Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

hostile neighbor

My property deed states full right and entitlement to access my neighbor's property to maintain, repair, service or replace my septic system which is on his property. In past history with this neighbor, I have had to file harrassment charges at the magistrate level to curtail his behaviors. What process should I use to minimize hostile behavior when I go to pump my septic system? Should I send certified notice that I will be tending to my septic prior to servicing it and any interaction on his part will lead to a civil suit? Any advice would be appreciated.


Asked on 2/24/08, 5:50 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: hostile neighbor

Give written notice to the neighbor, First Class and C.R.R. mail. Make arrangements for the service,warn them the neighbor is a pain in the ass, so they will be as careful as possible, and have them go to work. If neighbor interferes physically, call the police and have assault charges filed, show the police the papers showing the right to access. The police will either tell neighbor to leave them complete their work, or tell them to stop work, it can go either way. If you can talk with the local police, perhaps you should tell them ahead of time you spoke with an attorney (you should call an attorney locally) who told you to give notice and proceed, so they will be more likely to let them finish any work. You will be responsible to restore neighbor's property to fix any damages caused during the work. If there is an incident, go to court, explain and bring your docs showing your limited right of entry to complete the work, and you should have no problem. Perhaps you agree to drop the charges for assault to be "neighborly", and try to defuse tensions. This way neighbor will be less likely to act out improperly in the future. DO NOT be pissy with your neighbor, it's just not worth it!!!!

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Answered on 2/25/08, 12:52 pm


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