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Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › District Courts › Pennsylvania › Middle District of Pennsylvania › 1984 › United States v. Gleneagles Inv. Co., Inc.
United States v. Gleneagles Inv. Co., Inc., 584 F. Supp. 671 (M.D. Pa. 1984)
US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania - 584 F. Supp. 671 (M.D. Pa. 1984)
584 F. Supp. 671 (1984)
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff,
GLENEAGLES INVESTMENT CO., INC., et al., Defendants.
Civ. No. 80-1424.
United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania.
As Corrected May 16, 1984.
*672 *673 *674 Beth A. Kaswan, Tax Div., U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Dept. of Justice.
D. Alan Harris, Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen., Chicago, Ill., for Com. of Pa.
Robert C. Nowalis, Doran & Nowalis, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., for trustee.
Eugene J. Wien, Philadelphia, Pa., for I.R.S.
Joseph Solfanelli, Dolphin, Solfanelli & Butler, Scranton, Pa., for Gleneagles Inv.
Thomas G. Bailey, Jr., David Allen Koenigsberg, Whitman & Ransom, New York City, for Pagnotti Enterprises.
Robert J. Rosenberg, New York City, for Pagnotti defendants.
David E. Lehman, McNees, Wallace & Nurick, Harrisburg, Pa., for Gillens and Clevelands.
Gilbert B. Abramson, Abramson, Freedman & Blackman, P.C., Philadelphia, Pa., for Gillens.
MUIR, District Judge.
I. Introduction.
The United States has sought in this litigation to set aside as fraudulent conveyances mortgages on the lands of Raymond Colliery (hereinafter the IIT mortgages) and to foreclose on tax liens against Raymond Colliery and its parent, Great American Coal Company, free and clear of the IIT mortgages. Those mortgages were delivered by Raymond Colliery on November 26, 1973 to Institutional Investors Trust (IIT) and assigned by IIT onto Defendant McClellan Realty. The United States has also sought in this lawsuit to set aside the 1976 and 1980 tax sales of the lands of Raymond Colliery by Defendant Lackawanna County.
Blue Coal and Glen Nan are bankrupt subsidiaries of Raymond Colliery and their assets are also encumbered by the IIT mortgages. (Raymond Colliery and its subsidiaries will be called hereinafter "the Raymond Group"). The Defendant Trustee in Bankruptcy for Blue Coal and Glen Nan filed a cross-claim in which he sought, inter alia, to set aside the IIT mortgages. The United States and the Trustee will be hereinafter called "the Creditors." The Defendant Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is not within the group classed as Creditors because it filed no cross-claim but it is a creditor of Raymond Colliery and has participated in this litigation as though it were a cross-claim plaintiff.
This lawsuit has been the subject of two earlier opinions by the Court. In the first opinion, the Court concluded that the IIT mortgages were fraudulent conveyances within the meaning of §§ 354, 355, 356, and 357 of the Pennsylvania Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act, 39 Pa.Stat. § 351, et seq (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "the Act"). United States v. Gleneagles Inv. Co., Inc., 565 F. Supp. 556, 585-86 (M.D.Pa.1983) (hereinafter Gleneagles I.) In the second opinion, the Court concluded that Pagnotti Enterprises which purchased the IIT mortgages and caused the assignment thereof to its subsidiary, McClellan Realty, was not a purchaser of the IIT mortgages for fair consideration without knowledge that they were fraudulent conveyances. United States v. Gleneagles Inv. Co., Inc., 571 F. Supp. 935, 958 (M.D. Pa.1983) (hereinafter Gleneagles II). We also concluded in Gleneagles II that the Lackawanna County tax sales of the lands of Raymond Colliery in 1976 and 1980 and the consequent tax deeds were void and ineffective to transfer title to the purchasers at those tax sales. Id.
The Creditors also asserted claims against the Gillen and Cleveland Defendants, former shareholders of Raymond Colliery who were found liable in Gleneagles I. After that finding, the United States, the Trustee and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania entered into settlement agreements with the Gillen and Cleveland Defendants relating to this and other litigation. Under those settlements the Cleveland *675 Defendants paid $5,500,000 and the Gillen Defendants paid $600,000 in satisfaction of all claims asserted against them in this litigation and the other litigation. The Court dismissed the Gillen and Cleveland Defendants as parties to this lawsuit pursuant to those settlement agreements.
Below are the Court's findings of fact, opinion and conclusions of law with respect to the priority and validity of liens on the lands of Raymond Colliery.
II. Findings of Fact.
1-167. The findings of fact in Gleneagles I are incorporated herein by reference.
168-410. The findings of fact in Gleneagles II are incorporated herein by reference.
411. On November 26, 1973, Thomas Gillen received $1,675,000 from Great American Coal and a note payable to his order by the Raymond Group for $125,000 in payment for his stock in Raymond Colliery.
412. On November 26, 1973, John Gillen received $1,675,000 from Great American and a note payable to his order by the Raymond Group for $125,000 in payment for his stock in Raymond Colliery.
413. On November 26, 1973, the Cleveland group of shareholders received $3,350,000 from Great American and notes payable to their order by the Raymond Group for $250,000 in payment for their stock in Raymond Colliery.
414. Judgments were confessed on the notes described in Paragraphs 411, 412, and 413 on June 16, 1975.
415. No. 1 Contracting Company and Old Forge Bank lent money to James J. Durkin to assist him in acquiring the stock of Raymond Colliery and these loans were the only loans from third parties for such purpose which were not disclosed by Durkin to IIT in connection with his loan application to IIT.
416. During the period from November 26, 1973 through April, 1976, the financial condition of the Raymond Group worsened.
417. During the period from November 26, 1973 through April, 1976, Raymond Colliery, Blue Coal, Olyphant Associates, and Glen Nan paid to IIT a total of $4,589,640 in principal and interest on the IIT mortgages.
418. On December 16, 1976, L. Robert Lieb on behalf of IIT paid to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania $44,368.74 in delinquent taxes owed by Raymond Colliery.
419. On December 16, 1976, L. Robert Lieb on behalf of IIT paid to the City of Scranton $11,122.25 in delinquent real estate taxes owed by Raymond Colliery for years prior to 1974.
420. In April, 1977, McClellan Realty paid $23,179.36 to the City of Scranton for delinquent real estate taxes due from Raymond Colliery for the years 1974, 1975 and 1976.
421. The above payment by McClellan Realty was added to the lien of the IIT mortgages.
422. On December 12, 1977, Joseph Solfanelli hand-delivered to Hyman Green a notice that McClellan Realty intended to sell at one or more private sales held on or after February 12, 1978 the following collateral given by the debtors to secure the IIT loans:
a. the capital stock of Great American Coal Co.
b. the capital stock of Raymond Colliery
c. accounts
d. contract rights
e. general intangibles
f. goods
g. inventory
h. equipment
i. culm
j. silt
k. refuse banks
l. the contract rights described in the assignments of leases, operating and distribution agreements, and
m. the contract rights under a November 26, 1973 agreement with Susquehanna Coal Co.
*676 423. McClellan Realty foreclosed on its security interest in Raymond Colliery's equipment, culm, silt, contract rights, accounts, and other personalty in a private sale conducted on or about February 28, 1978 and bought in the same.
424. On or about February 28, 1978, James Tedesco, on behalf of McClellan Realty, and Louis Pagnotti, on behalf of Loree Associates, executed a contract whereby McClellan Realty purported to sell all the assets described in Paragraph 422(c) through (k) to Loree Associates for $50,000.
425. No schedule of the specific assets purported to be sold to Loree Associates was prepared.
426. The assets purported to be foreclosed upon and sold by McClellan Realty to Loree Associates were not advertised for sale.
427. The assets purported to be foreclosed upon and sold by McClellan Realty to Loree Associates were not offered for sale to any person or entity not affiliated with Pagnotti Enterprises.
428. The purported sale and purchase of the equipment and other assets was not recorded on the books of Loree Associates or McClellan Realty until May, 1983 which was six months after the start of this trial.
429. To record the $50,000 payment from Loree Associates, McClellan Realty credited the IIT loan principal balance with $50,000 and Tabor Court increased its liabilities by $50,000, presumably to Loree Associates.
430. The stock of Raymond Colliery was foreclosed upon by McClellan Realty and sold for $1.00 at a private sale on October 6, 1978 to Joseph Solfanelli as Trustee for the Pagnotti Group.
431. In each of the aforesaid foreclosure sales McClellan Realty bid in the collateral in its own name or the name of its nominee, Joseph R. Solfanelli.
432. McClellan Realty did not give notice of the proposed private sale to the Trustee in Bankruptcy for Blue Coal, one of the debtors to McClellan Realty, or to any of the guarantors of Raymond Colliery's debt.
433. The only person or entity given notice of the private sales was Hyman Green.
434. McClellan Realty did not secure appraisals for any of the collateral which it sold at the private sales.
435. On December 16, 1980, a second tax sale of the lands of Raymond Colliery was held by the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau.
436. At the December 16, 1980, tax sale Joseph Solfanelli, acting on behalf of Gleneagles Investment Co. (hereafter Gleneagles), a corporation yet to be formed, and others successfully bid on the lands of Raymond Colliery.
437. Solfanelli tendered to the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau his personal check in the amount of $612,239.56 in payment of the bid price.
438. Solfanelli bid $5,394.09 more than the advertised upset bid price.
439. On January 8, 1981, Gleneagles was incorporated under Pennsylvania law with Joseph Solfanelli as the sole shareholder.
440. On January 23, 1981, the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau returned to Solfanelli his personal check for $612,239.56 and accepted Gleneagles' check in the amount of $535,290.39 in its stead.
441. In connection with the 1980 tax sale, Gleneagles also paid 1980 school taxes to the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau in the amount of $93,935.04.
442. The lands of Raymond Colliery were purportedly transferred directly to Gleneagles by the Lackawanna County Commissioners by deed of April 15, 1981.
443. Officers and agents of the Pagnotti Defendants were also agents and controlling stockholders of Raymond Colliery and at least one officer of Raymond Colliery was also an agent of the Pagnotti Defendants at the time of the Lackawanna County 1980 tax sale.
*677 444. The officers and agents of the Pagnotti Defendants who were at that time agents and controlling stockholders of Raymond Colliery did not act in good faith with reference to the creditors of Raymond Colliery when they attempted to divest the creditors' liens by running the lands of Raymond Colliery through the Lackawanna County 1980 tax sale.
445. The Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau return to the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County stated that Gleneagles had purchased the Tabor Court properties for $629,225.43, the total of the two Gleneagles payments described in paragraphs 440 and 441.
446. On or about June 23, 1981, Joseph Solfanelli, on behalf of Gleneagles, paid to the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau the $5,394.09 described in Paragraph 438.
447. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania holds liens on the lands of Raymond Colliery reflecting unpaid corporate taxes owed by Raymond Colliery in the following amounts:
Fiscal        Tax         Interest to     Total due
Year                        6/30/83       6/30/83
6/30/69      $18,085.00    $14,873.00     $32,958.00
6/30/70       19,223.00     14,655.00      33,878.00
6/30/74        1,738.00        907.00       2,645.00
6/30/75      410,381.00    189,701.00     600,082.00
6/30/75       17,343.00      8,017.00      25,360.00
6/30/76      193,242.00     77,264.00     270,506.00
__________   ___________   ____________
Totals    $1,540,431.00   $552,369.00  $2,092,800.00
448. The Commonwealth tax lien for fiscal year ending June 30, 1974 in the principal amount of $1,738.00 and the tax liens for fiscal year ending June 30, 1975, in the principal amounts of $30,131.00 and $410,381.00 were filed between April 13, 1976 and January 27, 1977.
