Gatto v. Borough of Elwood City
Gatto v. Borough of Elwood City
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
These are appeals from the orders of the Court of Common Pleas of Lawrence and Beaver counties which confirmed absolutely the report of Commissioners ap
Inasmuch as we are affirming the decision of the Court of Common Pleas of Lawrence County in 286 Commonwealth Docket 1973, in which exceptions were filed, it is not necessary for this Court to consider the question of what would happen under these peculiar circumstances where exceptions were not filed in Beaver County in 336 Commonwealth Docket 1973. If we had considered the exceptions to have had possible merit, it might be that we would have remanded the case to Beaver County for that Court to consider the exceptions. Since we agree with the decision of the Court of Common Pleas in Lawrence County that the exceptions are without merit, it is not necessary to decide this procedure, and the decisions of both Courts are affirmed.
The petitions were presented pursuant to and in compliance with Section 602 of The Borough Code, Act of February 1,1966, P. L. (1965) No. 581, as amended, 53 P.S. §45602. Inter alia, this Section provides that the Court “may appoint three impartial persons, none
Appellant argues further that this Commissioner is president of a local, closely held corporation and is a stockholder as well. Neither of these assertions is alleged in the exceptions that were properly filed. Unless they are submitted as evidence of not being impartial, which certainly should be alleged with particularity, they cannot be alleged in supporting that this Commissioner is disqualified as a property owner, for this is not asserted in the properly filed exceptions.
In considering the lower court’s decision that the fact that one Commissioner had extensive manufacturing- commercial interests located in the Borough did not disqualify him as being partial, we are limited to
These three Commissioners appear to have proceeded as directed by the Court. The record shows that they held a duly advertised public hearing, at which all parties, including the appellant, were given an opportunity to present their views. Time was granted following the public hearing for written material to be submitted by interested parties for consideration by the Commissioners. Contrary to appellant’s assertion in his brief, we consider the report submitted by the Commissioners to be a complete and adequate one, setting forth as it does the arguments presented on both sides of the question. We find no evidence in this record to support appellant’s position that the Commissioners misconceived the purpose of their appointments, or that they failed to hold adequate hearings within the purview of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Indeed, it must be noted that prior to the filing of the Commissioners’ report, appellant did not file any objections with the Court or with the Commissioners challenging the eligibility of one of the Commissioners. Further, at no place in the record, either in the exceptions timely filed, or in those that were disallowed as untimely, are there any exceptions to the nature or extent of the hearing, or to the manner in which it was conducted,
The court orders in the above cases are affirmed.
The Commissioners’ report was filed in Lawrence County on January 15, 1973. The court order was properly published, and 30 days from the filing date were allowed for exceptions. Appellant duly filed exceptions on February 14, 1973. These were dismissed on February 16, 1973. On March 8, 1973, appellant petitioned to file further exceptions, raising the question of the ownership of the shares in the closed corporation. The prayer of this petition was properly refused.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.