Bad-faith penalties for government agencies that fail to pay contractors and stepparents' responsibility for child support are among the issues the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is set to hear this week in a relatively light argument session in Harrisburg, the last during Justice Correale F. Stevens' interim term.

The court, which has heard an average of 13 cases per session in 2015 and as many as 16, has just eight cases before it this week. When it next convenes for arguments, in Philadelphia next March, it is set to be restored to a full complement of seven justices for the first time since the fall of 2014, adding recently elected Superior Court Judges David N. Wecht and Christine L. Donohue and Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Administrative Judge Kevin Dougherty to the mix. It will be the first time the court sits with seven elected justices since 2012.

In A. Scott Enterprises v. City of Allentown, the court is set to hear argument over a question that could intensify the consequences for government agencies that fail to pay contractors. The justices will consider whether a jury finding of bad faith requires a trial court to impose a statutory penalty and award attorney fees.