## Facts

- Joseph W. and Doris C. MacKenzie bought a vacant lot in the Pocono Springs Development in 1969, subject to the development’s rules and annual civic association assessments.
- In 1987, the MacKenzies attempted to sell the lot, but the sale failed after testing showed the soil was inadequate for on-lot sewage requirements.
- Believing the lot was worthless, the MacKenzies tried to divest themselves of it by tendering it to the Pocono Springs Civic Association and later offering it as a gift for use as a park; the Association refused to accept it.
- The MacKenzies stopped paying real estate taxes beginning in 1986; attempted tax sales in 1986 and 1990 failed because no buyer purchased the lot.
- The MacKenzies sent a notarized statement to interested parties declaring an intent to abandon the property, stopped visiting the lot, and refused mail sent to that address.
- The MacKenzies never executed a deed or otherwise completed a legal transfer of title; they remained the record fee-simple owners with clear title.
- The Association sued to collect unpaid assessments; the parties stipulated to the material facts for disposition.

## Issues

1. Whether Pennsylvania law permits a fee-simple owner with clear record title to abandon real property so as to terminate ownership and avoid obligations incident to ownership, including homeowners’ association assessments.
2. Whether the owners’ asserted abandonment created a defense to the Association’s collection action as a matter of law, warranting denial of summary judgment.

## Decision

- The Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed summary judgment for the Association in the amount of $1,739.82.
- The court held that abandonment is not a legally recognized means to divest fee-simple title where the owner has perfect record title.
- Because the MacKenzies remained the record owners, they remained liable for assessments tied to ownership of the lot.
- With stipulated, undisputed facts, the dispute presented only a legal question appropriate for summary judgment.

## Legal Principles

- Under Pennsylvania law, real property owned in fee simple with perfect record title cannot be abandoned by unilateral acts or declarations.
- Intent to relinquish property, nonuse, refusal of mail, and nonpayment of taxes do not divest fee-simple ownership absent a legally effective transfer or other recognized divestiture.
- Obligations that attach to ownership, including association assessments, continue until title is legally transferred.
- Summary judgment is proper where there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

## Conclusion

The court held that the MacKenzies’ actions did not and could not terminate their fee-simple ownership through abandonment, so they remained the record owners and were liable for the civic association’s unpaid assessments.


Pocono Springs Civic Ass’n, Inc. v. MacKenzie, 667 A.2d 233 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1995)