Ben Seal

April 16, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

A mortgage company that discontinued its action for mortgage foreclosure on a Philadelphia property is not required to pay attorney fees to the woman who owns the property, the Superior Court has ruled.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read

April 16, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

With one historic Pennsylvania Supreme Court election still prominent in the rearview mirror and the possibility of two more seats on the bench up for grabs next year, the political makeup of the high court is a matter of intense focus for many attorneys in the state.

By Ben Seal

10 minute read

April 15, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

If a bill aimed at lifting time restrictions in civil and criminal child sex abuse cases becomes law, a wave of new prosecutions and civil suits could wash over Pennsylvania. But according to attorneys, the litigation wouldn't be without complications.

By Max Mitchell and Ben Seal

11 minute read

April 12, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

On the heels of an unsuccessful legal challenge to a ballot question that could raise Pennsylvania's mandatory judicial retirement age, a vote on the ­constitutional amendment has been delayed until November's general election.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read

April 12, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The leadership of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General uses fear, paranoia and retaliation to keep staffers in line and punish dissenters, according to lawsuits and sources familiar with the office.

By Lizzy McLellan and Ben Seal

27 minute read

April 12, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Pennsylvania landowners cannot deny the validity of an oil and gas lease upon discovering that they did not have full rights to the property at the time the lease was conveyed, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled.

By Ben Seal

10 minute read

April 11, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The group of law school graduates taking the Pennsylvania bar exam for the first time this February was the smallest since 2003, continuing a national decline in the number of students sitting for and passing the bar. The 74.1 percent passage rate was the highest for the February exam since 2012's rate of 74.5 percent, according to statistics from the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read

April 08, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Both parties in Commonwealth v. Giulian argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week that Section 9122(b)(3) of the Crimes Code, on expunging summary offenses from a criminal record, is unambiguous. But they nonetheless disagreed on its meaning.

By Ben Seal

8 minute read

April 08, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

A plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit against an orthopedic surgeon can introduce expert testimony from a podiatric surgeon, despite the expert's different subspecialty and the fact that he has not performed any surgery in over eight years, the state Superior Court has ruled.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read

April 08, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Was a workers' compensation judge making a credibility determination or contemplating evidence not on the record when she disregarded a doctor's testimony regarding a claimant's impairment rating?

By Ben Seal

8 minute read