449. The remaining Commonwealth tax liens were filed on June 11, 1982 and July 12, 1983.
450. Raymond Colliery filed tax returns with the Commonwealth for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1969 through June 30, 1975.
451. No corporate tax returns were filed by Raymond Colliery with the Commonwealth for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1976 through June 30, 1980.
452. On June 11, 1982, the Commonwealth made estimated settlements of corporate taxes owing from Raymond Colliery for fiscal years ending June 30, 1976 through June 30, 1980.
453. The estimated settlements described in the preceding paragraph were reviewed for substantive accuracy by both the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and Department of the Auditor General.
454. Raymond Colliery sought no review of the estimated settlements described in Paragraph 452.
455. The United States holds liens on the lands of Raymond Colliery reflecting unpaid corporate income taxes owed by Raymond Colliery in the following amounts:
Fiscal          Tax and         Penalties and      Total due
Year            Lien Fees       Interest to        12/31/83
Ending                            12/31/83
6/30/66         $35,799.52          $1,444.08      $37,276.35
6/30/67          96,861.44           1,629.30       98,490.74
6/30/68       1,125,650.72         897,350.42    2,023,033.89
6/30/69         478,253.23         664,441.00    1,142,726.98
6/30/71         218,269.92         273,267.21      491,569.88
6/30/72              32.75          19,939.65       19,972.40
6/30/73          16,800.00          21,774.49       38,607.24
Totals       $1,971,831.33      $1,879,846.15   $3,851,677.48
456. The United States made an assessment on September 17, 1973 for corporate income taxes owed by Raymond Colliery for fiscal year ending June 30, 1967 in the principal amount of $44,667.06.
457. The United States made an assessment on September 17, 1973 for corporate *678 income taxes owed by Raymond Colliery for fiscal year ending June 30, 1968 in the principal amount of $827,765.85.
458. The remaining federal corporate income taxes owed by Raymond Colliery and listed in paragraph 455 were assessed between April 3, 1979 and April 22, 1981.
459. The United States holds liens against the lands of Raymond Colliery reflecting unpaid corporate income taxes owed by Great American in the following amounts:
Fiscal       Tax           Interest and           Total due
Year         and Lien      Penalties through      12/31/83
Ending       Fees            12/31/83
6/30/75   $2,244,670.75    $2,615,445.43       $4,860,148.43
460. The corporate income taxes owed by Great American and listed in Paragraph 459 were assessed between July 30, 1979 and August 25, 1980.
461. Notices of federal tax liens for the taxes described in Paragraphs 455 and 459 were filed and refiled.
462. The amounts claimed by McClellan Realty to be due as of December 31, 1983 on the direct mortgages assigned by IIT to McClellan Realty, including principal and interest through October 31, 1983, are:
Raymond Colliery           $7,252,508.60
Blue Coal                   9,756,410.06
Olyphant Associates           155,203.96
Glen Nan, Inc.                155,203.96
Total                     $17,319,326.58
463. The above amounts claimed by McClellan Realty to be due on the direct mortgages do not include additions for attorney fees or late fees.
464. The above amounts claimed by McClellan Realty to be due on the direct mortgages include the following payments of real property taxes which have been added to the liens of the mortgages:
Raymond Colliery       $502,176.85 paid on
December 16, 1976 by L.
Robert Lieb, Trustee, to
Lackawanna County Tax
Claim Bureau.
Blue Coal              $80,303.18 paid by IIT to
Luzerne County Tax Claim
465. Lackawanna County through its Tax Claim Bureau holds liens in the aggregate amount of $192,582.88 against 129 parcels of Raymond Colliery's lands representing unpaid county, school and borough taxes due from Raymond Colliery for years 1981 and 1982.
466. The lands to which the Lackawanna County liens attach are located in the City of Scranton, the Boroughs of Archbald, Blakely, Jermyn, Jessup, Mayfield and Taylor, and the Townships of Carbondale and Fell.
467. The Scranton Sewer Authority holds liens in the aggregate amount of $62,929.50 against 34 parcels of Raymond Colliery's lands representing unpaid sewer assessments due from Raymond Colliery between September 27, 1969 and December 29, 1972.
468. The Scranton Sewer Authority also claims a lien in an unspecified principal amount against a Raymond Colliery parcel located at 326-328 Charles Street, Scranton, representing an unpaid sewer assessment, said lien being filed December 2, 1969.
469. The lands to which the Scranton Sewer Authority liens attach are located in the City of Scranton.
470. The Scranton Sewer Authority liens were filed between December 12, 1969 and June 26, 1973.
471. The Borough of Olyphant holds liens in the aggregate amount of $1461.34 against 4 undesignated parcels of Raymond Colliery's lands located in the Borough of Olyphant representing unpaid paving liens.
472. The Borough of Olyphant liens were filed on November 15, 1983.
473. The Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority holds liens in the aggregate amount of $109,695.25 against 65 parcels of Raymond Colliery's land representing unpaid sewer assessments due from Raymond Colliery and Tabor Court for years unspecified by the parties.
*679 474. The lands to which the Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority liens attach are located in the Boroughs of Archbald, Blakely, Jermyn, Jessup, Mayfield and Throop and in the Townships of Carbondale and Fell.
475. The Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority liens were filed between January 17, 1975 and August 1, 1977.
476. The Borough of Taylor holds a lien against Raymond Colliery in the principal amount of $1,000.00 representing unreimbursed expenses incurred by the Borough of Taylor when demolishing and removing a dangerous structure on July 15, 1976 situated on a Raymond Colliery parcel located in the Borough of Taylor.
477. The Borough of Taylor lien was filed on December 15, 1976.
478. The Estate of William R. Henkelman holds a lien in the aggregate principal amount of $3,350.00 representing an unpaid arbitrators' award entered August 30, 1977 against Raymond Colliery in the case of William R. Henkelman vs. Raymond Colliery Co., Inc., No. 547, January Term, 1976 (Court of Common Pleas, Lackawanna County).
479. The Cleveland Defendants paid by cash a total of $5.5 million in settlement of this lawsuit and other related lawsuits. Of that amount, $3,000,000.00 was agreed by the parties to the settlement to be in payment of Raymond Colliery's debts, $2,430,000.00 was agreed by the parties to the settlement to be in payment of Blue Coal's debts, and $70,000.00 was agreed by the parties to the settlement to be in payment of Glen Nan's debts.
480. The Gillen Defendants paid a total of $600,000.00 in settlement of this lawsuit and other related lawsuits. Of that amount, $330,000.00 was agreed by the parties to the settlement to be in payment of Raymond Colliery's debts; $262,000.00 was agreed by the parties to the settlement to be in payment of Blue Coal's debts, and $8,000.00 was agreed by the parties to the settlement to be in payment of Glen Nan's debts.
481. As part of the settlements the Gillen and Cleveland Defendants agreed not to seek recovery on the notes mentioned in Paragraphs 411, 412, and 413.
III. Discussion.
On November 26, 1973, Raymond Colliery, Blue Coal, Glen Nan and Olyphant Associates each delivered a direct mortgage on its lands to IIT. On the same date these companies and all of the other companies in the Raymond Group delivered mortgages to IIT as part of their guarantee of the entire loan by IIT. The first main issue before the Court is what protection, if any, should be accorded the IIT direct mortgages in the hands of McClellan Realty which asserts that the direct mortgages on the lands of the Raymond Group are valid either in part or in their entirety as against the Creditors. McClellan Realty has made no argument that the IIT guarantee mortgages executed by each member of the Raymond Group are valid against the Creditors. Subsumed within the first issue is the question of whether McClellan Realty and other related corporations are entitled to liens for taxes paid on behalf of Raymond Colliery, some of which taxes were added to the lien of the IIT mortgages.
We note that our prior findings relating to Pagnotti Enterprises are applicable to its subsidiary, McClellan Realty, to whom Pagnotti Enterprises directed the mortgages to be assigned. For purposes of determining the rights of McClellan Realty vis a vis the Creditors, McClellan Realty's status is identical to that of Pagnotti Enterprises.
The second main issue before the Court is the priority to be accorded the various liens, including the IIT direct mortgage on the lands of Raymond Colliery. The Court is not concerned with the priority of liens, including that of the IIT direct mortgages, on the lands of Blue Coal and Glen Nan because that is a matter to be resolved by the Bankruptcy Court in the light of this Court's opinions. The third main issue before this Court is the Trustee's request for punitive damages against McClellan Realty.
*680 A. Status of the IIT Mortgages in the Hands of McClellan Realty.
1. Possible Extinction of McClellan's Lien Under U.C.C. § 9-504.
McClellan Realty foreclosed on its security interests in certain personalty of Raymond Colliery at a private sale conducted on February 28, 1978 at which the assets foreclosed upon were sold to Loree Associates for $50,000. McClellan Realty also foreclosed on the stock of Raymond Colliery at a private sale on October 6, 1978 at which the stock was sold to Joseph Solfanelli as Trustee for the Pagnotti Group for $1.00. The Creditors argue that these foreclosure sales were unreasonable and that because of such unreasonableness the obligation secured by the mortgages was satisfied.
These foreclosure sales clearly did not comport with the requirements of § 9-504(3) of the Uniform Commercial Code in effect as of the dates of the sales for a number of reasons. 12A Pa.Stat. § 9-504(3) (repealed November 1, 1979).
First, a secured party cannot bid in at its own private foreclosure sale unless the collateral is "of a type customarily sold in a recognized market or is of a type which is the subject of widely distributed standard price quotations...." 12A Pa.Stat. § 9-504(3) (repealed November 1, 1979). The stock of Raymond Colliery and the other personalty sold by McClellan Realty at the private foreclosure sales do not fit into either of the above categories. See Alliance Discount Corp. v. Shaw, 195 Pa.Super. 601, 604, 171 A.2d 548 (1961).
Second, McClellan Realty notified only Hyman Green, the then sole stockholder of Raymond Colliery, of the private foreclosure sales. Under § 9-504(3) McClellan Realty was obligated to give notice of the sale to the "debtor". Blue Coal and Glen Nan, among others, were guarantors of the IIT obligation secured by the assets of Raymond Colliery and as such were debtors as defined in § 9-105(d) of the Pennsylvania Uniform Commercial Code. 12A Pa. Stat. § 9-105(d) (repealed November 1, 1979). They were, therefore, entitled to notice of the foreclosure sales and because they were in bankruptcy notice should have been given to the Trustee in Bankruptcy for Blue Coal and Glen Nan. National Acceptance Co. of Am. v. Medlin, 538 F. Supp. 585, 587 (N.D.Ill.1982); Rushton v. Shea, 423 F. Supp. 468 (D.Del.1976). No such notice was given. In addition, McClellan Realty has produced no credible evidence that the prices bid for the collateral were commercially reasonable.
When there has been a commercially unreasonable disposition of collateral, the question arises as to the effect of that disposition on the secured party's right to recover the balance of the debt. The Creditors claim that McClellan Realty's commercially unreasonable disposition of the collateral gives rise to a presumption under Pennsylvania law that the value of the collateral sold equalled the indebtedness secured. The Creditors argue that because McClellan Realty has produced no evidence to rebut this presumption the debt secured by the IIT mortgages has been extinguished. In support of the above argument, the Creditors point to the recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in Savoy v. Beneficial Consumer Discount Co., ___ Pa. ___, 468 A.2d 465 (1983).
