Category: Litigation / Personal Injury

Crime and Punishment

The vast majority of our clients have little occasion to come into contact with the criminal justice system, and those who do generally are involved in minor matters known as summary offenses.With Congress gearing up for the impeachment inquiry of the President, we are hearing… Continue reading

What is Strict Liability?

Our legal system typically imposes liability for money damages only upon a showing that a person was negligent (i.e., failed to use due care) or somehow intended to bring about an injury or damage to another. There are cases, however, where an actor can be… Continue reading

Jury Duty

The dreaded summons arrives in the mail.  You have never been busier at work or home and have been directed to appear at the local county courthouse for jury duty!  You are told to fill out a form giving private information, and you shuffle off… Continue reading

Dramshop Concept Stretched

A dramshop is a bar.  The name has evolved from the Middle Ages in England when drinks were sold by the dram which is one-eighth of an ounce. Under the Liquor Code in Pennsylvania (and similar statutes in most states) it is illegal to serve… Continue reading

Today’s Small Claims Court

Pennsylvania has replaced its former “small claims court” system of Magistrates and Justices of the Peace with a uniform statewide District Justice system. In southeastern Pennsylvania, all the counties use a nearly identical District Justice system with the exception of Philadelphia, which uses a Municipal… Continue reading

What is a Holder in Due Course and Why Should You Care?

Do you write many checks? If you do, you should know something about the Holder in Due Course (“HDC”) rule contained in Article 3 of the Uniform Commercial Code. The rule was developed so that negotiable instruments (checks for our purposes) could be moved from… Continue reading

What is Interpleader?

Imagine that you are a real estate broker holding a deposit in escrow in connection with the sale of a house. Following inspection, title, and mortgage application complications, the transaction falls apart and both the buyer and seller are threatening to sue you for payment… Continue reading

Jones v. Clinton – Sifting Through the Debris

Litigation is rarely a tidy or expeditious process. Parties to lawsuits generally are impatient and angry not only at the other party but at the plodding and often very expensive system. All of the problems seem to be exacerbated with celebrity litigants, especially when the… Continue reading

What is Negligence?

In our litigious society, we seem to hear it all too often – one person claiming in a lawsuit that another was “negligent”, often seeking millions of dollars in damages. The news media probably make more of these cases than would otherwise be justified, and… Continue reading

What is Summary Judgment?

Not all cases end up going to trial. Some are settled. Others are dismissed at an early stage for procedural reasons. Still other cases are disposed of on the eve of trial by a mechanism known as summary judgment.The rules of civil procedure provide that… Continue reading