• W. Penn Steamatic, Inc. v. Moose

    Publication Date: 2024-09-13
    Practice Area: Consumer Protection
    Industry: Construction | Real Estate
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Motto
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 50319 OF 2023, C.A.

    Defendant homeowners filed preliminary objections to a mechanics' lien claim filed by a construction contractor. The court overruled the preliminary objections, holding in pertinent part that plaintiff contractor presented a legally sufficient mechanics' lien claim through a quantum meruit cause of action even where plaintiff's general contractor agreement did not comply with the requirements of the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act.

  • Commonwealth v. McMillan

    Publication Date: 2024-09-13
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Cox
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 903 OF 2020

    In this § 1925(a) opinion, the court justified the denial of defendant's post-trial motion following his convictions by a jury for murder in the first degree and criminal conspiracy to commit murder for which he was sentenced to life in prison and 20 to 40 years, respectively.

  • Angels Light Halfway House Derry, LLC v. Union Twp.

    Publication Date: 2024-09-13
    Practice Area: Land Use and Planning
    Industry: Health Care | Real Estate | State and Local Government
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Cox
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 70114 OF 2023, M.D.

    Appellant filed a land use appeal challenging appellee township's denial of its application for a conditional use approval to operate a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility at a designated site. The court granted the appeal, holding that appellee township abused its discretion in denying the conditional use where the proposed use fell within the same general character as other uses within the zoning district and appellant failed to demonstrate that the use would have a detrimental impact on the surrounding community.

  • Commonwealth v. Aly

    Publication Date: 2024-09-13
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Cox
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 648 OF 2023

    Defendant filed an omnibus pretrial motion that included a motion to suppress evidence and pretrial writ of habeas corpus. The court denied the motion, holding that police had probable cause to obtain sequential drug trafficking search warrants for two apartments where a confidential informant made controlled drug buys from defendant's downstairs apartment and, subsequently, defendant and others fled to an upstairs unit as officers arrived to execute the first search warrant. The court held further that the Commonwealth presented evid

  • Commonwealth v. McMillan

    Publication Date: 2024-09-06
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Cox
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 903 OF 2020

    Defendant sought post-trial relief after his conviction on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy to commit murder. The court denied defendant's motion, holding in pertinent part that Commonwealth was properly allowed to amend its information to add the charge of criminal conspiracy on the eve of trial where defendant was afforded the opportunity to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus as a means of challenging the evidence in support of the newly-filed charge.

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  • Maiella v. City of New Castle

    Publication Date: 2024-09-06
    Practice Area: Labor Law
    Industry: State and Local Government
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Hodge
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 70006 of 2023, M.D.

    Appellant appealed the denial of his application for disability pension benefits. The court held that where a city police pension plan ordinance did not expressly require the unanimous agreement of examining physicians as to the nature of an applicant's disability, a disabled municipal police officer met his burden of proof in support of his application for disability pension benefits where a majority of examining physicians concluded that he was disabled on some basis.

  • Commonwealth v. Hirth

    Publication Date: 2024-09-06
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Cox
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 733 OF 2022

    Defendant filed an omnibus pretrial motion that included a motion for writ of habeas corpus and a motion to suppress. The court denied the motions, holding that the search warrant obtained by authorities for an apartment where defendant was known to reside was supported by sufficient probable cause, and the resulting evidence seized, along with other evidence of defendant's conduct, supported Commonwealth's weapons and drug charges.

  • Commonwealth v. Williams

    Publication Date: 2024-09-06
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Cox
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 469 OF 2023

    Defendant petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus on Commonwealth's charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. The court denied the petition, concluding that Commonwealth's evidence was sufficient to establish a prima facie case that defendant was the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident where witnesses stated that he was the driver and he later admitted that this was correct. The court held further that Commonwealth's evidence was sufficient in light of police testimony regarding a strong odor o

  • Mammoet USA N., Inc. v. N. Am. Forgemasters Co.

    Publication Date: 2024-07-26
    Practice Area: Contractual Disputes
    Industry: Construction
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Cox
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 50937 OF 2022, C.A.

    Defendant's motion for partial judgment on the pleadings denied where court determined outstanding factual issues required clarification through discovery.

  • Booker v. Carbonelli

    Publication Date: 2024-07-26
    Practice Area: Civil Procedure
    Industry:
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Hodge
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 10084 OF 2023, C.A.

    The court acknowledged that it had entered an opinion and order granting a default judgment on July 3, 2023, in error because it was unaware at the time that the appellee timely had filed a response to appellant's counterclaim. On Aug. 18, 2023, appellee filed a motion to vacate default judgment which the trial court granted because appellee had complied with the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure and filed proposed preliminary objections to appellant's counterclaim. Appellant nevertheless appealed the court's Sept. 25, 2023 order