Welcome to your Friday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)
The top story this morning is a judge saying it isn’t apparent that Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille knew of Jeffrey Rotwitt’s dual roles in the construction of a new family courthouse. As reporter Gina Passarella writes, Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. ruled on a number of preliminary objections in the First Judicial District’s lawsuit against Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel and Rotwitt, a former partner, related to the new courthouse. The judge found the defendants could not succeed on their preliminary objections to the FJD’s fraud, conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty claims.
Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Zack Needles writes that a Franklin County senior judge denounced the scope of the Drug-Free School Zones Act, calling the law “poorly drafted” and “an overreaction” by the state legislature. The judge refused to apply the act’s mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school, saying it would have been “unjust, unfair and unconstitutional” in a case where neither the buyer nor the seller knew they were near a school.
Below the fold on Page 1, Gina Passarella writes that the state Supreme Court has declined to rule continuity of ownership is an essential element in determining whether a de facto merger has taken place that would confer corporate liability.
In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Ben Present writes that former state Sen. Vincent Fumo has sued the owner of two area restaurants, claiming the man approached him to invest in both projects and failed to pay him on investment returns.
As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.
In a Bankruptcy Update, Rudolph J. Di Massa Jr. and Laura D. Bonner write about a recent case in which a lack of candor in retention applications resulted in the forfeiture of fees.
A Litigation column on Page 7 discusses the art of opening statements, detailing ways to connect with jurors, based on a recent CLE program.
If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.
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