The Creditors' reliance on Savoy is misplaced. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held in Savoy that a secured party who sold collateral in a commercially unreasonable manner must rebut a presumption that the value of the collateral sold equalled the indebtedness secured. Failure to rebut this presumption will bar the secured party from obtaining a deficiency judgment against the debtor. The issue in this case is whether the Savoy presumption would extinguish the secured party's rights in other collateral of the debtor in which the secured party has a security interest.
Application of the Savoy presumption to this situation would result in depriving McClellan Realty, as the successor to IIT, of in rem rights against the Raymond Group. Despite our past record of somewhat dubious oracularity, we predict that *681 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will not apply the Savoy presumption to extinguish security interests in other collateral of the debtor. See First Pennsylvania Bank, N.A., v. Lancaster County Tax Claim Bureau, et al., ___ Pa. ___, 470 A.2d 938 (1983). We will therefore deny the Creditors' request that this Court conclude that the debt secured by the IIT mortgages was extinguished because of McClellan Realty's unreasonable foreclosure sales of Raymond Colliery's assets.
2. McClellan Realty's Claim for Protection of Its Mortgages Against the Creditors.
The Creditors argue that they are entitled under section 359(1) of the Pennsylvania Fraudulent Conveyance Act to set aside the IIT mortgages to the extent necessary to satisfy their claims. Section 359 of the Act provides as follows:
(1) Where a conveyance or obligation is fraudulent as to a creditor, such creditor, when his claim has matured, may, as against any person except a purchaser for fair consideration without knowledge of the fraud at the time of the purchase, or one who has derived title immediately or mediately from such a purchaser:
(a) Have the conveyance set aside or obligation annulled to the extent necessary to satisfy his claim; or
(b) Disregard the conveyance, and attach or levy execution upon the property conveyed.
(2) A purchaser who, without actual fraudulent intent, has given less than a fair consideration for the conveyance or obligation may retain the property or obligation as security for repayment.
39 Pa.Stat. §§ 359(1), (2).
McClellan Realty argues that in the particular complex posture of this litigation it is entitled to a lien position ahead of the Creditors with respect to all or a portion of the IIT mortgages.
McClellan Realty first argues that the Creditors are not entitled to have the IIT mortgages set aside under § 359(1) to the "extent necessary to satisfy [their] claims" but are limited to a recovery equal to the amount of diminution of the assets of the Raymond Group caused by the November 26, 1973 fraudulent conveyances. Newman v. First National Bank of East Rutherford, 76 F.2d 347, 350 (3d Cir. 1935). See In re MortgageAmerica Corp., 714 F.2d 1266, 1272 (5th Cir.1983); Damazo v. Wahby, 269 Md. 252, 305 A.2d 138, 142 (1973). McClellan Realty notes that the Court determined that the IIT mortgages were fraudulent conveyances partly because $4,085,500 of the IIT loan proceeds were wrongfully funnelled through the Raymond Group to the selling shareholders in payment of the purchase price of Raymond Colliery's stock. McClellan Realty claims that a return of $4,085,500 to the Raymond Group would cure any injury to the Creditors caused by the November 26, 1973 fraudulent conveyances. It further claims that more than $4,085,500 has already been returned to the Raymond Group as a result of the $6,100,000 received by the Creditors and the Commonwealth under the terms of the settlement agreements with the Cleveland and Gillen Defendants.
The payment of the $6,100,000 has not placed the Creditors in the same or similar position which they held with respect to the Raymond Group prior to the November 26, 1973 fraudulent IIT mortgages transaction. Since November 26, 1973, the Raymond Group paid $4,589,640 on the fraudulent IIT mortgages. Also since November 26, 1973, the amount owed by the Raymond Group on the mortgages has greatly increased because of the very substantial interest charges provided for in the Note Purchase and Loan Agreement which are claimed by McClellan Realty to be at least $11,501,850.89. The Creditors therefore would not be placed in the same or similar position which they held with respect to the Raymond Group in 1973 merely by replacing the $4,085,500 of IIT loan proceeds that were misused on November 26, 1973.
We also disagree with McClellan Realty's argument that the settlement monies *682 paid to the Creditors and the Commonwealth by the Gillen and Cleveland Defendants should be deducted from the recovery to which the Creditors are entitled from McClellan Realty. The Creditors have claimed in this litigation that the Gillen and Cleveland Defendants are liable for sales of Raymond Group assets made after November 26, 1973 to satisfy the Raymond Group's debt to IIT and others. There is no basis for this Court to apply the $6,100,000 paid by the Gillens and Clevelands to particular injuries suffered by the Creditors as the result of the fraudulent conveyances. Moreover, the settlement agreements provided that the monies paid were also in settlement of other lawsuits by the Creditors and the Commonwealth against the Gillens and Clevelands. There is no basis on the present record for a conclusion by this Court that the $6,100,000 paid by the Gillens and Clevelands pursuant to the settlement agreements was intended solely to compensate the Creditors and the Commonwealth for damages flowing from the Gillens' and Clevelands' acceptance of the IIT loan proceeds on November 26, 1973.
McClellan Realty further argues that the mortgages are entitled to protection under § 359(2) of the Act by reason of the payment of $4,047,786.00 by Pagnotti Enterprises to IIT for the assignment of the mortgage to McClellan Realty. Section 359(2) of the Pennsylvania Fraudulent Conveyance Act permits a purchaser to retain a fraudulently conveyed property or obligation as security for repayment where such a purchaser (1) is without actual fraudulent intent and (2) has given less than a fair consideration for the conveyance or obligation. 39 Pa.Stat. § 359(2). McClellan Realty does not fit within the literal meaning of the words of the statute.
Section 359(2) has no application to McClellan Realty because although this Court found that Pagnotti Enterprises was without actual fraudulent intent, Gleneagles II, 571 F. Supp. at 957, we did not find that Pagnotti Enterprises gave "less than a fair consideration" for the IIT mortgages. 39 Pa.Stat. § 359(2). Under the Act, "fair consideration" is defined. Fair consideration is given for a property or obligation "[w]hen, in exchange for such property or obligation, as a fair equivalent therefor and in good faith, property is conveyed...." 39 Pa.Stat. § 353(a). In Gleneagles II, this Court concluded that while Pagnotti Enterprises paid a fair equivalent for the IIT mortgages it did not do so in good faith. We concluded that Pagnotti Enterprises either knew or should have known that the November 26, 1973 transaction rendered the Raymond Group insolvent and with insufficient working capital. We also concluded that Pagnotti Enterprises knew or should have known that the IIT mortgages were not supported by fair consideration because of the simultaneous diversion of the $4,085,500. 571 F. Supp. at 958. While the decision of the Court in Gleneagles II rested on our determination that Pagnotti Enterprises should have known of the fraudulent nature of the mortgages, we seriously questioned Pagnotti Enterprises' assertion that it did not have actual knowledge of the fraudulent nature of the mortgages. The Court concluded that at least one official of Pagnotti Enterprises knew more about the IIT mortgages transaction than he admitted on the stand. The findings of the Court relating to Pagnotti Enterprises' actual and imputed knowledge of the fraudulent nature of the IIT mortgages prevent any finding that Pagnotti Enterprises purchased the IIT mortgages in good faith. Cohen v. Sutherland, 257 F.2d 737, 742 (2d Cir.1958); Epstein v. Goldstein, 107 F.2d 755, 757 (2d Cir.1939); Gleneagles I, 565 F. Supp. at 574.
This Court acts as a court of equity when determining the relief appropriate under the Pennsylvania Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act and in cases such as this one brought under § 7403 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. § 7403. United States v. Overman, 424 F.2d 1142, 1146 (9th Cir.1970); Greater Valley Terminal Corp. v. Goodman, 415 Pa. 1, 202 A.2d 89 (1964).
McClellan asks protection of the IIT mortgages to the extent that McClellan *683 Realty paid consideration to IIT. We have examined the case law cited by McClellan Realty and have found no support for the proposition that a purchaser such as McClellan Realty who is not entitled to protection of its position under § 359(1) or (2) may nonetheless be awarded an equitable lien for consideration paid to his transferor. See Peoples Savings & Dime Bank & Trust Co., v. Scott, 303 Pa. 294, 298, 154 A. 489, 490 (1931).
McClellan Realty also requests proportional protection of its mortgages based upon the extent that the IIT loan proceeds initially benefitted the Raymond Group. McClellan Realty claims this Court found in Gleneagles I, 565 F. Supp. at 570, that $2,914,500 or 41.64% of the IIT loan proceeds went to the benefit of the Raymond Group and that thus it is entitled to protection of 41.64% of each direct mortgage executed by a member of the Raymond Group.
McClellan Realty's argument rests on the incorrect assumption that some portions of the IIT mortgages are valid as against the Creditors. In Gleneagles I, 565 F. Supp. at 580, 586, this Court found that IIT and Durkin engaged in an intentionally fraudulent transaction on November 26, 1973. The IIT mortgages are therefore invalid in their entirety as to creditors. Iscovitz v. Filderman, 334 Pa. 585, 6 A.2d 270 (1939). McClellan Realty asserts that because it was not found to have purchased the IIT mortgages with actual or imputed knowledge that the mortgages were intentionally fraudulent conveyances, the mortgages should be treated as merely constructively fraudulent conveyances in the hands of McClellan Realty and that the mortgages should be upheld proportionately to the extent that the proceeds thereof were used to benefit the Raymond Group. See e.g., Taylor v. Kaufhold, 379 Pa. 191, 108 A.2d 713 (1954); Peoples Savings & Dime Bank & Trust Co. v. Scott, 303 Pa. at 298, 154 A. at 490.
We find no authority for this position. Unless the subtransferee of a fraudulent conveyance purchases in good faith as set forth in 39 Pa.Stat. § 359(1), it stands in the shoes of its assignor. In Re Trans-United Industries, Inc., 351 F.2d 605 (2d Cir.1965); Davis v. Hudson Trust, 28 F.2d 740 (3d Cir.1928); United States v. West, 299 F. Supp. 661 (D.Del.1969); In Re Brueck and Wilson Co., 258 F. 69 (S.D.N. Y.1919); Bean v. Commercial Securities Co., 25 Tenn.App. 254, 156 S.W.2d 338 (1941). McClellan was not a purchaser for fair consideration without knowledge or notice of the fraud for the reasons previously given and holds the mortgages subject to the claims of the Creditors.
In addition, fraudulent liens previously sold are reduced for amounts which have already been paid on the liens. In Re Peoria Braumeister Co., 138 F.2d 520, 523 (7th Cir.1943). $4,589,640 was paid on the mortgages by the Raymond Group before the mortgages were assigned to McClellan Realty. Thus, even assuming that a valid portion of the IIT mortgages originally existed, that portion was extinguished by the payments on the debt in excess of that portion made by the mortgagors before the assignment of the IIT mortgages.
Finally, if there were any need to balance the equities in this case as between McClellan Realty and the Creditors, the equities clearly favor the Creditors. As this Court noted in Gleneagles II, we questioned Pagnotti Enterprises' assertion that it did not have actual knowledge of matters which would have caused it to conclude that the IIT mortgages were fraudulent conveyances within the meaning of §§ 354 and 355 of the Pennsylvania Fraudulent Conveyance Act. We also concluded that Pagnotti Enterprises was clearly on notice as to numerous facts which if reasonably investigated would have led Pagnotti Enterprises to conclude that the mortgages were fraudulent conveyances. Assuming that Pagnotti Enterprises was aware of the fraudulent nature of the IIT mortgages when it purchased them, it clearly would be inequitable to protect McClellan Realty's position as against the Creditors. Even if *684 Pagnotti Enterprises were merely on notice as to the fraudulent nature of the IIT mortgages, it would likewise be inequitable to favor McClellan Realty's position over that of the Creditors who were not on notice of the fraudulent nature of the mortgages and who could not protect themselves. Unlike the Creditors, Pagnotti Enterprises could have avoided its present predicament if it had exercised ordinary prudence.
