Legal Writing Project 1
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Ashford University *
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Feb 20, 2024
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EXAM# 008821 / LEGAL WRITING PROJECT 1 Law Offices of Eliza Smith and Associates
5678 Barrister Row
Clark, Pennsylvania 18112
(771) 333-444
Fax (771) 333-4445
February 2, 2024
Jane P. Smith
123 Rock Road,
Clark, Pennsylvania 18118
RE: Tax Appeal; Hearing for Tax Map No. 19-19-050-079-8
Dear Ms. Smith
The Tax Appeal Hearing for your home has been schedule for March 6, 2018 at 10:35 a.m. The hearing will take place at the Office of the Tax Assessors of Lackawanna County, County Office Building. The building is located at 211 Ace Road – 5
th
Floor, Clark, Pennsylvania 18111. Please
meet with Supervisor Attorney Eliza Smith in the lobby 10 minutes before the hearing. Also, please bring pictures of all comparable houses in your area. Very truly yours,
Mellissa Edwards
Melissa Edwards
Paralegal Assistant
Cc:
EXAM# 008821 / LEGAL WRITING PROJECT 1 THIS DEED
Made the 13
th
day of June
in the year Two Thousand and Nineteen (2019) between Jane Smith
, of the Township of Clark, Lackawanna
County, Pennsylvania, hereinafter referred to as the Grantor
AND
Adam Jones and Sally Jones
, of the Township of Clark, Lackawanna
County Pennsylvania, hereinafter referred to as the Grantee(s).
WITNESSETH, that in consideration of the sum of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand ($150,000)
dollars, in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledge, the Grantors do hereby grant and convey to the said Grantee, her Heirs and Assigns,
ALL that certain piece or parcels of land situate, lying and being in the Township of Borough Clark
, County of Lackawanna
, and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, bounded and described as follows, to wit:
BEGINNING at point in the Easterly line of Rock Avenue which point in Twenty (20) feet southerly from the division line between Lots numbered 197 and 198: thence along the line of said Rock Avenue in a Southerly direction Eighty (80) feet to a point still in the line of said Rock Avenue; thence at right angles to the last mentioned course and in a easterly direction One Hundred Seven and five-tenths (107.5) feet to a point in the rear line of Lot numbered 205; thence at right angles to last mentioned course in a Northerly direction and parallel with said Rock Avenue and along the rear line of lots numbered 205, 206 and 207, Eighty (80) feet to a corner; thence at right angles to last mentioned course and in a Westerly direction One Hundred Seven and five-tenths (107.5) feet to a corner in line of Rock Avenue, the place of BEGINNING.
Containing approximately 86,000 square feet of land, more or less, and being the Southerly one-half of Lot numbered 198.
Subject to all restrictions, reservations conditions and expectations as set forth in deeds forming the chain of title. BEING the same premises conveyed to the Grantors herein by deed of Mo Wells, et al., dated May 3, 1964, and recorded in the Lackawanna County Recorder of Deeds Book 810 Page 233.
Tax Map No. 19-19-050-019-8
And the said Grantors do hereby generally warrant the property hereby conveyed. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said Grantors have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first about written.
EXAM# 008821 / LEGAL WRITING PROJECT 1 Signed, Sealed and Delivered
In the Presence of Jane Smith Gloria Adams Jane Smith Gloria Adams
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania )
) ss.
County of Lackawanna ) On this date, the 2
nd
of November, 1984, before me, the undersigned officer, personally appeared
Jane Smith, known to me or satisfactorily proven to be the person whose names are subscribed to
the within instrument and acknowledged that they executed the same for the purposes herein contained. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal.
…………….
Notary Public I hereby certify that the precise address of the Grantee herein is 123 Rock Road, Clark, Pennsylvania, 18118.
………………..
