Philadelphia Housing Authority v. Snyder

816 A.2d 377, 2003 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 49
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 5, 2003
StatusPublished

This text of 816 A.2d 377 (Philadelphia Housing Authority v. Snyder) 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
Philadelphia Housing Authority v. Snyder, 816 A.2d 377, 2003 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 49 (Pa. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION BY

Judge FRIEDMAN.1

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (Authority) appeals from the May 24, 2001, order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (trial court), which: (1) denied the Authority’s complaint seek[379]*379ing injunctive relief against Elizabeth Snyder (Snyder), who resides in and leases a housing unit from the Authority; (2) ordered Snyder to bar her son, Robert, from visiting or residing on the premises; and (3) prohibited Snyder’s neighbors from using her telephone. We vacate and remand.

Snyder resides at 4732 Charles Terrace, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is owned by the Authority. Snyder lives on the premises with her four grandchildren, whose ages are twenty-five, twenty, thirteen and one. On March 26, 2001, the Authority’s police officers made purchases of crack cocaine and heroin inside the premises. Robert Snyder, Snyder’s son, sold the controlled substances to the police officers.

On March 27, 2001, the police executed a search warrant for the premises. The police arrested Robert Snyder outside the premises and recovered twenty-five packets of heroin from his person. In addition, the police arrested a juvenile inside the premises on the second floor and recovered fifty-one packets of marijuana from a dresser in the second floor bedroom where the juvenile was using the telephone. The juvenile was Snyder’s neighbor. Neither Robert Snyder nor the juvenile lives with Snyder.

As a result of these events, the Authority simultaneously filed a complaint and petition for preliminary injunction on April 20, 2001. In the petition for preliminary injunction, the Authority requested that the trial court evict Snyder and issue a rule to show cause why a preliminary injunction for possession of the property by the Authority should not be entered. In the complaint, the Authority alleged that Snyder’s actions in permitting illegal drugs to be sold on Authority property violated, inter alia, the Expedited Eviction of Drug Traffickers Act (Act).2 The Authority requested that the trial court schedule an expedited hearing, grant the Authority immediate possession of Snyder’s premises, grant the Authority permission to immediately evict all individuals residing or staying in the premises, and grant such other relief as the trial court deemed just and equitable.

On April 23, 2001, upon consideration of the verified complaint in equity and the petition for injunctive relief, the trial court issued a rule to show cause, returnable on May 8, 2001, why an injunction should not be issued. Thereafter, a hearing on the rule to show cause was held by the trial court on May 24, 2001. During the hearing, the Authority presented testimony from a police officer to prove its allegations against Snyder. Snyder testified in rebuttal.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court announced that it was going to deny eviction with the condition that Snyder is not allowed to permit the neighborhood juveniles to come into her unit and use the telephone, thereby creating an opportunity for illegal activity. The trial court also barred Robert Snyder from residing in or visiting the premises. Accordingly, counsel for the Authority and counsel for Snyder drafted the appropriate order for the trial court. Thereafter, the trial court entered the following order:

AND NOW, this 24th day of May, 2001, upon consideration of plaintiffs complaint and any response thereto, it is hereby ordered and decreed that the Complaint is Denied.
1. Snyder must bar her son Robert Mincer aka Snyder from visiting or residing in the premises.

[380]*3802. No neighbors to use the telephone. This appeal by the Authority followed.

Initially, we must address the procedure employed by the trial court, as well as its subsequent order disposing of this equity matter, with regard to our scope of review. Based upon our review of the transcript of the May 24, 2001, hearing on the injunction, it is clear that, after the conclusion of the testimony and argument by counsel, the trial court ruled on the merits of the Authority’s complaint. It is also clear from the transcript, and the subsequent order drafted by the parties for the trial court’s signature, that the Authority and Snyder, by not entering an objection, consented to the trial court’s adjudication of this equity matter on the merits. See Baird v. Township of New Britain, 159 Pa.Cmwlth. 333, 633 A.2d 225 (1993), appeal denied, 537 Pa. 635, 642 A.2d 488 (1994) (noting that, where the trial court characterizes the matter before it as a preliminary injunction but issues a permanent injunction, and the parties treat it as such, we will review the matter as an appeal from a permanent injunction).

Accordingly, we will review the trial court’s order as a final order disposing of the Authority’s complaint.3 Thus, this court’s scope of review of the trial court’s final order entered in this equity action is limited to determining whether the trial court committed an error of law or abused its discretion. Earl Township v. Reading Broadcasting, Inc., 770 A.2d 794 (Pa.Cmwlth.2001), appeal denied, 568 Pa. 637, 793 A.2d 910 (2002).

In this appeal, the Authority argues that the trial court erred by failing to order Snyder’s immediate eviction once the Authority succeeded in proving that: (1) drug-related criminal activity occurred on and within Snyder’s premises; (2) Snyder’s premises was used in furtherance of and to promote drug-related criminal activity; and (3) Snyder’s guests had engaged in drug-related criminal activity on and in the immediate vicinity of the leased residential premises. The Authority contends that Snyder did not meet her burden of proving that she was not involved in, and did not have knowledge or reason to know of, the drug-related criminal activity-4

Pursuant to section 2(11) of the Act, the Act “is intended to provide a legal process to ensure prompt eviction of persons who engage in specified drug-related criminal activity on or near leased residential premises or who permit others to engage in such criminal activity.” 35 P.S. § 780-152(11). The Act is “further intended to authorize courts to order persons other than tenants who engage in certain drug-related criminal activity to stay away from the location where the criminal activity occurred.” Id. A civil action may be brought by a landlord to evict or remove tenants or other persons from leased resi[381]*381dential premises. Sections 4 and 5 of the Act, 35 P.S. §§ 780-154 and 780-155. Section 6(a) of the Act, 35 P.S. § 780-156(a), sets forth the grounds for complete eviction,5 and provides as follows:

(a) Grounds for complete eviction.— Subject to the provisions of sections 7 [Affirmative defense or exemption to a complete eviction] and 25 [Probationary tenancy], the court shall order the immediate eviction, as set forth in sections 12(b) [Expedited hearings] and 14 [Expedited proceedings], of a tenant if it finds any of the following:
(1) Drug-related criminal activity has occurred on or within the individual rental unit leased to the tenant.

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Related

Baird v. Township of New Britain
633 A.2d 225 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1993)
Earl Township v. Reading Broadcasting, Inc.
770 A.2d 794 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2001)
Moody v. Philadelphia Housing Authority
673 A.2d 14 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1996)

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Bluebook (online)
816 A.2d 377, 2003 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 49, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/philadelphia-housing-authority-v-snyder-pacommwct-2003.