[Ord. 97-9, 9/11/1997, § 1; as amended by Ord.
2007-04, 11/8/2007]
A schedule of attorney fees to be assessed, imposed and collected
in actions involving collection of municipal claims, reflecting consideration
of those factors enumerated in 53 P.S. § 7106(a.1) as amended
by Act 1 of 1996, is hereby established, as follows:
A. No attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed or collected by Allen
Township in connection with the preparation, filing or satisfaction
of municipal liens which involve no contested or litigated proceedings
in any court of competent jurisdiction;
B. In actions under the general municipal law, including 53 P.S. § 7187
as amended by Act 1 of 1996, for the collection of municipal claims
and liens under civil proceedings or a scire facias sur municipal
lien proceeding, attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed and collected
as follows:
(1) In an action brought by the Township seeking judgment upon a lien
in which no affidavit of defense is filed by the property owner or
otherwise and judgment is obtained without contested proceedings,
attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed and collected at an hourly
rate to be established, from time to time, by resolution of the Board
of Supervisors for all legal services performed, fees in an uncontested
proceeding and execution action not to exceed an amount to be established
by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, this maximum based upon
services involved therein;
(2) In a civil or scire facias sur municipal lien proceeding brought
by a property owner or party other than the Township in which the
property owner or other party asserts a defense to the Township's
lien or otherwise challenges or seeks to avoid collection of a municipal
claim by the Township, attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed and
collected at an hourly rate to be established, from time to time,
by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for all legal services performed
on behalf of the Township in said proceeding;
(3) In a civil or scire facias sur municipal lien proceeding brought
by the Township in which the property owner or other party asserts
a defense to the Township's lien or otherwise challenges or seeks
to avoid collection of a municipal claim by the Township, attorney
fees shall be assessed, imposed and collected at an hourly rate to
be established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for all services
rendered for the Township in said proceeding;
(4) In any proceeding at law or in equity brought by a property owner
or other third party against the Township seeking to enjoin or avoid
a liability to the Township or any of its departments which by law
constitutes a municipal lien under 53 P.S. § 7102, et seq.,
attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed and collected at an hourly
rate to be established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for
all legal services performed on behalf of the Township in said proceeding;
(5) Attorney fees under this schedule shall be assessed and imposed for
all legal services provided to and on behalf of the Township in all
of the above proceedings in any court, and shall continue to be earned,
assessed imposed as to all legal services provided for and on behalf
of the Township in any appeal filed by the other party which results
in a verdict, award or other resolution more favorable to the Township
than that claimed by the property owner or other party to be due;
(6) This schedule is not intended to establish any duplication in recovery
of attorney's fees and reflects a consideration of the time and nature
of legal services involved, the skill requisite to properly represent
the Township and an hourly rate for services lower than that customarily
charged by members of the local bar but which is commensurate with
rates paid by the Township for services. In that the Township does
not institute scire facias sur municipal liens unless the delinquent
sum warrants such an action and the services involved in proceedings
to obtain judgment and execution are mandated by statute and rules
of procedure without regard to the amount in controversy, the Board
of Supervisors finds that the contingency or certainty of compensation
is irrelevant to determining a proper fee.
[Ord. 97-9, 9/11/1997, § 2; as amended by Ord.
2007-04, 11/8/2007]
Where in actions of scire facias sur municipal lien, execution
upon judgments or otherwise applicable rules of civil procedure require
that all sums sought by the Township be set forth with particularity,
sums assessed with regard to collection of municipal claims as attorney
fees shall be stated in an amount to be established by resolution
of the Board of Supervisors in accordance with § 1-601(B)(1)
of this Part, subject and without prejudice to an increase in said
attorney fees in the event of contested proceedings subject to § 1-601(B)(2)-(5)
of this Part. In all taxes and prior to actual collection of sums
for attorney fees, the Township Solicitor or other attorney retained
to represent the Township in such matter shall prepare and file with
the Township Secretary and the court having jurisdiction over the
matter a verified certification which shall describe the services
performed, state the time devoted to representation of the Township
in the matter and the fees due at the specified approved hourly rate
therefore. Upon filing of such certification, the Township by its
counsel in the matter shall file in the court having jurisdiction
over the matter such documents as may be required to establish the
specific sum due for attorney fees, which sum shall be prima facie
evidence of the facts averred therein, constitute a lien upon the
subject property as provided in amended 53 P.S. § 7106(a)
and be subject to collection together with the municipal claim and
other charges, expenses and fees incurred as a result of nonpayment
thereof.