Moreover, equity will not act to protect a party who has unclean hands. As discussed in detail in Gleneagles II, Pagnotti Enterprises participated in the November 26, 1973 transaction to some extent. 571 F. Supp. at 955-56. It also acted in bad faith vis a vis the Creditors after its purchase of the IIT mortgages.
Tabor Court Realty is a subsidiary of Loree Associates. McClellan Realty is a subsidiary of Pagnotti Enterprises. Pagnotti Enterprises and Loree Associates are both owned by the Pagnotti, Tedesco, and Ventre families. In the transactions at issue Loree Associates and Pagnotti Enterprises were joint venturers.
On October 6, 1978, the stock of Raymond Colliery was foreclosed upon by McClellan Realty and sold for $1.00 to Joseph Solfanelli as Trustee for Pagnotti Enterprises. Thus, by October 6, 1978, related entities owned the stock of Raymond Colliery, the IIT mortgages, and thought they owned the land of Raymond Colliery although they did not own the land because both of the 1976 and 1980 tax sales were invalid. During this period of common ownership, no monies were paid on the IIT mortgages.
The aggregate balances of the mortgages are claimed by McClellan Realty to have increased by reason of interest accruals from $5,817,475.69 on January 22, 1977 to $17,319,326.58 on October 31, 1983. Despite the default on the IIT mortgages, McClellan Realty never foreclosed on the lands of Raymond Colliery.
Also during this period of common ownership, because no real estate taxes were paid on the lands of Raymond Colliery by Tabor Court or any other entity Lackawanna County again listed the lands of Raymond Colliery for tax sale in 1980. At the 1980 tax sale, Joseph Solfanelli, on behalf of Gleneagles, purchased the Raymond Colliery lands. Mr. Solfanelli was acting on behalf of James Tedesco, a principal of both Loree Associates and Pagnotti Enterprises at the 1980 tax sale.
The decision by Pagnotti Enterprises, McClellan Realty, Tabor Court, Loree Associates and Gleneagles (hereinafter collectively called the Pagnotti Defendants) not to pay the real estate taxes on the lands of Raymond Colliery and instead simply to repurchase them at approximately the upset bid price at the 1980 tax sale was part of a scheme to divest the substantial liens on the lands.
The decision not to foreclose on the IIT mortgages on the lands of Raymond Colliery was also part of a plan to discourage Raymond Colliery's other creditors from seeking to foreclose on their liens. With the exception of certain county and other municipal liens and the Commonwealth liens, the IIT mortgages appeared to be first liens on all the lands of Raymond Colliery. As the IIT mortgages increased in amount, the chances of a junior lienor foreclosing on the lands of Raymond Colliery decreased. In addition, the Pagnotti Defendants may have been attempting to achieve a highly favorable position in the Blue Coal and Glen Nan bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the November 26, 1973 transaction, Blue Coal and Glen Nan executed guarantee mortgages for the entire IIT mortgage debt. Thus, by declining to foreclose on the lands of Raymond Colliery and permitting the debt secured by the IIT mortgages to increase, Pagnotti Enterprises could have claimed the bulk of the proceeds from the liquidation of Blue Coal and Glen Nan's assets.
During the trial in this case, James Tedesco testified that the reason McClellan Realty failed to foreclose on the IIT mortgages against the assets of Raymond Colliery was that an attorney for a third party stated to him that if an attempt to foreclose *685 on the mortgages were made, that attorney would file a bankruptcy petition against Raymond Colliery. Assuming that this threat was in fact made, we find it extremely difficult to believe that it would have brought about the decision by McClellan Realty not to foreclose on the mortgages. After the 1976 tax sale, Raymond Colliery was purportedly stripped of its most valuable asset, i.e., its land. Hence, the filing against Raymond Colliery of a petition in bankruptcy long after the 1976 tax sale at which the lands of Raymond Colliery were purportedly sold to Tabor Court would have had little or no effect on McClellan Realty's ability to foreclose on its mortgages encumbering the lands.
In short, in light of the behavior of the Pagnotti Defendants after their purchase of the IIT mortgages, McClellan Realty is not entitled to an equitable lien representing any portion of the IIT mortgages.
3. The Pagnotti Defendants' Lien for Taxes Paid on Behalf of Raymond Colliery.
Beginning in 1976, various payments were made by the Pagnotti Defendants on account of Raymond Colliery's delinquent taxes. Some of these payments were made as bids on the lands of Raymond Colliery at the Lackawanna County tax sales. The prices paid by the Pagnotti Defendants had the effect of paying delinquent realty taxes owed by Raymond Colliery and discharging liens for those taxes from the lands of Raymond Colliery. The Pagnotti Defendants seek first liens on the lands of Raymond Colliery for such payments.
These tax payments are as follows:
A. Payments by L. Robert Lieb.
Payment of Commonwealth Taxes (Finding
of Fact 418, supra)                            $ 44,368.74
Payment of pre-1974 Lackawanna County
real estate taxes (Gleneagles II, 571 F. Supp.  at 947 (Finding of Fact 166))             447,786.13
Payment of pre-1974 City of Scranton
Taxes (Finding of Fact 419, supra)               11,122.25
B. Payments by Tabor Court
Bid at 1976 tax sale (Gleneagles II, 571 F. Supp.  at 948 (Finding of Fact 190))          $385,000.00
Less refunds for overpayments and duplicate
payments in bid at 1976 tax sale
(Gleneagles II, 571 F. Supp.  at 949 (Findings
of Fact 202, 203, 204 and 205))                (38,937.00)
C. Payment by McClellan Realty
Payment of City of Scranton, 1974, 1975,
and 1976 delinquent real estate taxes
(Finding of Fact 420, supra)                   $ 23,179.36
D. Payment by Gleneagles
Bid of Gleneagles at 1980 tax sale (Finding
of Fact 445, supra)                            $629,225.43
Raymond Colliery's Commonwealth and pre-1974 real estate taxes were first liens on the lands of Raymond Colliery and were paid by L. Robert Lieb when the Pagnotti Defendants were neither owners of the land nor owners of the IIT mortgages. Because of this Court's conclusion in Gleneagles II that the 1976 tax sale was invalid, the 1976 Tabor Court bid on the lands of Raymond Colliery was tantamount to a payment of Raymond Colliery's real estate taxes and likewise was also a payment made before the Pagnotti Defendants owned the lands of Raymond Colliery or the IIT mortgages. These tax payments discharged liens on the lands of Raymond Colliery which were ahead of those claimed by the United States. Equitably, the Pagnotti Defendants should now receive a lien position reflecting these tax payments ahead of the lien position accorded the United States. Likewise, because the above tax payments by the Pagnotti Defendants discharged liens ahead of the liens claimed in this litigation by the various counties and other municipalities, the Pagnotti Defendants should receive liens reflecting the tax payments ahead of those lienors.
The 1974, 1975, and 1976 taxes due the City of Scranton were not paid by the Pagnotti Defendants until April, 1977 because the City of Scranton taxing personnel were unable or unwilling to calculate the amounts owed by Raymond Colliery for those years before the 1976 tax sale. However, the Pagnotti Defendants attempted to pay the 1974, 1975, and 1976 City of Scranton taxes as part of Tabor Court's bid at the 1976 tax sale. In our view, the April, 1977 payment to the City of Scranton should be treated in the same manner as the 1976 tax sale bid. The Pagnotti Defendants will therefore also be awarded a lien ahead of the United States and the *686 counties and other municipalities for the 1974, 1975 and 1976 taxes paid to the City of Scranton.
On October 6, 1978 Joseph Solfanelli on behalf of the Pagnotti Defendants bought in the Raymond Colliery stock for $1.00 and became President of the corporation. Thereafter, the Pagnotti Defendants as officers, directors, and stockholders of Raymond Colliery, had an obligation to pay current taxes on the lands of the corporation and to treat the creditors of Raymond Colliery fairly. However, they attempted to run the lands through the tax sale in 1980 and purchase the lands through another Pagnotti corporation in order to divest liens of the Creditors, particularly the United States. Balancing the equities we decline to award the Pagnotti Defendants liens ahead of those claimed by the United States and the county and other municipalities for the taxes paid at the 1980 tax sale but will postpone that lien to a position which is immediately ahead of the mortgages themselves.
It is appropriate to make several observations regarding the equitable liens this Court will award the Pagnotti Defendants. First, it should be noted that McClellan Realty is the Pagnotti Defendant entitled to liens reflecting the December 16, 1976 tax payments by L. Robert Lieb. These payments were made from the escrow account created by IIT and Pagnotti Enterprises prior to the assignment of the IIT mortgages to McClellan Realty. Pagnotti Enterprises reimbursed IIT for its contribution to the escrow account and the December 16, 1976 payments were added to the balance of the IIT mortgages assigned to McClellan Realty.
Second, the December 16, 1976 tax payments by L. Robert Lieb and the April, 1977 payment to the City of Scranton by McClellan Realty for delinquent 1974, 1975, and 1976 real estate taxes were added to the balance of the IIT mortgages. However, because the mortgages were fraudulent as to creditors, we decline to award equitable liens reflecting these payments with interest at the rate provided for in the IIT mortgages and as blanket liens on the assets of Raymond Colliery. Recovery of these payments at the statutory interest rate and from the proceeds of the sales of the particular parcels against which the taxes were liens is fair to McClellan Realty.
Third, all of the above tax payments by the Pagnotti Defendants are listed in aggregate amounts. With the exception of the December 16, 1976 payment for Commonwealth taxes, the Pagnotti Defendants must still produce evidence as to all tax payments proving to which parcels the tax payments related and the amounts of the liens on each such parcel. Because Commonwealth taxes were liens on all parcels of Raymond Colliery property, 72 Pa.Stat. § 1401, the equitable lien accorded McClellan Realty for payment of those taxes will be an equitable lien against all parcels of Raymond Colliery land generally.
B. The Order of Liens on the Lands of Raymond Colliery.
The jurisdiction of this Court was invoked under 26 U.S.C. § 7403 which permits the United States to bring a civil action in federal court to enforce federal tax liens. Section 7403(c) provides as follows:
The court shall ... proceed to adjudicate all matters involved therein and finally determine the merits of all claims to and liens upon the property, and, in all cases where a claim or interest of the United States therein is established, may decree a sale of such property, by the proper officer of the court, and a distribution of the proceeds of such sale according to the findings of the court in respect to the interests of the parties and of the United States.....
26 U.S.C. § 7403(c).
The following entities possess liens against the lands of Raymond Colliery: the United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, McClellan Realty, Lackawanna County, the Borough of Olyphant, the Scranton Sewer Authority, the Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority, the Borough of Taylor, and the Estate of William R. Henkelman. The principal amounts of *687 the liens claimed by the above entities to the extent the Court was able to ascertain such amounts are set forth in the Findings of Fact.
Federal law determines the priority of a federal tax lien. Aquilino v. United States, 363 U.S. 509, 80 S. Ct. 1277, 4 L. Ed. 2d 1365 (1960). Except as provided in 26 U.S.C. § 6323, the federal rule of priority is first in time, first in right. United States v. City of New Britain, 347 U.S. 81, 74 S. Ct. 367, 98 L. Ed. 520 (1954). A federal tax lien arises as of the date the tax is assessed. 26 U.S.C. § 6323(b) (6) provides that "super-priorities" are to be given to certain county and other municipal tax liens notwithstanding that such liens may have arisen after the federal tax lien. Thus, under federal law the county and other municipal liens encumbering the lands of Raymond Colliery are entitled to priority over the federal tax liens.
