Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

First, who is caring for the cows now? Did the neighbor take them? That is "conversion", a civil and criminal crime. You can go to the local police, but forst, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

Think! The owner feeds and cares for his animals. Find the vet he used first. The vet should have records, and every cow is marked or tagged somehow. Speak with the local feed supplier. Did your uncle buy supplies for 70 cows, or 50, or ??? If he was buying supplies for 70 cows, where are they? How can the neighbor explain where they went? S/w other local farmers who may know how many cows your uncle had.

How did your uncle ID his cows? They should be branded. He should have records of his cows (the vet may be able to help with that).

Find out if the neighbor has his own cows. Can you find out how they are marked? Ask your uncle's vet what vet the neighbor uses. If you are lucky, they used the same vet, and you can ask the vet if instead of you going to court and dragging him/her in, could they s/w the neighbor, and try to resolve the matter?

If you can not s/w the neighbor civilaly, find someone who can, like an attorney. Give them your research, and try to get him/her to stop being such an ass. Be unemotional. Be factual. Explain the things he would have to justify to keep the cows, and if nothing else works, explain that he is exposing himself to criminal liability. If you have to, call the local prosecutor first, tell him you don;t want to file criminal charges, but you want the cows before he can get rid of them, so you can not wait for a civil suit, and will have to file criminal charges unless someone ofers you an alternative. Maybe they will call the neighbor.

Unless you are going to farm the property, you can offer to sell the 70 cows to the neighbor, and give him a discount, factoring in the cost for an attorney, the cost to care for the cows until sale, etc.

If the landowner continues to be a jerk, you have to go to the local court, but act fast to resolve things, and go to court as a last resort, because of time and cost. If you go to court, you may want to ask for an injunction, to prevent the neighbor from disposing of the 70 cows, maybe ask for a Writ of Replevin (order to get the cows back or inspected and inventoried (suggest using your vet) and maybe put with a third party for care until the arguement over ownership is resolved (this may cost more than leaving them where they are, but you can ask for the neighbor to pay the cost if you could have arranged for their sale, so you would not have needed to care for them or pay anyone to care for them after a certain date).

Good luck.