William Penn Life, 1994 (29. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1994-09-01 / 9. szám
Page 2, William Penn Life, September 1994 William Penn LIFE Official Publication of the William Penn Association Published Monthly Office of Publication: 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Phone: 412/231-2979 Third Class U.S. Postage Paid Pittsburgh, PA Permit No. 2724 E. E. Vargo Editor-in-chief George S. Charles, Jr. Frances A. Furedy Associate Editors John E. Lovász Managing Editor NATIONAL OFFICERS E. E. Vargo National President George S. Charles, Jr. National V.P./Secretary Frances A. Furedy National V.P./Treasurer Robert A. Kapinus Assistant Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Joseph P. Arvay Chairman Michael J. Hrabar Vice Chairman Roger G. Nagy Vice Chairman Anthony C. Beke Charles S. Fabian Louis A. Fodor Elmer A. Furedy Barbara A. House Michael R. Kara Michael F. Tomcsak Elmer W. Toth Frank J. Wukovits, Jr. Frank J. Radvany Secretary of the Board AUDITING COMMITTEE Charles J. Furedy Robert A. Ivancso Co-Chairmen Margaret H. Boso Secretary Dennis A. Chobody Joseph Hamari Ernest J. Mozer, Sr. CONSULTANTS Bruce &. Bruce Company Actuary Horovitz, Rudoy &. Roteman C.P.A. Rothman Gordon Foreman & Groudine, P.C. General Counsel Dr. Julius Kesseru Medical Director Unsolicited articles, letters, manuscripts, pictures and other material submitted to the WILLIAM PENN LIFE are forwarded at the owner's risk, and the WILLIAM PENN LIFE expressly denies any responsibility for their safekeeping or return. The WILLIAM PENN LIFE reserves the right to edit, revise or reject any article submitted for publication. Postmaster: If undelivered, please send form 3579 to: William Penn Association 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Mozer enjoys volunteerism Continued from Page 1 areas of the hospital, ’ ’ he said. "It also gives me the chance to meet with former patients 1 have come into contact with.” But his volunteer work doesn’t end at St. Mary’s. Mr. Mozer spends time at another city hospital, the General Hospital Center at Passaic, maintaining the volunteer sign-in log. He also helps make donation requests on behalf of Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home in Totowa. An usher at St. Stephen’s R.C. Church in Passaic, Mr. Mozer is a former trustee. "He’s incredibly dedicated,” Ms. Saenz said of his varied volunteer work. "You couldn’t ask any more of a volunteer.” Mr. Mozer, who was born in Nat’l. Director extends thanks I wish to thank everyone at the William Penn Association who either wrote cards or letters or called me while I was sick. I want you to know that your kind and thoughtful gestures wishing me better health were greatly appreciated. LOUIS A. FODOR National Director Canada to Hungarian immigrant parents, came to the United States in 1935. A few years later, he joined the William Penn Association. An Army veteran of the Korean War, Mr. Mozer belongs to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7165 in Clifton. He vividly remembers his return from Korea. "We were given a parade in Seattle. When I got off the boat, I bent down on both knees and kissed the ground,” he recalled. "I called my mother, who knew I NAPERVILLE, 1L — The National Fraternal Congress of America (NFC A) has been selected to receive the Award of Excellence in the Associations Advance America awards program. Winners were selected from 240 entries because of their commitment to making America a better place in which to live. The award-winning entry focused on the NFCA membership efforts to provide financial, inkind and physical assistance to residents affected by the devastating Midwest floods of 1993. As soon as the need arose, NFCA member societies began raising more than $5 million and donated countless hours to help the was being discharged. My whole community welcomed me home. 1 love that sense of community.” Mr. Mozer and his wife of 40 years, Maria, have five children, two of whom are computer programmers. The other three are certified public accountants. In dealing with those he meets, Mr. Mozer uses some advice he once received from an employer. "My ex-boss always told me to be firm and to have compassion, no matter where you work,” Mr. Mozer said. "You can use (compassion) anywhere.” ERNEST J. MOZER, SR. National Auditor NFCA honored for relief efforts Midwest flood victims. Additionally, on Feb. 14, 1994, $80,000 of disaster relief fund checks were simultaneously presented by the NFCA to The Salvation Army at five separate locations across the Midwest. The recipient communities are located in the 16,000 square miles, including 20 million acres of farmland, covered by the unprecedented floods. After receiving notice of the award, Jönni L. Miklós, NFCA executive vice president, said, "Being selected for this prestigious award is an honor and acknowledges the motto of the onrl ire mpmlrpr societies: Joining Hands to Touch Lives.” The Associations Advance America awards, sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives, recognize significant contributions to society by associations in areas such