PRINTER'S NO. 192
No. 196 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY O'PAKE, BELAN, COSTA, STAPLETON, KASUNIC AND
EARLL, JANUARY 25, 1999
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, JANUARY 25, 1999
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 23, 1931 (P.L.1178, No.319), entitled
2 "An act declaring buildings and parts of buildings used for
3 purposes of fornication, lewdness, assignation, and
4 prostitution to be nuisances; providing a method of abating
5 same; establishing a method of procedure against those who
6 use said buildings, or parts thereof, for such purposes; and
7 providing penalties for violations of this act," further
8 providing for building used for fornication as nuisance, for
9 knowledge of unlawful use by owner, for abatement of
10 nuisance, violation of abatement order or injunction and for
11 violation of act.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. Section 1 of the act of June 23, 1931 (P.L.1178,
15 No.319), entitled "An act declaring buildings and parts of
16 buildings used for purposes of fornication, lewdness,
17 assignation, and prostitution to be nuisances; providing a
18 method of abating same; establishing a method of procedure
19 against those who use said buildings, or parts thereof, for such
20 purposes; and providing penalties for violations of this act,"
21 amended June 23, 1921 (P.L.1178, No.319), is amended to read:
22 Section 1. Building used for fornication, etc; as nuisance
1 Any building, or part of a building, used for the purpose of
2 fornication, lewdness, assignation, and/or prostitution is
3 hereby declared to be a common nuisance[; and any person who
4 maintains such a common nuisance shall be guilty of a
5 misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to
6 imprisonment for not more than one year, or pay a fine not
7 exceeding one thousand dollars, or both, at the discretion of
8 the court].
9 Section 2. Section 2 of the act is amended to read:
10 Section 2. Knowledge of unlawful use by owner
11 If a person, being the owner of any building, has knowledge
12 of, or reason to believe, that such building, or a part thereof,
13 is used for the purposes of fornication, lewdness, assignation,
14 and/or prostitution, and suffers the same to be so used, such
15 building shall be subject to a lien for and may be sold to pay
16 all fines and costs assessed [against the person guilty of] for
17 maintaining such nuisance [for such violation of this act; and
18 the]. The total amount of any such fine and costs may be
19 entered, by the filing of a certificate thereof by the clerk of
20 the court in which the same was imposed in the court of common
21 pleas of the county, and shall remain a lien in favor of such
22 county until paid. Judgment may be obtained thereon and
23 execution issued in the manner provided by law in the case of
24 municipal liens.
25 Section 3. Section 3 of the act, repealed in part April 28,
26 1978 (P.L.202, No.53), is amended to read:
27 [Section 3. An action to enjoin any nuisances defined in
28 section one of this act may be brought, in the name of the
29 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by the Attorney General thereof or
30 by the district attorney of the county concerned.]
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1 Section 4. Sections 4, 6 and 7 of the act are amended to
2 read:
3 Section 4. [Abatement of nuisance
4 It shall not be necessary for the court to find the property
5 involved was being unlawfully used, as aforesaid, at the time of
6 the hearing, but on finding that the material allegations of the
7 petition are true, the court shall order that the building nor
8 any part thereof be not used for any of the purposes aforesaid.
9 And upon judgment of the court ordering such nuisance to be
10 abated, the court may order that the building, or any part
11 thereof, shall not be occupied or used for any purpose
12 whatsoever for one year thereafter, but the court may, in its
13 discretion, permit it to be occupied or used if the owner
14 thereof shall give bond, with sufficient surety to be approved
15 by the court making the order, in the penal and liquidated sum
16 of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than twenty-five
17 hundred dollars, payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
18 and conditioned that the building, or part thereof, shall not be
19 used for any of the purposes aforesaid, and that he will pay all
20 fines, costs, and damages that may be assessed for any violation
21 of this act upon said property.] Civil action to enjoin or abate
22 violations
23 (a) An action to enjoin or abate a violation of this act may
24 be brought in the name of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by
25 the Attorney General, the district attorney of the county
26 concerned or the solicitor of the municipality in which the
27 property is located. The action shall be brought and tried as an
28 action in equity in the court of common pleas of any county in
29 which the property is located.
30 (b) Procedure.--
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1 (1) If it is made to appear, by affidavits or otherwise, to
2 the satisfaction of the court that a violation exists, a
3 temporary writ of injunction shall forthwith issue, directed to
4 the operator of the subject establishment or the owner of the
5 premises, or both, restraining the operator or owner from
6 continuing or permitting the continuation of any violation or
7 violations of this act until the conclusion of the hearing and a
8 decision by the court. No bond shall be required in instituting
9 such proceedings. This act, insofar as it provides for methods
10 of service and bond, shall not be deemed to be suspended or
11 affected by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure governing
12 the action in equity.
13 (2) It shall not be necessary for the court to find the
14 property involved was being unlawfully used at the time of the
15 hearing, but, on finding that the material allegations of the
16 petition are true, the court shall order that neither the
17 premises nor any part of the premises be used in violation of
18 this act. Upon judgment of the court ordering the violations to
19 be abated, the court shall:
20 (i) order that neither the premises nor any part of the
21 premises shall be occupied or used for any purpose for up to one
22 year following the date of the court's order; or
23 (ii) permit the premises to be occupied or used, subject to
24 the posting of bond with sufficient surety to be approved by the
25 court in the penal and liquidated sum of not less than twenty-
26 five thousand dollars nor more than one hundred thousand
27 dollars, fifty percent payable to the Commonwealth of
28 Pennsylvania or the county or municipality in which the property
29 is located, whichever shall have initiated the proceeding; and
30 fifty percent equally between the Commonwealth, county or
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1 municipality, whichever did not initiate the proceeding,
2 conditioned that neither the building nor a part of the building
3 be used in violation of this act and that the operator will pay
4 all fines, costs and damages that may be assessed for any
5 violation of this act upon the premises.
6 (3) Service of any preliminary or permanent injunction shall
7 be made personally upon the operator and owner of the premises
8 if such persons can be found in the county. If the operator or
9 owner cannot be found, a copy of the order shall be delivered to
10 any employe of the operator on the establishment premises or, in
11 the case of the owner, upon an agent, if any. If no employe or
12 agent can be found or service cannot be made on an employe or
13 agent of the owner, then service shall be made as the court may
14 direct. Any person other than the operator or owner who shall be
15 served with any notice of an injunction shall within twenty-four
16 hours thereafter deliver the notice to the operator or owner, as
17 the case may be, or mail it to the operator or owner by
18 registered mail if the address of the operator or owner, as the
19 case may be, is known to the person served.
20 Section 6. Violation of abatement order or injunction[;
21 contempt
22 Any person, or any owner of such building, or any agent of
23 such owner, who, after any injunction or order, as aforesaid,
24 has been granted, shall use such building, or any part thereof,
25 as aforesaid, or knowingly permit the same to be so used, shall
26 be subject to summary punishment as for contempt of court, in
27 the manner now provided by law.]
28 An operator or owner of an adult entertainment establishment
29 or any agent of the operator or owner who after any injunction
30 has been granted uses the premises or any part of the premises,
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1 or knowingly permits the premises or any part of the premises to
2 be used in violation of an order of abatement or injunction,
3 shall be subject to summary punishment as for contempt of court,
4 in the manner now provided by law.
5 Section 7. Violation of act
6 Any person violating any of the provisions of this act shall
7 be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be
8 sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year, or pay a
9 fine not exceeding [one] five thousand dollars, or both, at the
10 discretion of the court.
11 Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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