Ben Seal

May 16, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

A Dauphin County judge has dismissed 305 of the 449 charges filed against former Harrisburg mayor Stephen Reed, who has been accused of siphoning public funds from civic projects to purchase a host of ­artifacts and memorabilia, such as a vampire-hunting kit, that he allegedly planned to use for a museum.

By Ben Seal

9 minute read

May 16, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

A Montgomery County jury has handed up a verdict awarding $5 million to the family of an 88-year-old man who died after a feeding tube was improperly inserted into his lung, filling it with feeding solution.

By Ben Seal

10 minute read

May 13, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Peter J. Liacouras, whose five-decade career at Temple University included stewardship of its law school into a home of experiential learning and international law, died May 12 at 85.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read

May 13, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

In a case that could broadly effect government seizures of personal property in Pennsylvania, the state's high court heard arguments last week over the constitutionality of civil forfeiture involving individuals with no criminal culpability.

By Ben Seal

10 minute read

May 13, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

A federal judge has ordered an insurance company to pay attorney fees and costs for an "objectively unreasonable" attempt to remove to federal court a lawsuit over a motor vehicle insurance settlement.

By Ben Seal

8 minute read

May 13, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard argument last week in Harrisburg to determine whether an agent of a construction company is liable to a contractor for unpaid work, diving into the expansiveness of the Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read

May 13, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund is not responsible for a workers' compensation claimant's benefits—either wage-loss or medical—until the fund is provided notice of the individual's injury and the employer's lack of insurance, the Commonwealth Court has ruled.

By Ben Seal

8 minute read

May 13, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Is intent enough to consider an estate document completed? The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard argument last week on that simple question and the complex set of issues it has created in a legal malpractice suit brought by a group of individuals named in a trust document that never received a final signature.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read

May 11, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The School District of Philadelphia's ability to cancel a collective bargaining agreement with its teachers union—and its effect on the distressed district's economic status—drew the attention of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Harrisburg on Wednesday.

By Ben Seal

11 minute read

May 10, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

State Sen. Larry Farnese, D-Philadelphia, has been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with buying the vote of a member of the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee.

By Ben Seal

2 minute read