William Penn Life, 1995 (30. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1995-03-01 / 3. szám
Page 2, William Penn Life, March 1995 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 Louis A. Fodor Elmer A. Furedy Barbara A. House Michael R. Kara George F. Mirkovich 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 Tours------dinner on the last night before returning home. The cost of either tour is $2,899 per person, based on double occupancy. Single accommodations may be arranged for an additional $400 per person. The tour price includes roundtrip airfare from New York via SwissAir, deluxe motorcoaches throughout the trip, all hotel accommodations with private bath, breakfast daily, nine lunches, 10 dinners, dinner cruise, luggage handling at all hotels and airports, all hotel and air taxes------------------From Page 1 and service charges and all sightseeing tours listed on the itinerary. Tour guests will be responsible for the cost of their own passport, personal items and gratuities to drivers and guides. Travelers departing from cities other than New York can arrange flights from the airport nearest their home for an add-on fare. Our tour’s travel agent, Fugazy International Travel, can arrange any necessary add-ons at the time of booking. To reserve your space on one Check Social Security number before filing taxes You can avoid a delay in your federal income tax refund if you show your correct Social Security number on your tax return. The .Internal Revenue Service will make sure you have provided the correct number before it pays your refund. In past years, the IRS matched the names and Social Security numbers of taxpayers and their spouse. This year, it also will check the names and numbers of all dependents listed on the returns. Dependents age one and older must have a Social Security number. You should also check the Social Security number on your W- 2 statements and pay stubs to make sure it matches the one on your card. If there’s a discrepancy, tell your employer immediately. If you don’t have a number, or you need one for a dependent, call or visit Social Security now to receive the number. You will need to provide documents that show your age, citizenship, or lawful alien status and that verify your identity. For example, your birth certificate and school record are acceptable proofs. For more information, or to apply for a Social Security number, contact your local office or call the toll-free number, 1-800- 772-1213. The lines are busiest early in the week and early in the month, so it’s best to call at other times. of our tours, complete the form found in this issue and send it, along with your deposit of $350 per person, to Fugazy International Travel at the address shown on the form. To learn more about these exciting tours, call Fugazy Travel toll-free at 1-800-828-4488 (New Jersey residents should call 1-908-828-4488). They will send you an attractive, full-color brochure giving you all the information you’ll need. All airfares are subject to change without notice. All land prices are guaranteed at time of booking. Supporting the family By George S. Charles, Jr., National V.P.'Secretary The family unit has been a key ingredient in America’s success. Respect for others, hard work, personal ethics, responsibility and a commitment to public service are among the family values I view as extremely important for the success of our nation. The only function of the family that continues to survive all change is the provision of affection and emotional support by and to all its members. The William Penn Association realizes the importance of the family and will continue to support the family and family values. Members active in our branches nationwide support one another within our fraternal family. Our dedication to fraternal principles brings us together and provides a necessary division of labor to spark increased interest and growth for us as an organization. I certainly am proud of the many fraternal efforts offered by our members who truly extend their efforts throughout the year in the spirit in which it was intended. This is best summed up by Theodore Roosevelt who stated: It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly ; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. Consumer protection: you can always sue By Emil W. Herman, Esq., General Counsel We have focused, in the latest series of articles, on the topic of consumer rights. Much of this focus has been on your rights under various state and federal laws. Enforcement of your rights may require a resort to the courts, but could as easily involve filing a complaint with a governmental agency which will investigate and act on your behalf. The same is true in cases where the issue is a defective, and potentially dangerous, consumer product. The federal government has adopted a number of laws aimed at protecting the consuming public from injury resulting from defective goods. The Consumer Product Safety Act, for instance, was enacted by Congress to establish standards for consumer products and protect the consuming public from dangerous and defective consumer goods, through the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Similar federal laws have been enacted with a narrower scope. For instance, motor vehicle safety and performance is reviewed under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, boat standards under the Federal Boat Safety Act, aircraft under the Federal Aviation Act, drugs and cosmetics under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and foods under the same act and a number of other federal laws related to the specific food product involved (e.g., Federal Meat Inspection Act). These governmental watchdogs have, as a result of their investigations, prompted many product recalls of products believed to pose an unreasonable risk of harm to the consuming public. Government standards, however, are often voluntary, and depend upon an industry willing to act as its own watchdog. Many people, however, are dissatisfied with this self-policing. As a result, policing the industry has become an industry of its own. Activists such as Ralph Nader have established a reputation for testing consumer goods, investigating consumer issues and bringing potential risks to the attention of the consuming public and the government agencies charged with doing their own investigation. An investigation by such a consumer watchdog is often the bellwether for a government investigation. Some magazines have also taken on the role of consumer watchdog. Those of you that subscribe to magazines like Consumer Reports and Good Housekeeping know that these magazines test products for both performance and safety and report on the results of those tests in the magazines. While the ultimate aim of such testing and reporting is to increase sales of their respective magazines, the information disclosed to the consumer is a welcome side effect of the magazine’s profit motive. A greater encouragement to manufacturers to assure that their products are safe for their intended use is often found, however, not in the threat of a government recall, or the loss of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Instead, a great motivator for producing risk free consumer goods is the threat of litigation by an injured consumer. Product liability lawsuits are becoming very popular in society. At its best, such a suit can be an effective retelling of David against Goliath, with the sympathetic injured party seeking to recover against the multinational and multimillion dollar corporation that was more interested in the profits a product would generate than in testing to make sure it would not pose a risk of harm. At its worst, such a suit is the story of a consumer attempting to extort money from a manufacturer willing to settle quickly rather than receive adverse publicity, even if the product was appropriately tested and the injury was due to misuse by the consumer. The plaintiff in a products liability lawsuit must establish use of a product as intended which nonetheless caused injury because of some defect in the way it was designed or manufactured which was known, or should have been known, to the designer or manufacturer. Defendant manufacturers and designers claim, instead: 1) that the product was not being used as intended; 2) that the consumer knew of the risk involved and chose to use the product anyway; 3) that the product, even if ultimately dangerous, was "state of the art” for a product of its type at the time of injury; and 4) that, while the product may pose a risk of harm, the cost of making it risk free would be prohibitive. If you have been injured through your use of a particular product, you may want to consult a lawyer to evaluate the facts of your case, or consult with one of the consumer watchdog groups or governmental agencies to determine if there are other persons who have been similarly injured.____________ If you have any topics you would like us to consider for this column, please send them to; Emil W. Herman, Esq., Rothman Gordon, Third Floor, Grant Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Topics will be considered based on space considerations, interest to all readers, and appropriateness for general legal discussions.
