Litigation

By: Christopher L. Turner

In Pennsylvania, protection from abuse matters are governed by the 1976 Protection from Abuse Act (the “Act”), the Pennsylvania Administrative Code, and the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. The Act outlines the circumstances under which a protection from abuse order can be granted, while the Pennsylvania Administrative Code requires, among other things, that each judicial district ensure that a judge or magisterial district judge is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to hear and decide emergency petitions for protection. The Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure provide procedural guidelines and sample forms to assist with the petition filing process.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you should contact an attorney to discuss your rights under the Act. Whether you are a victim of abuse, or whether you are facing charges of abuse, an attorney should be consulted and utilized to ensure that your rights are protected and to assist you through this difficult and emotionally-challenging process.

For more information, please contact our office.

By: Donald C. Turner

Was your dealership terminated by GM/Chrysler?

The United States Congress, as part of a $1.1 trillion spending bill, has voted to give terminated General Motors and Chrysler dealers the right to challenge their terminations through arbitration. This legislation requires the arbitrator to balance the economic interest of the covered dealership against the economic interest of the manufacturer and the public at large and, on the basis of this balancing, to determine whether the dealership should remain open. Among other things, the arbitrator is to consider the dealer’s profitability over the period 2006 through 2009, the manufacturer’s overall business plan, the dealership’s current economic viability, its satisfaction of the manufacturer’s performance objectives, the length of experience of the covered dealership, and the demographic and geographic characteristics of the dealership’s market territory. Dealers electing to arbitrate must make a decision to do so within 40 days of the effective date of the Act. The Act became effective on December 16, 2009 and therefore the election to arbitrate must be made no later than January 22, 2010 (The 40-day period ends on Sunday, January 24, 2010 so to be safe, the arbitration should be requested no later than Friday, January 22, 2010). As a result, the dealer should, at this time, commence compilation of the evidence and documentation to support why it should be allowed to continue operations.

This arbitration is to be conducted by arbitrators with the American Arbitration Association and will be conducted in a quasi-judicial proceeding. As a result, careful planning and competent counsel (with automotive and arbitration experience) will be critical to success in these arbitrations, please contact if you are an affected dealer, Don Turner to discuss your options.

Also, see an earlier post on the car dealer arbitration process.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

At this time of year, sports pages are filled with articles about whether or not major league baseball teams have “offered arbitration” to their free agent players. What does this mean and what are the implications of the decision? For a primer on this subject, see http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/the-arbitration-decision/. For a discussion of the concept of “baseball arbitration”, see our previous blog entry here.

Please contact Stephen P. Lagoy for more information on ways the arbitration process can help you.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

The President has signed into law a program giving closed auto dealerships access to neutral arbitration if they want to be reinstated. The process begins immediately and is expected to take six and one half months. For more information on how the auto dealer arbitration process will work see:

http://www.autonews.com/article/

For more information on how the arbitration process can work for you and your business, please contact our office.

In a recent post, we discussed the impact of Kvaerner Metals v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 908 A.2d 888 (Pa. 2006), upon general contractors and others vis-à-vis the coverage afforded by commercial general liability policies for claims involving damage caused by faulty workmanship. In light of that decision, insurance coverage for such claims no longer exists. However, in response to the obvious gap in coverage that presently exists under standard CGL policies, insurers are beginning to offer endorsements that may bridge that gap and restore the protection that previously existed before Kvaerner and its progeny. Caution should be exercised, however, when evaluating whether or not to purchase an endorsement as certain endorsements may only offer limited protection and may be very costly. For more information on this topic, please contact our office.

By: Christopher L. Turner

It cannot be denied that the struggling economy has adversely affected the real estate market. As a result, some sellers of residential real property who are desperate to sell their property are failing to disclose known defects with their home. These defects cover a broad range and include, but are not limited to defects with the Seller’s roof, basement, water/sewage systems, plumbing, electric, heating and air conditioning as well as damage to the structural integrity of the home caused by termite infestation. Buyers damaged by such defects are naturally wondering “what can I do?”

If you have recently purchased residential real property and have been affected by defects to such property, you should be aware of the Pennsylvania Real Estate and Seller Disclosure Act (the “Act”) and its underlying rationale. Under the Act, a Seller who intends to transfer an interest in real property is required to disclose to the Buyer any material defects with the property which are known to the Seller by completing all applicable items in a property disclosure statement. The Act requires that such seller property disclosure statement be provided in all residential real estate transfers except for certain fiduciary transfers and transfers of new residential construction that have not been previously occupied and have been inspected for building code compliance and received a certificate of occupancy or code compliance.

A Seller of residential real property will be liable in the amount of actual damages suffered by the Buyer if such Seller willfully or negligently violates or fails to perform any duty prescribed by the Act. However, a Buyer’s action for damages against a Seller for violations of the Act must be commenced within a certain time period that begins to run from the date of final settlement on the affected property.

In addition to a cause of action under the Act, liability may also be imposed under alternative legal theories. There may also be causes of action against the Seller’s Agent and/or the Buyer’s Agent. Such options should be discussed with an attorney.

For more information, please contact Chris Turner in our litigation department.

Stephen P. Lagoy

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

Congress has approved a plan that would allow 2000 terminated car dealers to pursue third party mediation and arbitration with GM and Chrysler with the possibility of being reinstated. For an analysis of this alternative dispute resolution process and its chances of being successful, see http://online.wsj.com/article/.

For more information how mediation and arbitration can work for your business, please contact Stephen P. Lagoy.

Stephen P. Lagoy is an attorney practicing in West Chester, PA. He is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution and the PA Council of Mediators.

By: Anthony T. Verwey

There is an interesting article in the December 8, 2009 Legal Intelligencer regarding a claim that the attorney-client privilege is waived if a client uses an employer’s computer to exchange email with her attorney. It appears that the client was preparing to sue the employer and used her corporate laptop to exchange email with her attorney via a personal, password protected, web based email account. The employer apparently had a policy advising employees that their computer/email use would be monitored and that they had no expectation of privacy in this regard. The trial court found that the privilege did not protect the emails, but the intermediate appellate court reversed. The matter is now pending before the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

In cases where an attorney represents an individual, for example in a DUI, divorce, personal injury action, etc., it may be worth advising a client, preferably in the engagement letter, to refrain from using their employer’s computer for communications with you related to the representation to help ensure that the issue of waiver isn’t given a toehold.

For more information please contact our office.

By: Daniel M. Hanifin

In today’s economy, family lawyers are often faced with the proposition that existing marital and child support obligations are financially overburdening to the payor.

If you are a payor that has had a reduction in salary, what can you do?

If you fall into this category, you should contact a lawyer immediately and ask him/her to file a petition for modification. It may take several months before you get in front of a support master, but under Pa R.C. P. 1910.17 a reduction may be awarded retroactively to the date of the filing of the petition for modification. So, time is of the essence.

Am I eligible for a reduction in support if I voluntarily left my job?

No. Pa R.C.P. 1910.16-2(d) does not allow for a reduction in support if your separation is voluntary.

For more information on Support Orders or other Family Law issues please contact Daniel Hanifin at dhanifin@utbf.com.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

At this time of year, sports pages are filled with articles about whether or not major league baseball teams have “offered arbitration” to their free agent players.   What does this mean and what are the implications of the decision?  For a primer on this subject, see http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/the-arbitration-decision/. For a discussion of the concept of “baseball arbitration”, see our previous blog about arbitration in the Major League here.

For more information, contact our office.