State law determines the priority of liens among non-federal lienors. Pennsylvania law provides that the Commonwealth's tax liens are a first lien on all of its taxpayers' real and personal property. 72 Pa.Stat. § 1401. Delinquent county real estate taxes and municipal claims, including sewer, paving and demolition liens, follow Commonwealth liens in that order.
There is, therefore, a conflict between the rules of priority established by federal and state law with respect to the lien positions to be accorded the liens of the Commonwealth, the county and the other municipalities giving rise to a so-called "circular priority" problem. When circular priority problems surface, federal law and the first in time, first in right rule determine the position of the federal tax liens and state law determines the priorities around the federal tax liens. Because Pennsylvania law provides a priority for Commonwealth taxes superior to that provided to county and other municipal claims, the Commonwealth may take advantage of the federal "super-priorities" accorded county and other municipal liens in 26 U.S.C. § 6323. This entitles the Commonwealth to priority over federal tax liens as provided by 26 U.S.C. § 6323 in the amount of the appropriate municipal liens. The county and other municipal liens then receive a position following the lien positions accorded the claims of the United States and the Commonwealth.
The following chart indicates the order of priority of liens on the lands of Raymond Colliery. Those lienors marked with an asterisk hold liens as described at the right of the asterisk encumbering particular parcels of Raymond Colliery land. The lienors not marked with an asterisk hold liens as described at the right of the asterisk on all of the lands of Raymond Colliery.
Lienor                      Description
1. McClennan Realty          Payment of Commonwealth taxes by
L. Robert Lieb. (Finding of Fact 418
supra.)
2. McClellan Realty*         Payment of Lackawanna County and
City of Scranton taxes by L. Robert
Lieb (Gleneagles II, Finding of Fact
166 and Finding of Fact 419, supra.)
3. Tabor Court*              Upset bid paid at 1976 Lackawanna
County tax sale minus refunds.
(Gleneagles II, Findings of Fact 190,
202 and 203.)
4. McClellan Realty*         Payment to City of Scranton of delinquent
1974, 1975 and 1976 real estate
taxes. (Finding of Fact 420,
5. Commonwealth*             Municipal and county lien positions
assumed by the Commonwealth pursuant
to 26 U.S.C. § 6323(b).
6. United States             Federal taxes assessed 9/17/73.
(Findings of Fact 456 and 457, supra.)
7. Commonwealth              Commonwealth tax liens filed between
4/13/76 and 1/27/77. (Findings
of Fact 448, supra.)
8. United States             Federal taxes assessed between
4/3/79 and 4/22/81. (Findings of
Fact 455, 459, supra.)
9. Commonwealth              Tax liens filed 6/11/82 and 7/12/83
NOTE: These liens will be reduced
at the time of distribution for
amounts recovered by the Commonwealth
pursuant to its priority position
under 26 U.S.C. § 6323(b).
10. Lackawanna County*        County, school and borough taxes for
1981 and 1982. (See Finding of Fact
465, supra.)
11. Scranton Sewer
Authority*                Sewer liens assessed between 9/27/69
and 12/29/72. (Findings of Fact 467
and 468, supra.)
12. Borough of
Olyphant*                 Paving liens encumbering 4 parcels
of Raymond Colliery land. (See
Finding of Fact 471, supra.)
13. Lackawanna River
Basin Sewer
Authority*                Sewer liens assessed. (Finding of
Fact 473, supra.)
14. Borough of Taylor*        Demolition lien encumbering one
parcel of Raymond Colliery's land
filed December 15, 1976. (Finding of
15. Gleneagles*               Tax payments made in connection
with the 1980 Lackawanna County
Tax sale (Findings of Fact 445,
16. McClellan Realty          IIT Mortgage (See Finding of Fact
17. Estate of William R.
Henkelman                 Arbitrators award. (Finding of Fact
This Court was unable to ascertain the principal amounts of certain liens including the "super-priority" liens of the Commonwealth, the Scranton Sewer Authority liens and the IIT mortgages. The Court could not calculate the amount of the super-priority liens of the Commonwealth because it could not determine the principal amount of the liens claimed by the Scranton Sewer Authority. This is based on the fact that no documentation was filed with respect to the Scranton Sewer Authority lien claimed against the tract at 326-328 Charles Street, Scranton. Furthermore, the Court could not determine with accuracy the Scranton Sewer Authority's original assessments, the amounts paid thereon, and the interest calculations. Lastly, the computation by the Scranton Sewer Authority of the aggregate amount of its liens contained an arithmetical reversal and is incorrect.
The Court could not ascertain the principal amount owing on the IIT mortgage against the lands of Raymond Colliery because although we have the interest charged on the IIT mortgages from January 26, 1977, the date McClellan acquired the mortgages, we are unable to ascertain with assurance the principal amount owed on the mortgage as of that date. Finally, the Borough of Olyphant has not provided evidence as to which parcels of Raymond Colliery lands its liens encumber. Hence, no final order respecting the amounts of liens on the lands of Raymond Colliery can be entered at this time. The Court will order the parties to attempt in good faith to agree upon a form of decree consonant with this opinion listing the priority of liens, the original principal amount of each lien, the date the principal accrued, the date the lien attached, the dates and amounts of any principal payments any applicable penalties, the interest rate applicable to the lien if other than 6%, the total interest to April 30, 1984, any record costs relating to the liens, the tract or tracts encumbered if less than all of the lands of Raymond Colliery, and the combined principal and interest owned on each lienor's claim as of April 30, 1984 in gross, if all the lands are subject to the liens, or particularized as to tract or tracts encumbered if less than all of the lands of Raymond Colliery are so encumbered.
The Commonwealth has suggested that in the event insufficient proceeds are realized from the sale of Raymond Colliery's land this Court should apply the doctrine of marshalling of assets to the satisfaction by the creditors of their liens. The doctrine of marshalling of assets requires that where one creditor has two funds or sources from which to seek payment and another creditor has only one, the creditor with two sources must first proceed against the source which the other creditor cannot reach. Sowell v. Federal Reserve Bank, 268 U.S. 449, 456, 45 S. Ct. 528, 530, 69 L. Ed. 1041 (1925). Certain of Raymond Colliery's creditors, in particular the United States, have two or more funds from which they can satisfy their liens. In our view, it is premature to reach the question of whether the doctrine of marshalling should be applied in this case.
C. Punitive Damages.
The Trustee in Bankruptcy seeks punitive damages against McClellan Realty in his cross-claim and argues that McClellan Realty should be assessed punitive damages for its failure to investigate the use made of the IIT loan proceeds.
Under Pennsylvania law punitive damages may not be awarded against a party unless that party has been found liable for actual damages. Hilbert v. Roth, 395 Pa. 270, 276, 149 A.2d 648 (1959). Because no *689 compensatory damages have been claimed or will be assessed against McClellan Realty, the Trustee's claim for punitive damages against McClellan Realty is without merit. In addition, McClellan Realty's conduct in this case has not been shown to be sufficiently wanton, reckless or outrageous so as to justify an award of punitive damages.
IV. Conclusions of Law.
1-13. The conclusions of law in Gleneagles I are incorporated herein by reference.
14-17. The conclusions of law in Gleneagles II are incorporated herein by reference.
18. Officers and agents of the Pagnotti Defendants who were also agents and controlling stockholders of Raymond Colliery breached their duty to the creditors of Raymond Colliery to act in good faith with respect to such creditors in connection with the Lackawanna County 1980 tax sale.
19. The United States is entitled to have the IIT direct mortgage on the lands of Raymond Colliery set aside to the extent of the claims of the United States.
20. The Trustee is entitled to have the IIT direct mortgages on the lands of Blue Coal and Glen Nan set aside to the extent of the Trustee's claims.
21. The tax liens held by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania reflecting unpaid corporate taxes owed by Raymond Colliery for fiscal years ending June 30, 1969 through June 30, 1980 are entitled to priority on the lands of Raymond Colliery over the IIT mortgages.
22. McClellan Realty is entitled to a lien in the principal amount of $44,368.74 against the lands of Raymond Colliery with respect to which Commonwealth taxes were paid by L. Robert Lieb on December 16, 1976.
23. McClellan Realty is entitled to liens in the aggregate principal amount of $458,908.38 on the parcels of Raymond Colliery's land with respect to which pre-1974 Lackawanna County real estate taxes were paid by L. Robert Lieb on December 16, 1976.
24. Tabor Court is entitled to liens in the aggregate principal amount of $346,063.00 on the parcels of Raymond with respect to which Lackawanna County real estate taxes were paid by virtue of Tabor Court's 1976 bid on the lands of Raymond Colliery.
25. McClellan Realty is entitled to liens in the aggregate principal amount of $23,179.36 on the parcels with respect to which City of Scranton 1974, 1975 and 1976 real estate taxes were paid.
26. The United States is entitled to liens on the lands of Raymond Colliery reflecting unpaid federal income taxes assessed against Raymond Colliery and its subsidiaries for fiscal years ending June 30, 1966 through June 30, 1969 and June 30, 1971 through June 30, 1973.
27. The United States is entitled to a lien on the lands of Raymond Colliery reflecting unpaid federal income taxes assessed against Great American and its subsidiaries for fiscal year ending June 30, 1975.
28. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is entitled to liens on the lands of Raymond Colliery reflecting unpaid corporate taxes assessed against Raymond Colliery unpaid corporate taxes assessed against Raymond Colliery for fiscal years ending June 30, 1969 through June 30, 1972 and June 30, 1974 through June 30, 1980.
29. Lackawanna County is entitled to liens on 129 parcels of Raymond Colliery's land reflecting unpaid county, school and borough taxes due from Raymond Colliery for 1981 and 1982.
30. The Scranton Sewer Authority is entitled to liens on 35 parcels of Raymond Colliery's lands reflecting unpaid sewer assessments made between September 27, 1969 and December 29, 1972.
31. The Borough of Olyphant is entitled to liens on 4 parcels of Raymond Colliery's land reflecting unpaid paving assessments.
32. The Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority is entitled to liens on 65 parcels of Raymond Colliery's lands reflecting unpaid *690 sewer assessments made on unspecified dates against Raymond Colliery and Tabor Court.
33. The Borough of Taylor is entitled to a demolition lien on one parcel of Raymond Colliery's land preantepenultimate in position and immediately prior to the Gleneagles' lien for tax payments made in connection with the 1980 tax sale.
34. Gleneagles Investment is entitled to liens in the aggregate principal amount of $629,225.43 on the parcels with respect to which Lackawanna County real estate taxes were paid by virtue of Gleneagles bid at the 1980 tax sale.
35. McClellan Realty is entitled to a lien against the lands of Raymond Colliery for the principal and interest due on the IIT direct mortgage executed on November 26, 1973 by Raymond Colliery.
36. The Estate of William R. Henkelman is entitled to a lien against the lands of Raymond Colliery reflecting the unpaid arbitrator's award entered against Raymond Colliery on August 30, 1977.
37. The foreclosure sales by McClellan Realty of Raymond Colliery's stock and other assets held on February 28, 1978 and October 6, 1978 were commercially unreasonable.
An appropriate order will be entered.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Laws prohibiting blasphemy and blasphemous libel in the United Kingdom date back to the mediaeval times as common law and in some special cases as enacted legislation. The common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel were formally abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and Scotland in 2021. Equivalent laws remain in Northern Ireland.

