Posts written by buteralaw

Queen’s English – – Show Me the Moneys

Members of the Pennsylvania Bar are indebted to Gertrude Block, of the University of Florida, who writes a monthly column on grammar in our monthly magazine; two topics she recently commented on follow.   The first topic concerns money, and its plural.  Is moneys (or… Continue reading

Overview of Pet Law In Pennsylvania

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

Asbestos Litigation

At the turn of the 19th Century, asbestos was considered an ideal building material. It proved to be a superior fire retardant, had high electrical resistivity, was abundant, inexpensive and easy to use.  The problem with asbestos arises when the fibers become airborne and are… Continue reading

Latin Lovers

In previous issues we have talked about the concept of venue, which generally establishes the location of the court hearing a particular case.  The rules on venue prescribe the proper place for a case to be tried; these rules require a logical connection between the… Continue reading

Queen’s English – – Some Capital Suggestions

There are times when the capitalization of generic words used in conjunction with proper nouns can raise questions. All states and cities begin with capital letters, but what of the word “state” where a state and city bear the same name, such as Washington State… Continue reading

Driving To and From Work

As winter has arrived, the inevitable will occur: bad weather (and you thought I was going to say keeping your New Year’s Resolution).  With bad weather comes a number of headaches, including shoveling snow, school cancellations (if you are a parent), and driving in sleet… Continue reading

Latin Lovers Redux

In larger corporations and institutions you will sometimes see that the holder of an office is also deemed to be a member of the board of directors or the board of trustees “ex officio.” The term ex officio means “by virtue of one’s office,” and the… Continue reading

What is a Writ of Certiorari?

With minor exceptions, a litigant has no automatic right to have his case heard before the United States Supreme Court.  (The Constitution specifies that the Supreme Court may exercise original jurisdiction in cases affecting ambassadors and other diplomats, as well as in cases in which… Continue reading

The Shock and Somber Wake

All of us seem to be left with an emptiness unlike any we have ever experienced in the aftermath of the events of September 11.  It consists of a mixture of deep sadness for those who died, the shock that we were so vulnerable to… Continue reading

Subdivision of Land

If you  have a  relatively large tract of  land you may have considered selling off a piece of it to a developer or perhaps developing the property yourself for future sale. When a landowner divides land into two or more parcels for the present or… Continue reading