Category: Personal / Family

A woman who was inspecting a house, which was listed for sale in Philadelphia, was attacked and badly injured by the next door neighbor’s 118-pound Rottweiler dog; as a result she instituted litigation (Schickram v. Boss Pet Products) against the dog’s owner, the manufacturer, and distributor… Continue reading →

On February 12, 2010, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument on what is, surprisingly, an issue of first impression:  can the federal government subpoena a person’s cell phone records from its mobile phone provider without a showing of probable cause that the… Continue reading →

In case you were ever wondering about this, engagement rings are treated as “conditional gifts” under Pennsylvania law.  As a legal matter, the purchaser/giver of the ring is entitled to recovery of the ring, if the engagement is called off.  In case you were further… Continue reading →

            Perhaps you have heard the term “equitable distribution” while someone was discussing a divorce.  Equitable distribution is the system some states use to address the division of marital assets and liabilities during a divorce.  For the most part there are two methods states use… Continue reading →

It looks like Governor Rendell will be signing legislation to amend the existing rules on expungement of criminal records to make it easier to expunge the records of minor criminal matters. Under present law, except for certain juvenile matters and minor infractions disposed of through… Continue reading →

Child custody disputes are rarely resolved to the full satisfaction of both parties to a divorce; more often than not, neither party is completely happy with the final order or settlement agreement achieved by the parties.  It is the nature of compromise. Since it is… Continue reading →

Courts consider the rights of a parent to be fundamental.  Even so, each state has laws providing for the termination of parental rights.  The severing of parental rights ends the legal parent-child relationship. Whether it is voluntary or involuntary, termination of parental rights can only… Continue reading →

  Grandparents’ Visitation Order Upheld    We recently (Fall 2006 issue) reported on a case (Hiller v. Fausey) where the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had awarded visitation rights to the parents of a woman who died and was survived by a son who had developed a close… Continue reading →

The Family Medical Leave Act  applies to employers who employ 50 or more workers for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.  This Federal statute provides eligible employees with up to 12 workweeks of… Continue reading →

Take a quick look at Pet Smart, Inc. (trading on NASDAQ under symbol “PETM”).  Pet Smart’s stock price has more than tripled in three years, has a market cap of almost $4 billion, and pays  a dividend of $.12 per share per year.  Pet Smart… Continue reading →