England and Wales
The common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel were abolished in England and Wales by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. See also Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006.

Ecclesiastical offences

The offence of blasphemy was originally part of canon law. In 1378, at the command of Pope Gregory XI, persecution of John Wycliffe and the Lollards was undertaken. However, the only punishment available to the bishops at the time was excommunication. The clergy, dissatisfied with this, forged an Act of parliament, without the assent of the Lords or Commons, enabling the arrest and imprisonment of heretics. In the following year an attempt was made by Parliament to repeal the Act, which prompted a series of prosecutions, and the repeal failed. Not satisfied with their new powers, further powers were sought and granted under King Henry IV in 1400. These new powers allowed the bishops to arrest and imprison all preachers of heresy, all schoolmasters infected with heresy, and all owners and writers of heretical books. On refusal to abjure (solemnly renounce) or relapse after abjuration, the heretic could be handed over to civil officers, to be taken to a high place before the people and there be burnt, so that their punishment might strike fear in the hearts and minds of others. In April, 1399, William Sawyer was convicted of heresy and put to penance by his bishop. He was again arrested on 12 February 1400, as a relapsed heretic and was convicted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Sawyer was burnt on 2 March, eight days before the power to inflict such punishment was granted. There is a long list of those burnt, or hanged and burnt, between 1414 and 1506. In the 17th century, blasphemy was declared a common law offence by the Court of King's Bench, punishable by the common law courts.

In 1656, the Quaker James Naylor was sentenced by the Second Protectorate Parliament to flogging, to be pilloried, branded on the forehead and the piercing of his tongue by a red-hot poker, and thereafter kept in prison on hard labour indefinitely. In sentencing Naylor, the judge, Lord Commissioner Whitelock, makes the distinction between heresy and blasphemy.

Common law offences
From the 16th century to the mid-19th century, blasphemy against Christianity was held as an offence against common law. When formulating his new Church of England's doctrines in the 1530s, Henry VIII made it an offence to say or print any opinion that contradicted the Six Articles (1539). Blasphemy was also used as a legal instrument to persecute atheists, Unitarians, and others. Ever since 1838, blasphemy was considered to be only a crime against beliefs of the Church of England.

