James W Cushing

August 05, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

F.R.C.P 8(a) and 8(c) requires so-called notice pleading for the claims made in pleadings. Notice pleading requires a party to plead with specificity sufficient to give an opposing party notice of what the claim(s) being made are. A question has arisen in federal court as to whether affirmative defenses, a type of pleading typically filed by a defendant against a plaintiff's complaint, need to meet the specificity requirement mentioned above.

By James W. Cushing

7 minute read

June 27, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Money and assets are essential parts of divorce and support cases. Although the parties involved in family law cases have interests in money and assets, the reality is that creditors also often have interests in that same money or assets.

By James W. Cushing

10 minute read

April 07, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

In the matter of James v. City of Boise, Idaho, the U.S. Supreme Court has clarified for all state courts, including Pennsylvania, who or what has the ultimate authority, and indeed the jurisdiction, to interpret and apply federal law.

By James W. Cushing

5 minute read

March 05, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The laws of the state of Pennsylvania lay out guidelines for how an order for child support is to be calculated. Although the guidelines are sufficient for the majority of cases, Pennsylvania law also allows for the opportunity to deviate from those guidelines provided certain circumstances are present.

By James W. Cushing

4 minute read

January 28, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

When construction is taking place on a piece of real estate, and an employee of the contractor doing the work is injured there, who bears the potential tort liability for the injury: the property owner, the general contractor, or both?

By James W. Cushing

4 minute read

November 19, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

The discovery process is one of the most critical parts of litigation. As any practitioner knows, the discovery process has very specific and procedurally established deadlines. While these deadlines are frequently missed, and subsequently compelled through court order, one form of discovery carries with it, in theory at least, much stricter deadlines: requests for admissions.

By James W. Cushing

6 minute read

November 18, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

The discovery process is one of the most critical parts of litigation. As any practitioner knows, the discovery process has very specific and procedurally established deadlines. While these deadlines are frequently missed, and subsequently compelled through court order, one form of discovery carries with it, in theory at least, much stricter deadlines: requests for admissions.

By James W. Cushing

6 minute read

October 23, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

When one applies for unemployment compensation, it is important to coordinate said application based on when one's severance package expires and whether one is still within one's base year, which is the length of time preceding an application for unemployment compensation. The base year and one's income earned over that period of time determine the calculations of the amount of one's unemployment compensation benefits.

By James W. Cushing

4 minute read

October 23, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

When one applies for unemployment compensation, it is important to coordinate said application based on when one's severance package expires and whether one is still within one's base year, which is the length of time preceding an application for unemployment compensation. The base year and one's income earned over that period of time determine the calculations of the amount of one's unemployment compensation benefits.

By James W. Cushing

4 minute read

August 25, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

The new reality of social interaction includes the popular, and seemingly always proliferating, social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. Considering the increasing ubiquity of social media, it was only a matter of time before the U.S. Supreme Court would weigh in on its use, which it had the opportunity to do in the matter of Elonis v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2001 (2015).

By James W. Cushing

8 minute read