as disaster relief, community service, education, research and statistics, and international activities. The NFCA was one of 42 associations honored this year. The NFCA, founded in 1886 and comprised of 98 not-forprofit fraternal benefit societies in the United States and Canada, including the William Penn Association, is one of the continent’s largest volunteer networks. Plain language — not legalese By Emil W. Herman, Esq., General Counsel This is the first in a series of articles about consumer protection issues. Many states over the years have enacted a number of laws designed to specifically protect consumers from practices which, while they may be legitimate, nonetheless can take advantage of an unwary or uneducated consumer. One of the first was the Plan Language Act adopted in New Jersey, requiring that all residential real property leases and other consumer contracts be written in plain language. Other states have followed New Jersey’s lead, with the most recent being Pennsylvania, whose Plain Language Act went into effect June 23, 1994. If you have become frustrated with legal agreements that you cannot understand or read, either because of the language used or the size of the print, the Plain Language Act is designed specifically for you. Under the Act as adopted in Pennsylvania, all consumer contracts, with certain limited exceptions, must be written in plain language and the print must be easily readable. The Plain Language Act applies to all contracts with a value of $50,000 or less and between a consumer and another party in the normal course of business. Typical consumer contracts would involve contracts for: (1) borrowing money; (2) buying, renting or leasing personal property, real property or services, either for cash or on credit; and/or (3) contracts in which a consumer actually seeks to obtain credit. Contracts not covered under the Act are: (1) those in which a conveyance of real property, or title to real property, are involved; (2) marital agreement; (3) securities or insurance contracts; (4) commercial leases; or (5) contracts in which either the contract or the documents used are scrutinized by some other federal or state governmental agency. Thus, if you will be applying for a charge account, purchasing a car, household appliance or furniture on time, leasing an apartment, or contracting for home improvements, the language of the contract (or lease) you may be asked to sign must be in plain language. If not, the person offering the contract is in violation of the new Act. Plain language, of course, is not an easy concept to define. The legislature in Pennsylvania has provided some guidelines, and has also instituted a "pre-approval” process for certain contracts. The guidelines suggest that sentences should contain no more than 25 words, and paragraphs no more than 60 words. Only familiar vocabulary, rather than technical or foreign words, should be used. The words used to identify the parties (e.g., "buyer”, "seller”, "landlord” and "tenant”) should be used consistently throughout the agreement. Each sentence should contain only one condition. No double negatives, or exceptions to exceptions, should be used. The contract should be printed in an easy to read type, with margins, column width and line length also made easy to read. Boldface type should be used for captions and subsections, and the ink should be in sharp contrast with the paper. Examples of proposed language supplied by the Office of the Attorney General for Pennsylvania include approval for: A. "This is a lease. The Landlord is Sara Smith. The Tenant is John Jones.” B. "By signing this contract, both BUYER and SELLER agree to do what the contract says. Nothing which the BUYER has said orally to the SELLER or the SELLER has said orally to the BUYER changes the terms of this contract.” Clearly, both examples provide a much more understandable concept of the agreement than constant references to "parties of the first part” and "parties of the second part” ever have. The requirement that the contract be in plain language, however, does not relieve you, the consumer, of your obligation to read the contract and clarify anything you still do not understand. Only individual, and not class actions, may be brought under the Act in Pennsylvania, and a contract found not to contain plain language is not voided or otherwise declared invalid. A suit to recover damages for violation of the Act must be brought within four years of the date the contract was signed. Penalties for violation of the Act include the right to recover for any actual damages incurred. In addition, the Court can impose damages of up to $100, court costs, reasonable attorneys fees, and other relief the Court deems appropriate. Finally, a violation of the Plain Language Act is also a violation of the Pennsylvania Consumer Protection Act. In the next few articles we will be discussing other consumer protection legislation at both the federal and state level. Emil W. Herman, Esq., is general counsel to William Penn Association and senior member of the Pittsburgh law firm of Rothman Gordon Foreman & Groudine, P.C.