All blasphemies against God, including denying his being or providence, all contumelious reproaches of Jesus Christ, all profane scoffing at the Holy Scriptures, and exposing any part thereof to contempt or ridicule, were punishable by the temporal courts with death, imprisonment, corporal punishment and fine. In 1656, two weavers, William Bond and Thomas Hibbord were indicted in Wiltshire for atheistic statements. In May of the same year, Alexander Agnew, known as "Jock of Broad Scotland", was convicted and hanged for blasphemy in Dumfries.

Taylor's Case in 1676 was the first reported case of the common law offence of blasphemy. It is unclear whether or not there were any unreported earlier cases. Lord Sumner said "Taylor's case is the foundation stone of this part of the law".

The report by Ventris contains the following passage:

In Rex v Woolston, "the Court declared they would not suffer it to be debated, whether to write against Christianity in general was not an offence punishable in the Temporal Courts at common law: it having been settled so to be in Taylor's Case in 1 Vent. 293. 3 Keb 607, 621 and in the case of The King v Hall, ante, 416. They desired it might be taken notice of, that they laid their stress upon the word general, and did not intend to include disputes between learned men on particular controverted points."

In 1841, Edward Moxon was found guilty of the publication of a blasphemous libel (Percy Bysshe Shelley's Queen Mab), the prosecution having been instituted by Henry Hetherington, who had previously been condemned to four months imprisonment for a similar offence, and wished to test the law under which he was punished. In the case of Cowan v Milbourn (1867) the defendant had broken his contract to let a lecture-room to the plaintiff, on discovering that the intended lectures were to maintain that the character of Christ is defective, and his teaching misleading, and that the Bible is no more inspired than any other book, and the Court of Exchequer Chamber held that the publication of such doctrine was blasphemy, and the contract therefore illegal. On that occasion, the court reaffirmed the dictum of Lord Chief Justice Hale, that Christianity is part of the laws of England.

The commissioners on criminal law (sixth report) remarked that although the law forbade all denial of the being and providence of God or the Christian religion, it is only when irreligion assumes the form of an insult to God and man that the interference of the criminal law took place.

The dictum "if the decencies of controversy are observed, even the fundamentals of religion may be attacked without the writer being guilty of blasphemy" was followed in R v Boulter (1908) 72 JP 188.

In the case of Bowman v Secular Society [1917] AC 406, Lord Sumner, echoing Hale's remarks in Taylor, summarized the position using the Latin phrase, deorum injuriae diis curae, "offences to the gods are dealt with by the gods": blasphemy is an offence against the (Christian) state, and is prohibited because it tends to subvert (Christian) society; offence to God as such is outside the reach of the law.

The last person in Britain to be sent to prison for blasphemy was John William Gott on 9 December 1921. He had three previous convictions for blasphemy when he was prosecuted for publishing two pamphlets entitled Rib Ticklers, or Questions for Parsons and God and Gott. In these pamphlets Gott satirised the biblical story of Jesus entering Jerusalem () comparing Jesus to a circus clown. He was sentenced to nine months' hard labour despite suffering from an incurable illness, and died shortly after he was released. The case became the subject of public outrage.

In a 1949 speech, Lord Denning placed the blasphemy laws in the past, saying that "The reason for this law was because it was thought that a denial of Christianity was liable to shake the fabric of society, which was itself founded upon Christian religion. There is no such danger to society now and the offence of blasphemy is a dead letter".

In 1977, however, the case Whitehouse v Lemon (involving the periodical Gay News publishing James Kirkup's poem The Love that Dares to Speak its Name) demonstrated that the offence of blasphemous libel, long thought to be dormant, was still in force. During the House of Lords appeal Lord Scarman said that "I do not subscribe to the view that the common-law offence of blasphemous libel serves no useful purpose in modern law. ... The offence belongs to a group of criminal offences designed to safeguard the internal tranquillity of the kingdom."

The following cases, in particular, were approved by the House of Lords in Whitehouse v Gay News Ltd:
 R v Hetherington (1841) 4 St Tr (NS) 563, (1841) 5 JP 496, (1841) 4 Jur 529
 Shore v Wilson (1842) 9 Cl & F 524
 R v Ramsay and Foote (1883) 15 Cox 231, (1883) 48 LT 733
 Bowman v Secular Society Ltd [1917] AC 406, 33 TLR 376, 86 LJ Ch 117

Lord Scarman said that in his judgement the modern law of blasphemy was correctly formulated in article 214 of Stephen's Digest of the Criminal Law, Ninth Edition, 1950, which reads:

The Human Rights Act 1998 requires the courts to interpret the law in a way that is compatible with the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The offence of blasphemous libel is believed by some to be contrary to the freedom of speech provisions in the Convention. However, just before the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998, a claim that the blasphemy law is inconsistent with article 10 of the Convention (providing for freedom of expression) was rejected in the case of Wingrove v UK (1997); a case brought by solicitor Mark Stephens. The Court decided that it was within the state's margin of appreciation for a restriction on free speech.

When the BBC decided to broadcast Jerry Springer: The Opera in January 2005, they received over 63,000 complaints by offended Christian viewers who objected to the show's portrayal of Christian icons (including one scene depicting Jesus professing to be "a bit gay"). The fundamentalist group Christian Voice sought a private blasphemy prosecution against the BBC, but the charges were rejected by City of Westminster magistrates' court. Christian Voice applied to have this ruling overturned by the High Court, but the application was rejected, the court finding that the common law blasphemy offences specifically did not apply to stage productions (section 2(4) of the Theatres Act 1968) and broadcasts (section 6 of the Broadcasting Act 1990).

Religion to which the offences relate
In R v Gathercole (1838), the defendant was convicted of criminal libel for publishing an attack on a Roman Catholic nunnery. Alderson B., in his direction to the jury, said that "a person may, without being liable to prosecution for it, attack Judaism, or Mahomedanism, or even any sect of the Christian religion (save the established religion of the country); and the only reason why the latter is in a different situation from the others is, because it is the form established by law, and is therefore a part of the constitution of the country. In the like manner, and for the same reason, any general attack on Christianity is the subject of a criminal prosecution, because Christianity is the established religion of the country."

In Bowman v Secular Society Ltd (1917), Lord Sumner said that this was a "strange dictum" because insulting a Jew's religion was no less likely to provoke a fight than insulting an episcopalian's religion.

The Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920. In 1985, the Law Commission said that the effect of this was that that Church was no longer "the form established by law" nor "part of the constitution" of the Principality of Wales, within the meaning of those expressions in the dictum from R v Gathercole set out above. They said that, at that date, there was no authority as to the effect of this, if any, on the law of blasphemy in Wales.

In Whitehouse v Lemon (as Whitehouse v Gay News Ltd [1979] when it reached the Law Lords), Lord Scarman said that the offence did not protect the religious beliefs and feelings of non-Christians. He said it was "shackled by the chains of history" in this respect.

In R v Chief Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, ex parte Choudhury (1991), the Divisional Court held that the offences prohibited attacks only on the Christian religion, and did not prohibit attacks on the Islamic religion.

It was also held that the failure of these offences to prohibit attacks on non-Christian religions did not violate article 9 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (which relates to freedom of religion).

Mode of trial
At the time of their abolition, blasphemy and blasphemous libel were indictable-only offences.

Sentence and orders on conviction
The death penalty for blasphemy was abolished in 1676.

In R v Woolston, the defendant was sentenced to a fine of £25 for each of his four discourses (i.e. £100 altogether) and to imprisonment for the term of one year. He was also required to enter into a recognizance for his good behaviour during his life, himself in the sum of £3000 and by others in the sum of £2000. (As to recognizances, see also binding over).

Number of prosecutions
Before 1883, prosecutions were "much more common". In the years 1883 to 1922 there were five prosecutions. There was an unsuccessful private prosecution in 1971. The next successful prosecution was in 1977.

Individual prosecutions, arrests and failures to prosecute
In England the last prominent 19th-century prosecution for blasphemy was the case of R v Ramsey and Foote, when the editor, publisher and printer of The Freethinker were sentenced to imprisonment.

In 1908, police court proceedings were taken against Harry Boulter for blasphemy uttered at a meeting at Highbury Corner, Hyde Park. An orator with links to the Rationalist movement he was jailed for a month in June 1909 and in November 1911 he was sentenced to three months for repeating the offence.

In February 1925, the Glasgow-based radical Guy Aldred was arrested in Hyde Park and charged with blasphemy and sedition.

In 1988, British author Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses was published. Many Muslims considered the book to blaspheme against Islam, and Iranian clerical leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa in 1989 calling for Rushdie's death, "along with all the editors and publishers aware of its contents". Consequently, the government was petitioned for Rushdie to be prosecuted for blasphemy. No charges were laid because, as a House of Lords select committee stated, the law only protects the Christian beliefs as held by the Church of England. The Rushdie case stimulated debate on this topic, with some arguing the same protection should be extended to all religions, while others claimed the UK's ancient blasphemy laws were an anachronism and should be abolished. Despite much discussion surrounding the controversy, the law was not amended.

Michael Newman, a secondary school science teacher and an atheist, was arrested under England's blasphemy law for selling Wingrove's blasphemous video Visions of Ecstasy in February 1992 in Birmingham. He was forced to resign from his school position due to protests from Christian parents. As a result, he became a subject of discussion in the media, including an appearance on Channel Four's Comment programme in England.

Reform

Proposals to amend the law and protests
The Law Commission published a report in 1985 on Criminal Law: Offences against Religious and Public Worship. The report noted that "there is no one agreed definition of blasphemy and blasphemous libel and that it would scarcely be practicable, even if it thought desirable, to amend the common law definition by statute". The authors added that "it is now clear that none of the arguments for retaining a law of blasphemy are sufficiently strong to support this view and each of them is outweighed by other considerations which persuade us that a law of blasphemy is not a necessary part of a criminal code. Moreover, we have no doubt that any replacement offence which might be devised would in practice prove to be unacceptably wide in ambit." The Commission concluded "that the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel should be abolished without replacement". A minority report sought to create a replacement offence such that citizens should not purposely "insult or outrage the religious feelings of others".

