William Penn Life, 1994 (29. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1994-11-01 / 11. szám
Page 2, William Penn Life, November 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 Member helps build homes for Hungarians Continued from Page 1 staff served us well and made us feel comfortable. On Saturday we had an opportunity to go sightseeing in Budapest. I visited my cousins and returned for the banquet which opened our work week. Our first work assignment was in Adony, a small community south of Budapest. On Sunday we went to Adony for church services during which a priest blessed the lots and each couple we were to help. The ceremonies were touching and left a significant impression on me. I felt very close to my roots, as if my parents were blessing me for being there. Monday we got up early and were on the bus to Adony to begin digging with pickaxe and shovel the foundations of five new homes. Házat Hazát does not have a backhoe, so we had to do the digging by hand. Everyone worked joyfully, helping each other and working as a team. After two days of digging, we were given Wednesday as a day to do more sightseeing. I travelled to the northeastern part of Hungary to visit more cousins. There I saw the village of Kenezlo in a state of renewal. The streets were torn up in preparation for the laying of gas and water lines. The people there were hopeful that things will get better because they are working to improve their lives. Hungary has a high suicide rate due to the hopelessness many feel, so it was a joy to see these people—although struggling—believing that they will make things better. On Thursday we went to Cegled, another community near Budapest, to finish flooring, tiling and painting 10 new homes that were nearly ready for occupancy. The following day it rained. All we could do was go to Gödöllő to see the homes and shops that form a small shopping strip that were awaiting their final inspections. We also visited the area where Habitat will hold its 1996 Jimmy Carter Work Project. The former president will join hundreds of volunteers in building 40 homes in one month. W e then returned to Adony to see the cement being poured and forms being built for the cement wall structures. Saturday was the we bid farewell to the military personnel who helped our group. They were a great group of officers and enlisted men and women who worked together to help build a small part of Hungary. Working together as a small community ourselves, our work camp accomplished its goal of helping Hungarians help themselves as they build their homes and their nation. They have hope that they can make a difference in improving life for themselves. We were thankful to be part of that process. Habitat’s work in Hungary began as a dream of Kalman Lorincz, a Hungarian drywall contractor Member Charlotte Stefanies shares a moment with Kalman Lorincz, director of Házat Hazát Alapítvány, at the volunteers farewell party. A row of shops and home in Gödöllő, built by Házat Hazát volunteers, await their final inspection before occupancy. who lived in Miami, Fla., for 25 years. His first experience with Habitat came by working with a Jimmy Carter Work Project that rebuilt Liberty City. The two men became acquainted, and Kalman heard the call to return to his homeland to help his countrymen. Lemon laws By Emil W. Herman, Esq., General Counsel Last month began a series of articles about a topic near and dear to our hearts—consumer protection. Last month’s article detailed legislation enacted or under consideration in many states which requires that consumer contracts be written in "plain language” and not "legalese.” This month we will discuss another type of consumer protection law. The law under discussion this month takes its name from a word that originally meant only a "sour fruit.” When we talk about lemon laws, however, few of you will think that they apply to lemon growers or fruit sellers. Instead, you recognize that in America lemon laws apply to motor vehicles. We have all heard horror stories about the purchaser whose new car repeatedly breaks down, despite repeated efforts by the dealer to correct the problem. Consumer frustration goes well beyond the cost of the repairs, which oftentimes is negligible or nonexistent because the car warranty is still in effect. Rather, the frustration arises from the frequency of the breakdowns, the need to make alternative transportation arrangements, the need to make arrangements to return the car for servicing, and because, even after a reasonable number of repeated attempts, the car still will not work properly. With or without a lemon law, consumers have always had recourse to the courts when their automobile does not perform as intended. The basis for that suit was the common law principle of breach of warranty. Without a statutory basis, however, these common law suits produced inconsistent results, and failed to remedy what many felt was becoming an industry-wide problem. State lemon laws, however, provide a statutory basis for new car buyers to enforce their rights. If you are having a problem with a new car, you need to consider whether your state has a lemon law, and, if so, whether it may help you with your problem. To determine if you are entitled to relief, you will need to have a lawyer evaluate your answers to the following questions: 1. How long have you owned the vehicle? The duration of lemon law coverage varies from state to state. Many states restrict coverage to new vehicles during the first year or 12,000 miles of use. If your vehicle is older or has more miles that is permitted under your state’s lemon law, you may need to consider a common law suit instead. 2. What type of vehicle do you have, and why did you buy it1 If you purchased a truck for business use, rather than family use, it may not be covered under your state’s law. Similarly, the problems you are having with your motorcycle or motor home may not qualify under the lemon law. 3. What is wrong with the vehicle? Is it a problem affecting the value or safety of the car, i.e., the paint keeps chipping, or the seat belts don’t retract? Under Pennsylvania’s lemon law, those problems would be covered, but in other states only problems affecting driving the vehicle may be covered. 4. Who have you contacted? Both the dealer and the manufacturer may be responsible, and each should be given notice of the problem and an opportunity to correct it. 5. Wluit has been done to date? If the problem has just developed, you probably have no rights under the lemon law. In most states, you are required to give the manufacturer/dealer a "reasonable” amount of time to correct the problem, and only after the expiration of that reasonable time will you be entitled to seek recourse under the lemon law. What constitutes reasonable varies from state to state. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the manufacturer has to have attempted to remedy the problem at least three times without success before you would be entitled to lemon law coverage. 6. What do you want as a remedy? A new vehicle, your money back, legal fees and damage for inconvenience are all possible, depending upon the provisions of your state’s law. When life gives you lemons, you may have to make lemonade. If its a new car dealer or manufacturer who is supplying lemons, however, you may have the right to return that lemon for something more to your liking. 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. With faith and his dream, he returned to Hungary and, with a small group of volunteers, began working towards his goal of establishing a Habitat affiliate in Hungary. The need for decent housing in Hungary is critical. After the Continued on Page 6
