Hangelias v. Dawson
| Decision Date | 18 January 1946 |
| Docket Number | 4115 |
| Citation | 158 Pa.Super. 370,45 A.2d 392 |
| Parties | Hangelias v. Dawson et al., Appellants |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
Argued December 13, 1945.
Appeal, No. 77, April T., 1946, from order of C. P., Beaver Co., Sept. T., 1945, D. S. B., No. 10, in case of Dimetria Hangelias, now to use of Bill Tangel et al. v. John Dawson et ux.
Petition and rule by defendants to strike off judgment in amicable action of ejectment.
Rule to strike off judgment dismissed, writ of habere facias possessionem quashed, opinion by Wilson, P. J. Defendants and intervenor, Price Administrator, appealed.
Buchanan & Barrickman, for defendants, appellants.
William S. Doty, with him Robert B. Greer and David R. Levin, for Price Administrator, intervening appellant.
Myron E. Rowley, with him Ralph E. Smith and Rowley & Smith, for appellees.
OPINION
This appeal involves the interpretation of sections 6(d) (1) and 6(d) (2) of the Federal Rent Regulation for Housing as amended, which require that notice be given before a tenant shall be removed or evicted from housing accommodations.
Plaintiffs' predecessor in title leased the premises in question to defendants on May 25, 1944, from month to month by a written lease containing a warrant of attorney. In March of 1945, plaintiffs bought the premises for their own use and occupancy and the lease was assigned to them. March 21, 1945, they petitioned the Office of Price Administration for a certificate relating to eviction under section 6(b) of the Rent Regulation for Housing, and the certificate was granted, authorizing eviction after June 21, 1945. Defendants, however, failed to pay the rent due May 1, 1945, and instead of proceeding under the certificate issued for their own use and occupancy which would have required them to wait threemonths from March 21, 1945, or until June 21, 1945, before any action for eviction could be commenced, plaintiffs elected to proceed for non-payment of rent. On June 1, 1945, a written notice was served upon defendants, advising them that if they did not pay the rent for May and June before June 4, immediate steps would be taken to evict them. A copy of this notice was sent to the Rent Division of the O.P.A. at Pittsburgh. The rent was not paid, and on June 6, fifteen days before plaintiffs could have commenced action under the occupation certificate, judgment was entered against defendants in an amicable action of ejectment. On the same day, a praecipe for a writ of habere facias possessionem was filed. Pursuant to Rule No. 270 of the court of common pleas of Beaver County, a citation was issued notifying the defendants to appear on June 26, 1945. This citation was served on the defendants and upon the O.P.A. Rental Area in Beaver. Section 6(d) (2) of the Federal Maximum Rent Regulation provides that ". . . the landlord shall give written notice thereof to the area rent office . . ." The aforesaid rule of court, adopted by the court at the request of the rent division of the Office of Price Administration, provides, however, that the citation shall be served by the sheriff by mail "upon the officer in charge of the Pittsburgh Defense Rental Area, or such other rental area as may hereafter be established by the Federal Government or its agencies and embracing Beaver County." It is not denied that the citation was received by the intervening appellant in due course. Proceedings were stayed, however, when defendants, on June 23, obtained a rule to strike off the judgment on the ground of non-compliance with the notice requirements. The court below ordered the rule to strike off the judgment dismissed and further ordered that the writ of hab. fa. be quashed. Defendants and Chester Bowles, Price Administrator, O.P.A., as intervening appellant, bring this appeal from the order refusing to strike off the judgment.
Appellants' principal contention is that the record does not show compliance with the notice requirements of the Regulation. Sections 6(d) (1) and 6(d) (2) of the Rent Regulation for Housing, 8 Fed. Reg. 7322, C.C.H., War Law Service, Vol. 4, p. 49,239, promulgated by the Office of Price Administration under the Emergency Price Control Act of January 30, 1942, 56 Stat. at L. 23, 11 F.C.A. Title 50, Appendix 43, provide in part as follows:
"6(d) (2) At the time of commencing an action to remove or evict a tenant, including an action based upon non-payment of rent, the landlord shall give written notice thereof to the area rent office stating the title of the case, the number of the case where that is possible, the court in which it is filed, the name and address of the tenant, and the ground under this section on which removal or eviction is sought."
The precise question that arises in the interpretation of these...
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