James W Cushing

August 26, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

Over the last few months, Montgomery County's register of wills, D. Bruce Hanes, has made quite a name for himself in the local and national media by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples because he personally believes that Pennsylvania's definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, which is still the law in most of the United States, is "arbitrary and suspect." Hanes' actions do not take into account what these licenses will mean for any divorces that result from the same-sex marriage licenses he has issued.

By James W. Cushing

1 minute read

July 06, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

Over the last several years, there have been a number of cases involving the Episcopal Church and/or its dioceses and/or its parishes and disputes over ownership of church property. Specifically, as the Episcopal Church as a whole has become more theologically/doctrinally progressive, various parishes and dioceses that espouse a more conservative view have been breaking off from it and, sometimes, attempting to take their real estate with them.

By James W. Cushing

1 minute read

August 02, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

As the economy remains precarious, unemployment compensation benefits remain vital to keeping many Pennsylvanians afloat. Of course, many applicants for unemployment compensation benefits attempt to make ends meet by doing some sort of job on the side, such as flea marketing or landscaping on the weekends for a few dollars here and there. The issue the courts have struggled with is attempting to determine whether that flea marketer or landscaper is an independent contractor or merely engaged in a sideline activity.

By James W. Cushing

1 minute read

November 21, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

Many of my tenant-clients are struck by what they think is an inherent injustice in landlord-tenant law in two ways. First, tenant-clients obviously view their possession of a rented space with a certain amount of ownership interest. Even if they don't own their place, it is still their home. Further, they also believe that being a “good tenant” (i.e., remaining current on rent and taking care of the property) should be rewarded with a certain amount of loyalty to them from the landlord. Unfortunately for tenants, neither of these is the case. Landlords have no obligation to reward and/or have loyalty for and/or give allowances to tenants who are so-called “good tenants.”

By James W. Cushing

1 minute read

April 23, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

The recent Pennsylvania Superior Court matter of J.J. DeLuca v. Toll Naval Associates, 2012 Pa.Super. 222, involved a large construction contract, alleged breaches of that contract and allegations of fraud over the life of the relationship of the parties in this case. Although the underlying case is interesting, the focus of this article is what amounted to the primer the court gave in its opinion regarding appellate practice.

By James W. Cushing

1 minute read

May 09, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

The recent matter of Marcus v. PQ Corp. has seen the latest development in the application of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, 129 S.Ct. 2343 (2009).

By James W. Cushing

6 minute read

June 25, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

When one loses one's job, being unemployed certainly can free up some time to take a trip or visit people that one otherwise would not have the time to do due to employment constraints. Taking such trips, however, may have the unintended, and perhaps unexpected, consequence of having one's unemployment benefits discontinued, as happened in the recent New Jersey case of Vialet v. Board of Review, Superior Court of New Jersey, Case No. A-1226-11T2.

By James W. Cushing

5 minute read

March 26, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

In the recent case of In re S.J., 584 EDA 2012, heard by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, the court implicitly ruled that "permanent legal custody" in a child dependency case does not really mean permanent.

By James W. Cushing

5 minute read

January 10, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

Nearly two millennia ago, Jesus of Nazareth sagely taught his followers to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's."

By James W. Cushing

6 minute read

November 18, 2011 | The Legal Intelligencer

On June 17, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law the legislature's latest modifications to Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Law. The changes described below will take effect on Jan. 1, 2012.

By James W. Cushing

6 minute read