Luria Brothers v. Allen (1982)

Citation: 672 F.2d 347 (3d Cir. 1982). Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Full judicial opinion retrieved October 17, 2026. The Caselaw Access Project file is an unofficial complete reporter reproduction.

Source note (2026-10-18):

• Links on this page to https://static.case.law/f2d/672/cases/0347-01.json are an (unofficial Caselaw Access Project copy, retrieved before 2026-10-18; host disallows automated access); no official or otherwise permitted full-text copy was located on 2026-10-18.

A landlord privately posted distraint and retained a subtenant’s steel for the principal tenant’s unpaid rent. Applying Flagg Bros., the Third Circuit rejected the federal state-action claim without overt official involvement but upheld state-law damages because the underlying lease had ended. It also reversed the federal attorney-fee award.

The opinion distinguishes private assertion/retention from a later official sale. Its footnote expressly declines to decide whether the statutory-sale holding in parks-v-mr-ford-pa-1977 survives Flagg Bros. Thus this is real later controlling circuit treatment, not a holding that every Act 300 private auction is valid. Statutory authorization versus common-law origin alone is not the state-action test.

allegheny-clarklift-v-woodline-pa-1986 later analyzes Luria and official participation in Pennsylvania landlord distress. Those distinctions are verified; comprehensive subsequent history and the current constitutional validity of every artisan-sale application remain needs_verification.

Applies in pennsylvania.

Legal information, not legal advice. Verify current law and later treatment before relying on this decision.