James M Lammendola

July 06, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

A recent Superior Court opinion illustrates the way a fight for attorney fees might transpire within the commercial real estate lease context.

By James M. Lammendola and Harper J. Dimmerman

1 minute read

April 05, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

A thought-provoking nonprecedential opinion on the issue of election of remedies pursuant to a commercial lease was recently decided by the Superior Court.

By James M. Lammendola

7 minute read

October 06, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

An August 2017 decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, Zajick v. The Cutler Group, (2017 Pa. Super 285), illustrates the pitfalls of pursuing consumer protection relief against a new home builder.

By Harper J. Dimmerman and James M. Lammendola

5 minute read

July 10, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

A recent Pennsylvania Superior Court decision affirmed a treble damages award to a residential tenant in the consolidated cases Nexus Real Estate v. Erickson and Erickson v. Cohen, No. 972 WDA 2016. The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas awarded John Erickson $23,150 (plus escrowed funds) pursuant to the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL).

By James M. Lammendola

13 minute read

April 06, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

In Hart v. Bulldawg and City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue, an unreported 2–1 opinion filed on Feb. 14, (107 C. D. 2016), the Commonwealth Court vacated a sale under the Municipal Claims and Tax Lien Act (MCTLA).

By James M. Lammendola

13 minute read

January 09, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

As municipalities across the ­state attempt to utilize various methods of raising much-needed revenue, it is noteworthy that the Commonwealth Court has reaffirmed the ­vitality of our statutory scheme that regulates the process of real estate tax sales.

By James M. Lammendola

14 minute read

October 03, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Commonwealth Court held in Kennedy House v. Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, No. 1263 C.D. (2016), that a residential cooperative building was not required to provide an accommodation in the form of a waiver of its no-dog policy when an ­applicant could not demonstrate a nexus between her disability and the assistance provided by her dog.

By James M. Lammendola

13 minute read

July 06, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

A three-judge Pennsylvania Superior Court panel, in the nonprecedential decision of Streiner v. Baker Residential of Pennsylvania, No. 1253 EDA 2015, filed June 9, recently affirmed a Chester County trial court judge's ­decision to award summary judgment to a home builder, holding that the homeowner's sales agreement for the newly constructed house disclaimed any implied warranty for ­ merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, reasonable workmanship or ­habitability and found that the disclaimer did not render the sales agreement unconscionable.

By Harper J. Dimmerman 
and James M. Lammendola

11 minute read

April 05, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

In the Feb. 19 decision Oliver v. Ball (No. 1602 WDA 2014), the Pennsylvania Superior Court reaffirmed the vitality of specific performance as an equitable remedy for a seller's breach of a real estate sales contract. This decision comes only three months after the court, on a remand from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, exercised its discretion and granted specific performance in Snyder v. Thomas, No. 407 WDA 2013, PICS Case No. 13-2873 (C.P. Lawrence Oct. 7, 2013), in spite of unproven allegations concerning the sellers' impairment and attorney conflict of interest. In Oliver, the court set forth a cogent overview of the law, citing 10 Pennsylvania appellate decisions, distinguishing three others, as well as favorably citing four opinions from other jurisdictions. The sole issue on appeal was whether the trial court erred in not granting specific performance because the remedy at law was adequate.

By James M. Lammendola 
and Harper J. Dimmerman

14 minute read

January 05, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Snyder v. Thomas is unique in that it entails the manner in which an attorney's involvement on only one side of a real estate transaction, however straightforward, can impact a specific performance analysis.

By Harper J. Dimmerman 
and James M. Lammendola

5 minute read