Bob Bolus recently lost an appeal in a lawsuit involving a land dispute between him and his neighbors in Scranton’s East Mountain section.
The state Superior Court on May 27 granted a motion by the neighbors to quash Bolus’ appeal as untimely and noted he did not respond to the motion.
The matter stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Michael Oakes and his wife, Carole Slotterback, of 1527 Birch St., who in December 2023 filed a quiet-title action in Lackawanna County Court to establish clear ownership to 2,312 square feet of a vacant lot they own next door at 1625 Birch St., but to which Bolus had long claimed access.
Bolus contended he had driveway and utility easement access through the 1625 Birch St. property for decades. The driveway is to Bolus’ property in the rear, at 1531 Birch St. He claimed he owned the disputed property via adverse possession, and he also had filed a quitclaim deed to try to establish ownership.
In the Feb. 18 summary-judgment decision, Lackawanna County Court Judge Terrence Nealon ruled in favor of Oakes and Slotterback. In that decision, Nealon ruled that Oakes established title to the property via deed of a 2008 purchase, and Bolus’ claim of adverse possession of the property — before Oakes bought it — failed. The decision declared Oakes and Slotterback as owners of the parcel, and declared Bolus’ quitclaim deed as invalid and canceled.
On Feb. 27, Bolus filed a petition asking Nealon to reverse his ruling and strike the Feb. 18 decision, based on several reasons. Bolus filed this petition pro-se, meaning without an attorney and representing himself.
In a March 17 order, Nealon denied Bolus’ petition for reconsideration on several grounds, including that Bolus had not produced any evidence to support his claim of adverse possession, as well as Bolus making several procedural errors that negated his various arguments.
For example, Bolus claimed a phone hearing on Dec. 20 on the Oakes/Slotterback motion for summary judgment hampered Bolus from making his case because he expected an in-person hearing. Nealon’s March 17 rejection ruling noted Bolus was served via certified mail at both his residence and business with a notice of the telephonic conference for oral arguments. This conference was not a hearing and Bolus never requested to conduct the phone conference in person, as would have been required under court rules. When Bolus did not join the phone conference after 31 minutes of waiting for him, the judge had staff check to see if Bolus was in the courtroom. Bolus was found in the court hallway. Bolus claimed he never received notice of the phone conference, despite the fact that it was the only notice that was sent about the oral argument conference and “for which he was present in the courthouse,” according to Nealon’s March 17 decision.
Bolus also had claimed in his motion for reconsideration that he had two expert witnesses, both surveyors, who would have testified in support of his claim of ownership of the disputed property, but with the conference done via telephone, they were unable to testify. Nealon’s March 17 rejection order noted that a surveyor hand-delivered a letter to the court on Dec. 19 saying he was subpoenaed to testify on Bolus’ behalf for work completed in March 2023, but for which payment was never received. Thus, the surveyor would not attend the Dec. 20 proceeding because he had no obligation to Bolus “due to non-payment.”
Nealon’s March 17 ruling also noted Bolus had never requested a hearing to present additional evidence, adding that a pro-se litigant is not absolved from complying with procedural rules. This ruling also referenced a quote from case law that said, “As our Supreme Court has explained, any layperson choosing to represent himself in a legal proceeding must, to some reasonable extent, assume the risk that his lack of expertise and legal training will prove his undoing.”
In another prior aspect of the long-running property dispute, Scranton police charged Bolus in August 2022 with trespass, criminal mischief, harassment and other violations regarding knocking down no-trespassing signs put up by the neighbors and other actions. Bolus pleaded guilty on Aug. 15, 2024, in that case to two counts of criminal mischief and was sentenced by Lackawanna County Judge Frank Ruggiero to a suspended sentence of 90 days’ incarceration, the payment of costs of prosecution and the payment of $175 to Slotterback as restitution.
MONDAY UPDATE
THEN: Bob Bolus lost a lawsuit in Lackawanna County Court involving a land dispute with his neighbors in the East Mountain section of Scranton.
NOW: Bolus lost an appeal of the case at the state Superior Court level.