Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Withholding payment of water/sewer bill because of very poor water quality and l

We have a community well (80+ trailler & 40+ houses). I have a house. The well is on the trailer court's property. The water quality is poor (sulfur, iron, hard). I have a small water filter (the type that is supposed to last up to 3 months) on our water line. The filter last up to 5 days. The water lines that supply the water are in bad shape as well. Water outages happen frequently. There is no communication about repair (scheduled or not). The trailer court and well were taken over by the Bank. I have made attempts to communicate the severity of the problem to the person who recieve payments. This is met with refusal to return calls or by hanging up. One of the other homeowners was told by the person in charge, ''No one has died from the water yet!''. Basically saying that the water isn't that bad. I was able to leave a message to let them know that I was going to withhold payment until some action was taken to fix the problems. I have the money in a separate saving account. Now they have sued me. What can I do? I want water that I can drink without gaging.


Asked on 7/01/04, 12:53 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gerald Hershenson Law Office of Gerald M. Hershenson

Re: Withholding payment of water/sewer bill because of very poor water quality a

I suggest you get legal counsel. You can call the local county department of health to complain about the water. They may be able to assist you. It is not clear that you can withold payment of fees because of your claim. If a property is not habitable and unsanitary, possibly you can establish an escrow account. However, to do so without the advise of an attorney is not wise. Gerald Hershenson 215-579-9390

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Answered on 7/01/04, 11:02 am


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