18 P.S. § 30.6 Payment of Reasonable Costs of Care

• Library: Pennsylvania Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.A. Acts 2023-21
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 18 P.S. § 30.6

(a) General rule.--Not later than [five] seven days after service of the costs order, the [respondent] defendant shall [deposit the ordered amount with the clerk of courts] make payments to the petitioner in accordance with the costs order. The [respondent] defendant shall make payments thereafter under the costs order until termination under section 7.

(b) Nonpayment.--If a [respondent] defendant subject to a costs order fails to timely pay any of the amounts ordered, the following shall apply:

(1) A seized animal for which reasonable costs of care were ordered shall be automatically forfeited, by operation of law, to the petitioner.

(2) The petitioner shall obtain all rights and privileges in and over the animals.

(3)Iif any owner was required to be served under section 4(b) and the defendant was ordered to pay costs under section 5(e), the petitioner shall provide the owner with notice of the nonpayment by certified mail at the owner's last known address. The notice shall inform the owner that the forfeiture described in this section shall occur without further notice if the payment default is not remedied in full within 10 days of the mailing of the notice. If the owner pays the amount past due, the obligation to pay costs under section 5(e) shall be considered a joint obligation of the defendant and the owner and no further notice of any other default shall be required prior to forfeiture.

(c) Adjustment.--The court, upon motion by a petitioner or respondent and after a hearing consistent with section 5, may adjust the amount of reasonable costs of care.

(d) [Disbursement.--After deposit of the funds under subsection (a), the clerk of the courts shall disburse the funds to the petitioner. Disbursement of the funds] Payment.--Payment of reasonable costs of care under subsection (a) shall not prevent the petitioner from doing any of the following: