Roethlein v. Portnoff Law Associates, Ltd.

81 A.3d 816, 623 Pa. 1, 2013 WL 6096757, 2013 Pa. LEXIS 2795
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania·Decided November 20, 2013·Published·Cited by 88 cases

Opinion

OPINION

Justice TODD.

In the instant case, we consider whether Pennsylvania’s Loan Interest and Protection Law (“Act 6” or “the Act”)1 provides taxpayers with a cause of action to challenge costs imposed for the collection of delinquent taxes or to seek damages and attorneys’ fees for improperly-imposed costs. We also consider whether Section 7103 of the Municipal Claims and Tax Liens Act (“MCTLA”)2 authorizes a mu[818] nicipality to recover the administrative costs it incurs in collecting delinquent taxes. For the reasons that follow, we hold that Act 6 does not provide a cause of action for claims which do not involve the loan or use of money. We further conclude Section 7103 of the MCTLA allows a municipality to recover fees it pays to a third-party tax collector for the purpose of collecting delinquent taxes. In light of our conclusions, we reverse the decision of the Commonwealth Court, and remand the matter to the Commonwealth Court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Portnoff Law Associates, Ltd., and Michelle Portnoff, Esquire, the sole shareholder thereof (hereinafter “Port-noff’), serves as a private tax collector for various municipalities and school districts (collectively, “municipalities”) in the Commonwealth pursuant to the MCTLA. According to the trial court’s findings of fact, between November 2000 and November 2002, Portnoff had contracts with 22 municipalities to represent them in the collection of delinquent real estate taxes. The contracts, which were prepared by Port-noff and submitted to the municipalities for execution, provided that Portnoff would be compensated for her collections by charging her legal fees to the delinquent taxpayer. Specifically, taxpayers would be charged $150 for the opening of a file and preparation of a demand letter; $150 for the filing of a lien and preparation of a second letter; and $150 for preparation and filing of a writ of scire facias,3 The contracts further required the municipalities to enact an ordinance or resolution authorizing Portnoff to impose legal fees upon the delinquent taxpayer.

For each delinquent account, the municipalities sent Portnoff a file that contained a “placement amount.” The placement amount included the delinquent real estate tax, which was referred to as the “face amount”, as well as a penalty imposed by the municipality. Portnoff would then add to the placement amount a $35 fee, which she labeled an “administrative cost,” to cover the costs of opening a file and sending, by certified mail, the initial notice of delinquency on the municipalities’ letterhead. The administrative cost plus the placement amount was referred to by Portnoff as “principal.” From the time a file was sent to her for collection, Portnoff began charging 10% interest on the principal.

In November 2002, Appellee Beverly Roethlein, a taxpayer residing in Allentown, Pennsylvania, filed a class action complaint against Portnoff and one of her employees seeking recovery for unjust enrichment and violations of Section 502 of Act 6.4 Section 502, entitled “Usury and excess charges recoverable,” provides:

[819] A person who has paid a rate of interest for the loan or use of money at a rate in excess of that provided for by this act or otherwise by law or has paid charges prohibited or in excess of those allowed by this act or otherwise by law may recover triple the amount of such excess interest or charges in a suit at law against the person who has collected such excess interest or charges: Provided, [t]hat no action to recover such excess shall be sustained in any court of this Commonwealth unless the same shall have been commenced within four years from and after the time of such payment. Recovery of triple the amount of such excess interest or charges, but not the actual amount of such excess interest or charges, shall be limited to a four-year period of the contract.

41 P.S. § 502.

The complaint alleged, inter alia, that, during the class period of November 27, 2000 through November 26, 2002, Portnoff collected from Roethlein and others (“Taxpayers”) 5 fees and charges in excess of those authorized by law, namely, the administrative cost fees and the interest thereon. In her answer to the complaint, Portnoff maintained that the $35 administrative cost fee was added to the delinquent principal claim amount only when the municipality opted to recoup the fee from the delinquent taxpayer; she further stated that she did not retain any part of the fee collected from Taxpayers, but remitted the full amount to the municipality. On July 8, 2009, the trial court issued an award in favor of Taxpayers in the amount of $1,058,697.10, which represented compensatory damages based on violations of Act 6 and unjust enrichment, plus statutory interest and attorneys’ fees.6 On November 6, 2009, the court granted Taxpayers’ motion for attorneys’ fees and expenses in the amount of $1,267,386.25 and $20,923.11, respectively. Portnoff appealed both the July 8 and November 6 orders to the Commonwealth Court.

On appeal, the Commonwealth Court affirmed. Roethlein v. Portnoff Law Assoc., Ltd., 25 A.3d 1274 (Pa.Cmwlth.2011). Relevant to this appeal, and as discussed in detail below, the court first rejected Port-noff s argument that Act 6 cannot be used as a basis to recover charges paid in connection with delinquent tax payments. Second, the Court concluded the language of Section 504, which provides that “[a]ny person affected by a violation of the act shall have the substantive right to bring an action on behalf of himself individually,” 41 P.S. § 504, “does not preclude such individuals from complaining collectively in the form of a class action.” 25 A.3d at 1278. Finally, the court determined that the expenses incurred by Portnoff in providing the initial notice to Taxpayers on the municipalities’ letterhead were not costs that could be recouped under the MCTLA.

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Roethlein v. Portnoff Law Associates, Ltd., 81 A.3d 816, 623 Pa. 1, 2013 WL 6096757, 2013 Pa. LEXIS 2795 (Pa. 2013).

81 A.3d 816 (Roethlein v. Portnoff Law Associates, Ltd.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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