Landlords' lawsuit against city heads back to county court
Aug. 14—A lawsuit targeting the city of Meadville's recently adopted rental registration and licensing program has been returned to county court in a move a lawyer for the city described as advantageous to the city.
A certified order from U.S. District Court Judge Susan Paradise Baxter remanding the suit by Meadville Landlords United LLC was recorded in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas last week.
The return to county court comes after the plaintiffs — a group of rental property owners — amended their original complaint against the city.
The revised suit makes the same allegations regarding the rental registration ordinance, but limits its claims to violations of the Pennsylvania Constitution and omits any claims of federal rights violations, according to city attorney Tim Wachter.
"By removing the federal claims, any potential liability for the city has been severely lessened," Wachter said Friday, "although we remain steadfast in our belief that the city will prevail in the litigation."
The city is being defended in the case by Pittsburgh-based Margolis Edelstein. The defense, according to Wachter, is being provided by the city's insurance carrier.
Outside of policy premiums, the city has incurred no additional fees as a result of the lawsuit, according to Wachter. City Manager Maryann Menanno confirmed that the city had not paid any deductible for the legal defense.
Wachter works for Erie-based Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett P.C., which provides the city's day-to-day legal representation, and said he has been updated on the lawsuit.
Calls seeking comment from Dornish Law Offices P.C., the Wexford-based firm representing the landlords, were not returned Friday.
Approximately 840 license applications were sent to rental property owners last month in preparation for the program's launch and Meadville City Council approved a contract with Building Inspection Underwriters of PA Inc. to perform inspections.
The lawsuit includes six grounds for declaring the rental registration ordinance unconstitutional.
"The ordinance indicates that anything that 'presents a danger to the general safety and welfare of the occupants and/or the public' will be deemed non-compliant," the suit argues in one of its claims. "Such language is overbroad and vague, as it is impossible for the owner to understand its meaning in order to comply with the requirement."
After claiming the ordinance requires inspectors to make subjective evaluations, the suit argues, "The inspector then has unlimited power to grant or deny the license."
The suit also claims the ordinance violates the landlords' right to equal protection by, for instance, treating dormitories differently than other rental units. The ordinance should also be disqualified, the suit claims, because the registration program is an "illegal revenue-generating tax."
With regard to each of the claims, the original suit filed in May asked the court to "declare that the" rental registration ordinance "is unconstitutional."
The revised suit rephrases such statements to ask the court to "declare that the" rental registration ordinance "is unconstitutional under the Pennsylvania Constitution."
Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com.
