• The Bert Co. v. Turk

    Publication Date: 2023-08-07
    Practice Area: Business Torts
    Industry: Insurance
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Donohue
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 13 WAP 2022

    Trial court could use a per-defendant approach to calculating the compensatory-to-punitive damages ratio to assess the constitutionality of a punitive damages award, even though the trial court imposed a joint and several compensatory damages award on defendants. Order of the superior court affirmed.

  • The Marcellus Shale Coal. v. Dep't of Envt'l Prot.

    Publication Date: 2023-05-15
    Practice Area: Administrative Law
    Industry: Energy | Mining and Resources | State and Local Government
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Donohue
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 69 MAP 2021

    Legislature conferred authority upon environmental regulatory agencies to define what constituted "public resources" in the context of approval of unconventional gas well applications. Order of the commonwealth court reversed.

  • Vellon v. Dep't of Transp.

    Publication Date: 2023-05-15
    Practice Area: Administrative Law
    Industry: State and Local Government
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Donohue
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 39 MAP 2022

    Commonwealth court erred in upholding appellant's sentence on his first DUI where appellant was sentenced to two DUI's on the same day and trial court found both offenses had to be considered prior offenses to each other because subsection 3806(b)(3) made clear that when two or more judgments of sentence were entered on the same day, that timing did not impact the calculation of the sentences as a prior offense at the time of sentencing on the present violation. Reversed.

  • Synthes USA HQ, Inc. v. Commonwealth

    Publication Date: 2023-03-13
    Practice Area: Tax
    Industry: Legal Services | Manufacturing | State and Local Government
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Donohue
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 11 MAP 2021

    Court found the office of attorney general was permitted to take a position inconsistent with that of the department of revenue regarding the meaning of 72 P.S. §7401(3)2.(a)(17), that department's interpretation of subparagraph 17 to require the use of the benefit-received method was correct and plaintiff was due a refund of its 2011 corporate net income tax. Affirmed.

  • In re Nomination Paper of Avery

    Publication Date: 2023-02-06
    Practice Area: Election and Political Law
    Industry:
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Donohue
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 91 MAP 2022

    Candidates appealed the setting aside of their petitions to run for an office in the general election after they had voluntarily withdrawn their petitions to run in the primary election and asked the commonwealth court to remove their names from the ballot and court found the Packrall exception to the "sore loser" provision did into apply in circumstances where a candidate obtained a court order withdrawing her primary election nomination petitions pursuant to §978.4 of the election code or where a court granted a petition to set asid

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    Lancaster County & Berks County Court Rules 2024

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  • Gibraltar Rock, Inc. v. Pennsylvania Dep't of Envt'l Prot.

    Publication Date: 2023-01-09
    Practice Area: Environmental Law
    Industry: Mining and Resources | State and Local Government
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Donohue
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 78 MAP 2021

    Commonwealth court erred in overturning Environmental Hearing Board's rescission of mining permits by relying on sua sponte issues not raised on appeal by the parties. Order of the commonwealth court vacated, case remanded.

  • Scott v. Pennsylvania Bd. of Prob. & Parole

    Publication Date: 2022-11-14
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Donohue
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 16 WAP 2021

    Constitutional challenge to statutory bar on parole for life/capital sentences constituted a challenge to the legality of sentence that had to be brought under the Post Conviction Relief Act, and thus the commonwealth court lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition. Order of the commonwealth court affirmed.

  • Commonwealth v. Price

    Publication Date: 2022-11-07
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Donohue
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 18 WAP 2021

    Inevitable discovery doctrine was separate and distinct from the issue of sufficient probable cause for a search warrant, as both arguments had different bases in law and required different factual evidence, such that the commonwealth's appeal challenging a trial court's probable cause determination did not impliedly raise an inevitable discovery argument as a "subsidiary issue." Order of the superior court vacated, case remanded.

  • Povacz v. Pennsylvania Pub. Util. Comm'n

    Publication Date: 2022-09-12
    Practice Area: Public Utilities
    Industry: Energy | State and Local Government
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Donohue
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 22-1022

    Commonwealth court erred in holding that act 129 did not mandate installation of smart meters and court found customers failed to meet their burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, a conclusive causal connection between RF emissions from smart meters and adverse human health effects. Reversed in part and affirmed in part.

  • McLinko v. Commonwealth

    Publication Date: 2022-08-15
    Practice Area: Election and Political Law
    Industry:
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Donohue
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: 22-0916

    Commonwealth court erred in holding the universal mail-in voting provisions of act 77 were unconstitutional and court found the phrase "offer to vote" did not mandate in-person voting.