Lawsuit could have been avoided
As a resident of Cecil Township, I was disturbed by the article in Tuesday’s edition, “Property owner files second complaint against Cecil.”
The article seemed to imply that our local district judge, Valarie Costanzo, had no jurisdiction over the case. When I inquired with the district court as to whether that was accurate, I was told it was, because no citation had ever been filed at their office. The code enforcement officer, Mark Whalen, had apparently just advised Andrew Puchany, the owner of the property on Birch Way in Muse, that he was in violation of an ordinance and he could file an appeal to the district judge.
Part of the letter that the judge sent to Puchany’s attorney, Jeffrey Derrico, and copied to Cecil solicitor John Smith on Sept. 5 stated that if the township had filed a non-traffic citation for a violation of an ordinance, the district judge would have jurisdiction to hear the case. Since no citation was filed, there was nothing that could be done at that point.
On Oct. 3, a Cecil Township officer filed two citations against Puchany. Hearings have been scheduled for November. As a resident, I am disappointed that our tax dollars are being wasted on a lawsuit that could have apparently been avoided in the first place.
Sharon DePaoli
McDonald