Ben Present

December 18, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

For Pennsylvania attorneys who are following the state's body of law on discovery motions regarding social media, here's one thing to consider: While the law is not settled, many of the cases posing key questions of law have been.

By Ben Present

9 minute read

March 26, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

A Pennsylvania man has failed to show that the public at large is the "primary and paramount beneficiary" of his request to build a private road on his neighbor's land that leads to his two landlocked parcels, an Allegheny County judge has ruled.

By Ben Present

7 minute read

August 21, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

In light of recent legislation from the Pennsylvania General Assembly, a private, for-profit corporation that handles medical records requests has asked the state Supreme Court to dismiss an appeal it granted in February over whether health care providers can base their charges for providing hard copies of medical records on the maximum charges spelled out under state law.

By Ben Present

5 minute read

July 24, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

The NCAA has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the surviving family of former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, which seeks to overturn sweeping sanctions issued by the college sports governing body to the Penn State football program in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal.

By Ben Present

3 minute read

June 19, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

State prosecutors may not seek the "school zone" mandatory minimum sentence for a probation violation after declining to ask for its application on the underlying original drug-related offense, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

By Ben Present

5 minute read

April 09, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

The constitutional challenge of a youth convicted of murder on direct appeal of his life-without-parole sentence is back in the hands of a Northampton County judge, now that the state Supreme Court has remanded his case for resentencing in light of U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

By Ben Present

7 minute read

June 03, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

The state Supreme Court has reinstated a Montgomery County defense verdict in the cases of four test "bellwether" plaintiffs suing a handful of defendants for alleged property damage to their homes and illnesses after thousands of gallons of gasoline were released due to a gasoline leak at a local gas station.

By Ben Present

7 minute read

March 27, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Commonwealth Court has decided that a New York attorney's Right-to-Know request for documents from an insurance company that is currently in liquidation through the state was improperly advanced through the Office of Open Records.

By Ben Present

5 minute read

January 08, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

The state Supreme Court has agreed to assess the discoverability of mental health records in a lawsuit where a man, who police said tried to kill himself by throwing himself in front of a moving tractor trailer, initially brought suit through his wife alleging the accident caused physical and mental injuries.

By Ben Present

5 minute read

March 12, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

If a railroad company uses but does not own a railroad line, should it pick up some of the bill when a neighboring structure is demolished?

By Ben Present

6 minute read