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Pennsylvania Superior Court: No Deference Where Trial Judge Fails to Observe Voir Dire

By: Pat Casey

A common practice in many state civil courtrooms throughout Pennsylvania, certainly in its two busiest courts – the Philadelphia and Allegheny Courts of Common Pleas – has recently been found to be lacking by the Superior Court: jury selection outside the presence of a judge. When civil litigators select a jury, they use a process in which the attorneys and the court work together to search for potential hardship, bias and prejudice among the prospective jurors through a series of written and oral questions, known as voir dire (meaning roughly “to tell the truth”). Commonly in civil litigation, the trial judge does directly not participate in this process. Instead, the trial judge will delegate one of his or her staff to handle this sometimes time-consuming endeavor of narrowing down a potential juror pool of hundreds to the 8 or 12 jurors who will ultimately hear the case, along with 1 or 2 alternate jurors.

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Affirms $1.68 Million Dollar Award for CWO client

In the most recent chapter of litigation spanning more than 23 years, on September 27, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed a subcontractor’s $1.68 million dollar award entered pursuant to the Contractor Subcontractor Payment Act. Monica Reynolds, co-counsel to the subcontractor, has represented the subcontractor since 2002 in its efforts to pierce the corporate veil and collect its $200,000 arbitration award obtained under the Contractor Subcontractor Payment Act (“CASPA”) in 1998. Continue reading

Redesigned Website for Improved Communication

Announcing a new look to our website! We recently completed a redesign of our website to better communicate with and serve you.

You will notice a more modern look with better access through your mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones.

We plan to update our news and articles on a regular basis to keep you informed on our law firm and a variety of legal issues that we hope you will find relevant and helpful.

PA Supreme Court: Minor Deviations from Underinsured Motorist Coverage Rejection Form

by Patrick Casey

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: very minor deviations from underinsured motorist coverage rejection form permitted

In Ford v. American States Insurance Company, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently clarified that “de minimis,” or minor, deviations from the underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage rejection form set out in Section 1731 of the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law can nevertheless “specifically comply” with Section 1731.  Ford v. American States Ins. Co., No. 13 WAP 2016, 2017 WL 694744 (Pa. February 22, 2017).

Section 1731 requires that insurers obtain the signature of any insured wishing to reject UIM coverage on a form that contains specific language dictated by the General Assembly.  Continue reading

Representing the Military Client

By: Amelia Lolli, Esquire

Burlington County New Jersey is home to Joint Base MDL (JBMDL), which employs approximately 42,000 soldiers between the three bases (McGuire, Ft. Dix and Lakehurst).  Approximately 60,000 military retirees live within a 50 mile radius of JBMDL.  With such a dense population of active military and retirees, there is a good opportunity an attorney in the Central/Southern New Jersey region will represent current/former military personnel during the course of their legal career.  As an attorney, and also as the military member, individuals should be aware of several special considerations when it comes to providing or seeking legal counsel. Continue reading

Congratulations to Margaret E. Wenke, Michael S. Mikulski, Amelia M. Lolli and Angela B. Kosar

Margaret E. Wenke, Michael S. Mikulski, and Amelia M. Lolli were named as 2016 Top Lawyers by the SJ Magazine.

Margaret Wenke was nominated in the Automobile category. Michael Mikulski was nominated in the Litigation category. Amelia Lolli was nominated in the Insurance category.

For more information about the nominations, please visit: http://sjmagazine.net/cover-feature/top-attorneys-2016

Congratulations to William J. Weber, Monica Mathews Reynolds, and Elizabeth Zwaan Milne

William J. Weber, Monica Mathews Reynolds, and Elizabeth Zwaan Milne were named as 2016 Top Lawyers for the Main Line / Philadelphia region by Main Line Today.

William Weber was nominated in the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Business Law categories. Monica Reynolds was nominated in the Business Law and Civil Litigation categories.

Elizabeth Zwaan Milne was nominated in Elder Law, Tax, and Trusts & Wills categories.

For more information about the nominations, please visit: http://www.mainlinetoday.com/Main-Line-Today/August-2016/2016-Top-Lawyers/