Delmont claims local American Legion improperly sold former post

Delmont Borough officials say their local American Legion improperly sold its former post to the next-door neighbor, and suggested the man should retain an attorney.

Matthew Cunningham, 33, received a letter from borough Solicitor Dan Hewitt after agreeing to purchase the post’s property at 64 Freeport St. in November 2023.

Hewitt’s letter asserts that the property’s sale violates restrictive covenants set out in a 1930 deed.

The deed outlines who can take control of the property. If the local chapter is dissolved, it passes to the local Legion auxiliary; the borough is eventually fourth in that line of succession, according to language in the deed, which is old enough that it refers to Delmont as “the Borough of New Salem.”

J.R. Ewing Post 247 Commander Joseph Krill said there’s no need to consider any of that — the chapter is still active.

“We are still a functioning American Legion post,” Krill told council members at their Feb. 13 meeting. “The deed clearly states the terms.”

Krill said Post 247 now has about eight members. Cunningham met his neighbors when he offered to mow the lawn and help maintain the property. Eventually, Legion members offered to sell it to him.

“I did not seek out this property,” Cunningham said. “The sale was offered and I thought I might have the opportunity to use it for my God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Hewitt declined to comment on the situation. The borough had not taken any legal action as of Feb. 16.

A letter from Cunningham’s attorney, Timothy Leonard of Greensburg, to Hewitt acknowledges “a degree of ambiguity” in the 1930 deed, but asserts that the sale was proper and valid based on the Legion chapter’s continued existence.

“Said another way, the contingent future interests would only arise if the Post ceased to function before any sale or conveyance, not after,” Leonard wrote.

“I’d ask the council to reconsider suing me over the property I lawfully acquired,” Cunningham said. “I shouldn’t have to face undue financial hardship due to frivolous legal action, considering the language in the deed.”