Cecil residents warn of fights with Turnpike Commission
Frank Cservak speaks during an interview at CM Services as his wife, Judy, looks on.
Michael Leporace displays a photo of one of the homes turnpike officials said he could move into. He said the basement was dirty and moldy. Leporace said turnpike officials don’t consider the investments he’s made to his own home when negotiating about compensation.
This photo provided by the Cservaks shows their property before a dinosaur sculpture and other art pieces were removed.
Michael Leporace reviews troves of documents he said where difficult to obtain from turnpike officials.
After eight years, two trials and a $1.3 million settlement, Frank and Judy Cservak thought they were finished dealing with the state Turnpike Commission, but they’re back in court.
The former Cecil Township couple, who owned a three-acre lot in the 3800 block of Morganza Road, were notified in 2008 by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission the property was in the path of the proposed Southern Beltway project. A difference of $200,000 between the Cservaks’ paid appraisal of their property and the turnpike’s offer touched off an eminent domain condemnation notice from the state agency and the subsequent court fights.
But now the turnpike is suing the Cservaks for $207,000 because the couple allegedly took items considered real estate from their own property. And other Cecil homeowners are hoping to avoid getting involved in such an ordeal.
The Cservaks said they’re frustrated by a bureaucratic quagmire of legal definitions that the turnpike is unfairly wrangling to their advantage.
The turnpike said it’s trying to recoup costs as “it is entitled to the benefit of its bargain,” according to an October 2015 letter from turnpike attorney, Samuel Kamin, which explained the agency believed elements like trim and finishes were stolen by the Cservaks from their own home.
Frank Czervak testified in court in April that those fixtures – such as refrigerators, heaters and outdoor sculptures – were included as “claimed items” that they could take from the property. The turnpike’s legal team said the items were not supposed to be listed as such. The Czervaks said they see the latest suit against them as retribution for sticking up for their property rights and highlighting holes in the turnpike’s negotiation and condemnation process.
Frank Cservak was a turnpike consultant from 1989 to 2003. He said expectations put upon homeowners to understand the negotiation and acquisition process are unreasonable. Cservak said a key phrase that should have prevented the turnpike’s appeals of the results of a hearing by a three-person Board of View panel and then a jury trial – both won by the Cservaks – is in the “Property Owners’ & Tenants’ Guide,” an eight-page pamphlet on the appraisal and condemnation process.
It states “the jury’s verdict or the judge’s opinion is considered final and can be appealed only if a legal error has occurred.” Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said the “Eminent Domain Code provides that either party may appeal the Board of Viewers award de novo (from the beginning). That means there does not have to be an error of law to file an appeal.” The Cservaks said they wonder why that language is included at all, since the eventual condemnation notices ultimately rendered their twice-won verdicts moot. The Cservaks eventually settled out of court.
The court fights have been time-consuming and expensive. According to a March 2015 Right to Know records request, a total of $1.2 million has been spent by both sides in attorneys’ fees. The Cservaks spent $505,000, and the turnpike paid $685,864 for outside counsel.
A former neighbor and current Cecil resident, Michael Leporace, is gearing up for his own court fight.
“I just received a letter from the turnpike saying they’re notifying my bank that they’re proceeding with condemnation procedures. They’re not making any attempt to talk to me now. They were supposed to come back with another offer or appraisal, and this is what I get back the last week in April,” said Leporace, who has lived in his home at 3850 Morganza Road since building the high-tech abode himself in 2008.
DeFebo said it would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases, but provided statistics on the status of cases. There have been 310 property “impacts” along the Southern Beltway route; 123 “takes,” of which 114 were “amicable settlements and relocations,” and six condemnations. Just 13 residents have been relocated, DeFebo said.
Leporace was offered $430,000 for his property at 3850 Morganza Road, which includes a solid-concrete foundation home with high-tech amenities like a synchronized light, window and security system. His private appraisal showed a value of $675,000. Part of the problem both Cservak and Leoprace reported was that turnpike officials aren’t seeking out similar housing as part of the replacement process, which is promised as part of the appraisal process.
“The appraisal process is not being applied appropriately. They should be going to all houses. They’re making assumptions and leaving out items you submit that you plan to take, like Frank’s art and dinosaur sculptures,” Leporace said. “The turnpike makes you hunt and do all this research yourself, and you still end up at a roadblock with them making superficial assumptions about your property.”
George Siders, of 768 Morganza Road, said he was preparing for a legal battle, but the turnpike agreed to take half of his two-acre lot and to not take his home.
“It’s dictation, threats and condemnation,” said Siders, who received a preliminary notice of condemnation May 12. “There’s no reason for me to feel like a criminal for trying to negotiate for my home that I’ve lived in for 43 years,” Siders said. “They’re wasting money. They could settle because they’re so close, or at least negotiate in good faith, but when elements like the patio, wood burner and chimney are marked zero on the turnpike appraiser’s notes, I can’t see that happening.”
In April 2015, Siders was offered $254,000 for his property at 768 Morganza, with two garages, three sheds and support infrastructure for Siders’ concrete business. Siders said having to part with the property wasn’t what concerned him most; he can still operate his concrete business. But others, he said, may lose their businesses.
“If someone goes through the process of condemnation, they’re taking (the) deed (from the bank) and there goes collateral and ability to borrow to keep working,” Siders said.
As for the Cservaks, they’ll be doing battle with the turnpike again on June 27, before Senior Judge William Nalitz in Washington County Court.