PRICE TOWNSHIP, PA — Price Township filed the civil complaint on December 8 against Marcos E. Lopez and Carmen L. Sintes, a married couple now living in Portland, Oregon. The township alleges the defendants ignored an emergency order to clean up their property at 218 Schoolhouse Road, then refused to reimburse the township after it hired contractors to do the work.

What the Township Found

On June 18, 2025, Price Township issued an Emergency Order to Correct Violations after inspecting the property at Tax Parcel No. 14.6A.1.100.

Photographs attached to the court filing show piles of debris scattered across the wooded lot, at least one abandoned vehicle, and what appears to be a collapsed or burnt structure.

The township cited four violations of its Junk, Rubbish and Garbage Regulations Ordinance, enacted in 2013:

• Accumulation and outside storage of junk, refuse, and rubbish
• Presence of abandoned or junked vehicles
• A dilapidated structure in unsafe condition constituting a dangerous building
• General conditions constituting a public nuisance

The Emergency Order gave Lopez and Sintes three days to comply. Failure to do so, the order warned, would result in the township entering the property, removing violations, and assessing all costs against the owners — plus potential criminal fines of up to $1,000 per violation.

The defendants did not comply.

The Cleanup

Price Township hired two contractors to clear the property. The work stretched from late June through late July 2025.

Melvin K. Fish of Analomink submitted a single invoice for $22,910. The handwritten breakdown shows the scope of work: “Clean Up Burnt House,” 48 hours of excavator time to move and load garbage, 54 hours of labor to rake up debris and load refuse, framing wood hauled on a truck, dozer work to load 11 loads of fill, leveling, and hauling.

That’s Gotta Go, a Tobyhanna-based roll-off dumpster company, submitted multiple invoices totaling $17,493.75 for container rentals and tonnage disposal at 218 Schoolhouse Road. Records show crews hauled away dozens of tons of material between June 30 and July 24, charged at roughly $105 per ton plus dumpster fees.

Total cleanup cost: $40,403.75.

Defendants Promised to Pay

Township attorney Robert J. Kidwell of Newman Williams, P.C. sent a letter to the defendants on June 19, 2025, via certified mail, enclosing the Emergency Order and advising them of their responsibility for all costs.

After the cleanup was complete, township official Ingrid DeWitt sent a demand letter dated August 22, 2025, informing Lopez and Sintes of the $40,403.75 bill and giving them five days to contact the municipal office to discuss payment.

According to the complaint, defendant Sintes contacted the township and indicated payment was forthcoming.

No payment was ever made.

The Lawsuit

The Price Township Board of Supervisors authorized the lawsuit at a public meeting on November 20, 2025. The complaint was filed December 5, 2025, and docketed December 8.

The township is seeking the full $40,403.75 plus attorney’s fees, interest, costs of suit, and any other relief the court deems appropriate.

Lopez and Sintes have 20 days from service to respond. No hearing dates have been scheduled.

The case number is 7973-CV-2025.

The defendants are entitled to respond to the complaint and contest the allegations. No response has been filed as of this report.