Claiming Abandon Logging Equipment In PA

Has any one ever had to deal with this issue in Pennsylvania ?
I have ran into a situation were there is old logging equipment that needs "junked", however I do not own them.
( they have been sitting there for well over 15 years )
PA laws are not clear on what to do in this situation and I do not have a few thousand $ to hire a lawyer .

Edit: I may be buying them from he property owner

The following 2 links are completely irrelevant, so please do not auto post them ( or links like them ) ...

* This is about cars
http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms...ts/fs-davp.pdf

* This is about money
Pennsylvania Unclaimed Property Rules & Time Limits

There is a lot of 50/60 year old heavy equip out there still in use and refurbished every day. If you can't find the owner or get permission in writing from the property owner I would be safe and leave it alone. just my .02

I am looking at buying them as soon as I can figure out the legal "stuff"

RLS, correct me if i'm wrong but i'm taking it that the equipment is sitting on a piece of real estate someone purchased and they are not the original owner of the equipment?

Havent looked into the laws, but id presume the property owner would be able to give permission.

be very careful in P.A. They are weird about laws. They like to nail people with fines for stuff. Say even though you legally purchase this stuff. make sure you don't break any small laws like, destroying the natural habitat of whatever. or affecting the natural flow of a. waterway. even if it is. little tiny stream. people up here are nosy, like to call the cops, and cops like to write tickets. good luck with it.

As far as I know there is never any "claiming" of property that is on private land. The land owner should know whether he purchased the equipment with the property or not. Now if the land owner has owned the land for a long time and once hired a logging company which never removed their equipment, then he needs to contact an attorney how to proceed. Anyway you look at it, it is up to the land owner to decide if he can legally sell the equipment to you.

When I purchased my farm land my contract specifically states that the equipment left there sold with the land.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...pse75cfe36.jpg

Mine, mine, all mine! :lol::lol::lol:

Lot of rusty junk setting around in Pa.

If you're on conversational basis with the local magistrate or one of the locals might want to bring it up.

Ownership is probably the property owners after a certain time period...I think with vehicles it's 2 years in some places, but with heavy machinery like an old dozer or pay loader it might be longer, also might need a permit or something signed to remove it so that you're in the clear.

Here is what I have done so far ...
1: I contacted the PA State Police - they said that I need to contact the DMV
2: I than contacted thee PA Department of Motor Vehicles - they said they do not deal with heavy machinery that is not driven on public roads.
3: I than contacted the PA Department of Environmental Protection - they said that they can do nothing unless it is leaking toxic material into the environment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RLS0812

Here is what I have done so far ...
1: I contacted the PA State Police - they said that I need to contact the DMV
2: I than contacted thee PA Department of Motor Vehicles - they said they do not deal with heavy machinery that is not driven on public roads.
3: I than contacted the PA Department of Environmental Protection - they said that they can do nothing unless it is leaking toxic material into the environment.

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...have you talked to the property owner?

my advice to you would be to contact a local tow yard , ask them what process they go through to get titles for cars they get stuck with....you may want to contact a tow yard that deals in semi trucks and large items..in my state after the owner makes no effort to pay for so many days, the tow company can get a title to the cars for storage fees....i would assume the owner of the property could do something like this where you are at.....also if they are on private property the owner of the equipment may not be able to give you permission by his self...the land owner may have a claim of some sort...i would contact them both if possible...if you cant reach both then you at least need to talk to the land owner

i came across several semi trailers one time when i was four wheeler riding on a friends land...they had been left there by a logging or mining outfit years ago....i was able to contact the owner through the license plates on the trailer...the phone bill cost me around 25 dollars because they were out of state and this was before everyone had free long distance.....
the best thing about it was, once i got a hold of the owner the first thing he asked me was," well son i know they need moved but how much will you charge me to do it". i said well sir i think 50 dollars a day for labor and you pay the fuel cost would be fair..he said that sounds great...of course short iron was only around 4 to 5 dollars per hundred back then but i still came out good..
i cant remember what i made but i know it was a good little score...i was able to sell most of the tires off them, and i burned the wood on the spot..not to mention i got reimbursed for all my gasoline and torch fuel via money order a few weeks after the deal was done

If it is heavy equipment like a skidder they will have an id plate mounted on them somewhere.
Although sometimes they are missing.

i know some people who got in some trouble with that kind of stuff. I asked some local people around me, and they told me it can go either way. If the equipment was purchased by a company no longer in use, then who ever's land it sits on, owns it. Its kind of like buying a camper, if some people used the camper before and left some valuable items in it and they sold it, the people who now own it own whatever was inside. BUT, id ask possibly near by law enforcement, etc.

Hope you get that stuff! :)

Up in the mountains, there's some old OLD logging equipment abandoned from when they were cutting down the old growth. All that really old equipment is considered relics and is illegal to remove. It's a shame that people do steal that and old mining equipment too. That's history they're throwing away. I for one enjoy seeing that stuff out in the woods but never take anything other than pictures.

This kind of stuff comes up very often. Here is how I think. Bear in mind that I am not familiar with Pennsylvania laws. I just give you my general thinking.

If the abandoned items are titled, like cars, I would be double careful.

If not, I would be just ordinarily careful.

Get the property owner permission, in writing, such as "purchase of all abandoned equipment near point XXX on my property. Equipment believed owned by seller".

After getting the permission, get in your torch and truck, torch the equipment to the point that it is not recognizable, and scrap it. Always keep a copy of the agreement with you at all times.

Your main concern is twofold:

1) That you would be accused of stealing by police or people unfamiliar with situation
2) That the owner of "abandoned" equipment suddenly shows up and demands return or compensation.

An agreement in writing should take care of item 1. In these circumstances, I cannot see how you can be prosecuted for theft or trespass.

As for number 2, you need to evaluate condition of the abandoned equipment to see if it has any value beyond scrap metal, which does not seem likely at this point.

Work cleanly, mutilate everything to become an unrecognizable pile of metal, get everything out and do not leave anything behind, and you should be fine.

Wear an orange jacket and hard hat as you work.