Monroe Township Municipal Authority v. Augsburger

In Monroe Township Municipal Authority v. Augsburger, 883 A.2d 718 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2005), the Court stated that subsection (a) of the Municipal Claims Act provides for attorney fees in the collection of a delinquent account. The Court determined that, while "delinquent account" was not defined in the Municipal Claims Act, that the "failure to pay while asserting a reasonable contest...to the validity of the lien does not render an account delinquent." Id. at 719. Further, this court looked at subsection (a.1) which requires that the municipality adopt by ordinance, or by resolution if the municipality is of a class which does not have the power to enact an ordinance, a schedule of attorney fees, and subsection (a.3) which requires that the municipality, at least thirty days prior to assessing attorney fees, notify the property owner by certified return receipt mail of its intent to do so. Id. at 719-720. The Court stated that, "absent this evidence, the Authority could not impose the attorney's fees even if the Court had deemed the account delinquent." Id. at 720.