Galbiati v. Borough of West Hazleton

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

Galbiati v. Borough of West Hazleton

401 A.2d 2, 42 Pa. Commw. 436, 1979 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 1530

CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

DecidedMay 3, 1979

DocketAppeal, No. 1124 C.D. 1977

StatusPublished

This text of 401 A.2d 2 (Galbiati v. Borough of West Hazleton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Galbiati v. Borough of West Hazleton, 401 A.2d 2, 42 Pa. Commw. 436, 1979 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 1530 (Pa. Ct. App. 1979).

Pincite

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge Rogers,

The subject matter of this litigation, which has been at issue successively before the West Hazleton [437]*437Borough Council, the Borough Civil Service Commission, the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County and now this Court since February 1973, is the propriety, or not, of the suspension for sixty days of the appellant, Raymond C. G-albiati, as a Borough policeman. The suspension was for Galbiati’s failure to become a resident of the Borough “within six months” as required by a Borough civil service regulation. We agree with the Civil Service Commission and the court below that the suspension was proper.

The appellant says that he could not be lawfully suspended because the regulation, which requires residency in the Borough “within six months,” is vague and uncertain with respect to the time when the six months’ period should commence. There seem to us in the circumstances to be only two dates on which the six months’ period for compliance could be taken to have commenced, either the date of Galbiati’s appointment to probationary status on the force or the date of his regular appointment at the end of the probationary period. Since Borough Council quite reasonably interpreted its regulation to mean that the time for compliance should begin at the time of regular appointment and notified the appellant to comply with the residency requirement within six months from that date, his complaint on this score is merit-less. This is especially so because after the original notice to comply Council gave the appellant extensions, one as late as sixteen months after his appointment to regular status. Further, the appellant’s testimony at the Civil Service Commission hearing was that he didn’t move to the Borough, not because of uncertainty as to the meaning of the regulation, but because of asserted difficulty in finding a residence in the Borough.

In view of the appellant’s clear violation of the residency requirement, the sole basis of his suspension, [438]*438his argument based on Council’s asserted ex parte consideration of his service record in making the suspension is without merit.

Order affirmed.

Order

And Now, this 3rd day of May, 1979, the order below made April 25, 1977 is affirmed.

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Opinion by

Judge Rogers,

The subject matter of this litigation, which has been at issue successively before the West Hazleton [437]*437Borough Council, the Borough Civil Service Commission, the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County and now this Court since February 1973, is the propriety, or not, of the suspension for sixty days of the appellant, Raymond C. G-albiati, as a Borough policeman. The suspension was for Galbiati’s failure to become a resident of the Borough “within six months” as required by a Borough civil service regulation. We agree with the Civil Service Commission and the court below that the suspension was proper.

The appellant says that he could not be lawfully suspended because the regulation, which requires residency in the Borough “within six months,” is vague and uncertain with respect to the time when the six months’ period should commence. There seem to us in the circumstances to be only two dates on which the six months’ period for compliance could be taken to have commenced, either the date of Galbiati’s appointment to probationary status on the force or the date of his regular appointment at the end of the probationary period. Since Borough Council quite reasonably interpreted its regulation to mean that the time for compliance should begin at the time of regular appointment and notified the appellant to comply with the residency requirement within six months from that date, his complaint on this score is merit-less. This is especially so because after the original notice to comply Council gave the appellant extensions, one as late as sixteen months after his appointment to regular status. Further, the appellant’s testimony at the Civil Service Commission hearing was that he didn’t move to the Borough, not because of uncertainty as to the meaning of the regulation, but because of asserted difficulty in finding a residence in the Borough.

In view of the appellant’s clear violation of the residency requirement, the sole basis of his suspension, [438]*438his argument based on Council’s asserted ex parte consideration of his service record in making the suspension is without merit.

Order affirmed.

Order

And Now, this 3rd day of May, 1979, the order below made April 25, 1977 is affirmed.

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Bluebook (online)

401 A.2d 2, 42 Pa. Commw. 436, 1979 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 1530, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/galbiati-v-borough-of-west-hazleton-pacommwct-1979.