Attorney for Grantee
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EXAM# 008821 / LEGAL WRITING PROJECT 1 TO:
Supervising Attorney
From: Date: February 2, 2024
Re: Brown v. Furlow, 01-CV-5887
Our File No. 5-987
Statement of Facts:
John Brown sued his dentist, Dr. Thomas Furlow, claiming he was injured because of Dr. Furlow’s failure to extract an infected tooth on August 3
rd
, when he was examined by Dr. Furlow. After his appointment with Dr. Furlow, ignoring Dr. Furlow’s recommendation to return
because his tooth was infected, Brown left to go on vacation. While he camped in the desert, his tooth because more severely infected. The infection spread, causing him severe pain and fever and endangering his life. Brown passed out in the desert and was found by a passerby, who rushed him to the hospital. His life was saved, but he incurred significant medical expense, loss of income, and pain and suffering. Furlow was served with a complaint on March 1
st
. The summons stated that he had 20 days to file and answer or that judgment could be entered against him. Furlow took the complaint home with him and put it in the safe in his study. Later, he phoned his attorney, who asked him when he had been served and made an appointment for March 19
th
. On Thursday, March 18
th
, Furlow’s house was robbed and the contents if the safe, along with money and jewelry, were taken. Fearing for the safety of his wife and children, Furlow took his family and went to his mother-in-law’s residence, approximately four hours away. He forgot the appointment with his attorney that morning and spent the weekend with his family at his mother-
in-law’s residence.
Upon his return on Monday, March 22
nd
, Dr. Furlow rescheduled his appointment with his attorney for March 23
rd
.
Meanwhile, on March 23
rd
, a default judgment was entered against Furlow. Furlow’s attorney phoned the court clerk the afternoon of March 23
rd
and was told that a default judgment had been
entered. He immediately filed a motion to set aside the default judgment.
EXAM# 008821 / LEGAL WRITING PROJECT 1 Question(s) Presented:
Will a Motion and Affidavit to Set Aside Default Judgment have a high probability of success if a client has a good cause for a delay in answering the complaint and if they did answer the complaint on time?
Answer:
Yes, based on Kentucky CR 55.02, Kentucky CR 60.02, Kentucky CR 6.01 Perry v. Central Bank and Green Seed v. Harrison
Discussion:
The Perry v. Central Bank case and the Green Seed Co., Inc. v. Harrison Tobacco Storage Warehouse, Inc., are unfavorable to our case because the appeal courts affirmed the trail courts judgment and denied the Motion and Affidavit to Set aside Judgment. However, this was because
the Appellants defenses were “weak” and they didn’t practice “due diligence” respectively. That’s not necessarily true in this case. The law clearly disfavors default judgments and the trail court has a wide discretion to set aside a
default judgment. The moving parry, however, cannot have the judgment set aside and achieve his day court if he cannot show good cause and a meritorious defense. Good cause is most commonly defined as a timely showing of the circumstances under which the default judgment was procured Green Seed Co. , Inc. v. Harrison Tobacco Storage Warehouse, Inc., 663 S.W. 2d 755 (Ky. Ct. App. 1984).
Kentucky CR 55.02 states that a court may set aside a default judgment in accordance with Kentucky CR 60.02 for good cause shown. Factors to consider in set aside a judgement are (1) valid excuse for default, (2) meritorious defense, and (3) absence of prejudice to the other party.
Specifically, Kentucky CR 60.02 also states that common grounds for filing a motion to set aside
a default judgment include inadvertence, surprise, mistake or excusable neglect, or any other reason of an extraordinary nature justifying relief. Perry v. Central Bank & Trust, 812 S.W. 2d 166 (Ky. Ct. App. 1991). Dr. Furlow was under extreme stress due to the robbery that occurred in his home. A reasonable person would be more worried about their family safety due to the violence of the crime and will put their family needs first. Hence, why he took his family out of the house to a location four hours away and why he cancelled his appointment and delay filing his answer. This event and his reasonable reaction may fall under the category of excusable neglect and an extraordinary nature justifying relief. Kentucky CR 6.01 states that in computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, by order of court or by any applicable statute, the day of the act, event or default after
EXAM# 008821 / LEGAL WRITING PROJECT 1 which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included. The last day of the period
so computed is to be included, unless it is s Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday, in which event
the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday.
When the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than seven days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation. Dr. Furlow was served a complaint on March 1
st
and had 20 days to answer the complaint. However, there were 6 weekends’ days, which are not counted according to Kentucky CR 6.01. So only 16 days had passed when the default judgment was entered on March 23
rd
. Dr. Furlow was informed on March 23
rd
that the default judgment was entered and immediately filed a Motion and Affidavit to Set Aside Judgment on the same day. He filed the motion within a reasonable time because he filed on the same day that the default judgment was entered. Additionally, he had 4 more days to file an answer since weekends are not counted. So, the court entered a default judgment too early.
Conclusion:
Based on the information above, I believe that a Motion and Affidavit to Set the Default Judgment has a high probability of being successful because of Dr. Furlow extraordinary circumstances and the default judgment was entered to early by the court.
Sincerely,
………………
………………
Paralegal
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