In 2002, a deliberate and well-publicised public repeat reading of the poem The Love that Dares to Speak its Name by James Kirkup took place on the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square and failed to lead to any prosecution by the Director of Public Prosecutions. It suggested Jesus was a homosexual. An earlier reading in 1977 had led to prosecution. Outraged Christians tried to drown out the 2002 reading. "We have won an important victory for free speech and the right to protest", declared human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. "No one was arrested. The police didn't even take our names and addresses. The blasphemy law is now a dead letter. If the authorities are not prepared to enforce the law, they should abolish it". A trial would have involved all those who read and published the poem, including several of Britain's leading writers, academics and MPs. After the event, Tatchell said "The blasphemy law gives the Christian religion privileged protection against criticism and dissent. No other institution enjoys such sweeping powers to suppress the expression of opinions and ideas."

On 15 May 2002 the House of Lords appointed a select committee "to consider and report on the law relating to religious offenses". The committee's first report was published in April 2003; it summarised the state of the law in this area, and found that the present law on blasphemy was unlikely to result in successful prosecution. The committee found no consensus on whether a new law against blasphemy was required, but concluded that any law should apply to all faiths. Home Secretary David Blunkett responded with plans to criminalise incitement to religious hatred, which became the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006, and he suggested the blasphemy law might be repealed once the new law was in force.

Abolition
In January 2008, a spokesman for prime minister Gordon Brown announced that the government would consider supporting the abolition of the blasphemy laws during the passage of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill. The government consulted the Church of England and other churches before reaching a decision. The move followed a letter written to The Daily Telegraph at the instigation of MP Evan Harris and the National Secular Society and was signed by leading figures including Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, who urged that the laws be abandoned. Evan Harris and Lord Avebury shared the National Secular Society's 2009 Person of the Year award for their work to abolish the offence of blasphemous libel.

On 5 March 2008, an amendment was passed to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 which abolished the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel in England and Wales. The peers also voted for the laws to be abandoned during March. The Act received royal assent on 8 May 2008, and the relevant section came into force on 8 July 2008.

Statutory offences
An Act of Edward VI (the Sacrament Act 1547) set a punishment of imprisonment for reviling the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It was repealed by the First Statute of Repeal in 1553 and revived again in 1558.

The interregnum Parliament in 1650, "holding it to be [its] duty, by all good ways and means to propagate the Gospel in this Commonwealth, to advance Religion in all Sincerity, Godliness, and Honesty" passed "An Act against several Atheistical, Blasphemous and Execrable Opinions, derogatory to the honor of God, and destructive to humane Society", known as the Blasphemy Act of 1650 and intended to punish those "who should abuse and turn into Licentiousness, the liberty given in matters of Conscience".

Profane cursing and swearing was made punishable by the Profane Oaths Act 1745, which directed that the offender be brought before a justice of the peace, and fined an amount that depended on his social rank. It was repealed by section 13 of the Criminal Law Act 1967.

Those denying the Trinity were deprived of the benefit of the Toleration Act 1688. The Blasphemy Act 1697 enacted that if any person, educated in or having made profession of the Christian religion, should by writing, preaching, teaching or advised speaking, deny that the members of the Holy Trinity were God, or should assert that there is more than one god, or deny the Christian religion to be true, or the Holy Scriptures to be of divine authority, he should, upon the first offence, be rendered incapable of holding any office or place of trust, and for the second incapable of bringing any action, of being guardian or executor, or of taking a legacy or deed of gift, and should suffer three years imprisonment without bail.

An Act of 1812–1813 excepted from these enactments "persons denying as therein mentioned respecting the Holy Trinity".

Relationship between the common law and statutory offences
A person offending under the Blasphemy Act 1697 was also indictable at common law. In Rex v Carlile, Mr Justice Best said:

Scotland
By the law of Scotland, as it originally stood, the punishment for blasphemy was death, a penalty last imposed on Thomas Aikenhead in Edinburgh in 1697. By an Act of 1825, amended in 1837, blasphemy was made punishable by fine or imprisonment or both. The last prosecution for blasphemy in Scotland was in 1843 when bookseller Thomas Paterson was sentenced at Edinburgh High Court to fifteen months in prison for selling profane placards,

According to the 18th–19th century legal writer David Hume (nephew of the philosopher), Scots law distinguished between blasphemy, which was uttered in passion generally in the heat of the moment, and other offences which involved the propagation of ideas contrary to religion. It is blasphemy, Hume wrote

The Human Rights Act 1998 applies in Scotland as well as England and Wales, and therefore poses similar challenges to the existing Scottish blasphemy laws as those described above. Additionally, some legal commentators believe that, owing to the long time since successful prosecution, blasphemy in Scotland is no longer a crime, although blasphemous conduct might still be tried as a breach of the peace.

In 2005, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service considered a complaint under the blasphemy law regarding the BBC transmission of Jerry Springer: The Opera, but did not proceed with charges.

On 24 April 2020, the Scottish Government published a new bill that seeks to reform hate crime legislation to provide better protection against race, sex, age and religious discrimination, and would also decriminalise blasphemy. Humanists UK, which campaigns against blasphemy laws, welcomed the bill.

Northern Ireland
Blasphemy and blasphemous libel continue to be offences under the common law of Northern Ireland. On 5 November 2009, in the House of Lords, an amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill was moved, which would have abolished these offences in Northern Ireland, but following a brief debate, the amendment was withdrawn.

In March 2019, Northern Ireland Humanists, part of Humanists UK, launched a campaign to abolish blasphemy laws in Northern Ireland, following on from the referendum result in Ireland and other recent international efforts to repeal blasphemy laws.

Bibliography
Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner (1912). Penalties Upon Opinion, or, Some records of the laws of heresy and Blasphemy. Watts & Co. on behalf of Rationalist Press Association.
Marsh, Joss (1998). Word crimes: blasphemy, culture, and literature in nineteenth-century England. University of Chicago Press.
Walter, Nicolas (1990). Blasphemy Ancient and Modern. London: Rationalist Press Association.

See also
Blasphemy law
George William Foote
Religion in the United Kingdom
Status of religious freedom in the United Kingdom
Richard Webster (British author)

References

External links
Whitehouse -v- Lemon; Whitehouse -v- Gay News Ltd On Appeal From Regina -v- Lemon
Religious Offences in England and Wales - First Report
Appendix 3 - Blasphemy
 New South Wales Law Reform Commission report on blasphemy, contains a good discussion of the English law up to 1828 when NSW law split off from English law.
. An account by George William Foote of his experiences in the 1880s.

Law about religion in the United Kingdom
History of Christianity in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Religious discrimination in the United Kingdom
Church of Scotland

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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With the days of small games and applications generating enough revenue to make a living from them being gone, even in the mobile space, its unavoidable that our projects grow in size and often also in code complexity.
But as natural as this step is for development, its very unfavorable for us that Unity is not exactly helpful when it comes to maintaining code quality and ensuring that regression is prevented, until now!
The root of this problem is widespread, but one of the largest problems is that the debugger tends to have some more or less ugly problems, partially due to Unity Technologies refusal to finally provide mdb files to include their own closed source in proper debugging and by the lack of proper unit testing support.
UPDATE: Unity 3.5 finally added the MDBs for the engines assemblies!
Test Star combines the benefits of the nunit testing framework, in a modified version to run, with Unitys editor focused approach, building upon this to even allow you to unit test your scenes and runtime behavior, not only code with 'in and out' parameters.
I've decided to write this blog after using and experiencing it myself for quite some time now and I can only recommend to EXPERIENCE IT yourself if you are looking for a way to rise your application or games quality.
I've never been disappointed by it, but the biggest gain so far from it was on a project where I had to port a whole host of DB functions and a DB management class from MySQL to SQLite which without Test Star would have taken multiple times as long as it did in the end due to Unity eating away proper errors, hidding them or simply crashing when Test Star was not handling it, while Test Star gave me precise informations on what went wrong.
Could be interesting when doing a physics puzzle game, to verify that the puzzles can still be solved after tweaking the physics (if it's not too difficult to set up the tests – wich would depend on the input required).
It opens up many valuable options on verifying that the evolution on the game and gameplay on one end are not breaking the rest of the game which I consider a very powerful aspect on iterative processes like game development or refactoring.


Ludwig von Beethoven had never mastered the elements of arithmetic beyond addition and subtraction. A thirteen-year-old boy whom he had befriended tried unsuccessfully to teach him simple multiplication and division.
When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it and didn't inhale and never tried it again.
I tried to resist his overtures, but he plied me with symphonies, quartettes, chamber music, and cantatas.


Another solo trip for me that was really fulfilling since I was quite lost in some aspects of my life back last August. I really needed the break and time for myself, even if I was a little afraid being alone in the room when night comes. And gratefully, the trip helped me think things over some I cannot have time to do so due to the busy city life in the metro.
On the side note, it was very saddening that 2 months after visiting the beautiful and peaceful Bantayan Island, it was one of the cities devastated by the strongest typhoon there was - Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Typhoon Yolanda. Such beauty I hope to see again when the island, and other islands affected, are eventually healed.


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I teach weekly Guidance lessons to all Pre-K through 5th grade students on topics such as academic success skills, career awareness and exploration, stress management, cooperation and teamwork, and self-esteem.
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In addition, I work individually with students to address any issues that are troubling them while at school, such as academic issues, friendship concerns or anything else that may be keeping them from focusing on school. I recieve referrals from teachers, parents and also from students themselves.
If one of these situations occurs, I will speak with administration and families in order to keep the student and others safe.
I am also available for consultation with teachers and families. I often work with teachers to address behavior concerns or academic difficulties. I am also the 504 coordinator for CHES, which means I work with teachers and families to create 504 plans to help eligible struggling students be successful and work to their highest potential.
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