gone! The other adjoining neighbor is currently swept up in burying her mother, settling the mother's estate, and grieving, and has specifically asked us to learn what we can, and advise her how we all should proceed. Do we go to Ohara Township first? Where do we start, to stop these people?

 

[army judge]

A new neighbor and her builder are totally rebuilding a house on the 29' wide non-conforming lot next to mine. The builder politely requested copies of our, and the further adjoining neighbor's, survey maps, so he would not have to pay to have one done before starting work. Why one wasn't done in May when the title changed hands is a mystery to us. Now the builder has removed our own, and the adjoining neighbor's survey markers, and is proceeding to encroach, having already bulldozed 2' of the adjoining neighbor's land, and says he is removing a 100 year old paved public path immediately across our own common boundary on the new neighbor's side. He says Ohara township never makes him put anything back once it's gone! The other adjoining neighbor is currently swept up in burying her mother, settling the mother's estate, and grieving, and has specifically asked us to learn what we can, and advise her how we all should proceed. Do we go to Ohara Township first? Where do we start, to stop these people?

Yes, you start with your local governing authority.
You will most likely need the services of an attorney.
You can speak to an attorney (usually) during an initial consultation for free.
This will likely require an injunction from a court to stop.
You have to stop them sooner, rather than later to win.
The attorney will advise you how to proceed.
In most states, the offender is liable for attorney's fees.
I don't know what Pennsylvania law will say on this, however.
A Pennsylvania attorney will know and can advise you.

 

[beitiris]

I will go to our township office tomorrow morning. I've printed out their "Standard Right-to Know" form, and will ask to see the approved permit application, to learn what form of survey information was submitted with it, as a starting point. Thanks again. I won't waste time.

 

[army judge]

I will go to our township office tomorrow morning. I've printed out their "Standard Right-to Know" form, and will ask to see the approved permit application, to learn what form of survey information was submitted with it, as a starting point. Thanks again. I won't waste time.

That might PROVE what you suspect. You should also speak with an attorney. That will determine how you go about protecting your rights and your property!



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[Adverse]

Although tampering with survey markers is illegal, in our neck o' the woods, law enforcement will not get involved with property line disputes because it is a civil matter.

 

[beitiris]

I will ask to see the Township's Director of Community Development--he's the outsourced inspector's boss, and may care that such things are going on. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Adverse]

Although tampering with survey markers is illegal, in our neck o' the woods, law enforcement will not get involved with property line disputes because it is a civil matter.

However, again in our neck o' the woods, if someone goes ahead and does something that they shoulda got a court order for, there is no repercussion for doing that. Then the person that got the thing done to needs to get a court order to undo it.

. . . but if that person goes ahead and undoes the thing that was done to them, which shoulda taken a couret order, there is no repercussion for that.

. . . the other person needs to get a court order . . .

Until a court order determines a properly line in a property line dispute, there is no trespassing and nothing the sheriff (criminal law) will do.

until one or both gets a life, at least one beyond having a property line pissing match with their neighbor.

That's how mit works here.

 

[Adverse]

Incidentally, I had an occasion this past week to confirm the comments I have made here. I filed a report of trespassing and property damage with a deputy who had confirmed it previously, and again on this visit.

Still, I was told nothing likely will be done about it.

When you google something like what can you do to stop trespassers , the answers go something like:

1. Post it.
2. Call the police/sheriff if it continues.
3. Contact the District (County) Attorney.

Well, that does not work here.

Which leaves me wondering what does.

 

[Adverse]

Since my editing time is up, I guess I will need to do a new post.

The thing about law is that it is not just something that is written in statutes and ordinances; each incident has a life of it's own. For something to be illegal, it has to survive several, very human, hurdles.

First, there is the law enforcement officer who comes to the scene. Although they are not intended to interpret the law, they certainly do. They apprise a situation and make a judgement. That influences their report.

Next, someone has to determine if there is grounds for an investigation. That would be a ranking officer in law enforcement.

Next, if it is determined there is grounds for an investigation, the investigator, or detective will do so, giving their own personal slant to it. For instance, by choosing who to question they can greatly influence the gathering of evidence. By just asking those on one side of an incident, the perpetrator can actually become the victim and the victim the perpetrator.

Next, if a situation survives the investigation process, someone had to make a final decision as to whether to press charges. In our neck o the woods, that is the County Attorney. Having looked into this considerably, I have been told by what would appear to be higher ranking legal officials that in our state it is the County Attorney who decides what is legal and what is illegal.

Sometimes a Grand Jury decides what law is.

Then, attornies get their shot at it, submitting law to their own theories and interpretation. Interestingly, attornies for both sides of each issue insist to their clients that they are right, and will prevail, knowing one side will not.

In a courtroom, the judge decides what is law. They decide stuff like what evidence can be introduced and how long you have to do it. It is their room to run any way they want, they can, and they do. In a bench trial, they are the whole ball game.

In a jury trial, a jury of your peers, or, in other words, people who could not get out of jury duty , have the final say what law is.

By the time you get to the end, it is not surprising that the results often does not resemble the statute or ordnance.

 

[Adverse]

Just to show you how it works here, our neighbor has now ordered us to remove our personal property off what he knows is our real property (our lot), which he knows is not his.