The Legal Intelligencer Blog

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal and Pa. Law Weekly

Welcome to your Tuesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer, which also includes this week’s edition of Pennsylvania Law Weekly. 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.)

Also in today’s paper is the 2012 edition of PaLaw, our annual report on the legal profession.

The top story in today’s Legal is this year’s managing partners survey. As reporter Gina Passarella writes, layoffs and de-equitizations could return in Pennsylvania, according to the managing partners anonymously surveyed.

Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that a discovery order in the Zoloft multidistrict litigation has been approved. The opposing sides negotiated the plan to set relatively early trial dates while also setting early hearings over the science behind allegations.

Below the fold on Page 1, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes the second in her Claims Chaos series, this time on mass money in claims administration raising questions.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sibling publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

In a Health Care Law column on page 5, Vasilios J. Kalogredis and Karilynn Bayus write that the OIG has issued a favorable on-call coverage arrangement opinion.

In a U.S. Supreme Court column on Page 7, Stephen A. Miller and Thomas M. O’Rourke write about the limits of judicial authority.

Today’s lead story in PLW is a preview of state Supreme Court oral arguments that are opening today. As reporter Ben Present writes, the viability of the “error in judgment” medical malpractice defense tops the argument session.

Below the fold on Page 1, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that law enforcement is increasing its focus on “false confessions.”

On Page 3, reporter Zack Needles writes that a Lackawanna County judge has tossed a coal dust exposure FELA claim.

There’s much more inside this week’s PLW, including Samuel C. Stretton’s Ethics Forum, in which he writes about lawyers who represent corporations and serve on boards; Matthew T. Mangino’s Criminal Practice column about how Miller v. Alabama changes the dynamics of sentencing; and Leonard Deutchman’s Cyberlaw column on backup tapes.

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.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal and Pa. Law Weekly

Welcome to your Tuesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer, which also includes this week’s edition of Pennsylvania Law Weekly. 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 in today’s Legal is a federal judge in Pennsylvania putting a closely watched case involving the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and the survivors of a deceased Cozen O’Connor partner on the suspense docket. As reporter Gina Passarella writes, that effectively terminates the matter pending the outcome of other relevant cases.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Saranac Hale Spencer writes that a federal judge has imposed sanctions on lawyers for GMAC, the bank that acts as the financial-services arm of General Motors that is now called Ally Financial. The sanctions were requested by a pair of now-defunct car dealerships that had won a $4 million jury verdict in 2009 against the bank.

In more Regional News on Page 3, Gina Passarella writes that the Superior Court has denied a bus driver UIM benefits for a motor vehicle accident on the job.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sibling publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

In a Business of Law column on Page 5, Frank Michael D’Amore writes about meditation and its many benefits.

In a Real Estate Law column on Page 7, Alan Nochumson writes that the city of Philadelphia overstepped its bounds in pursuit of blight.

Today’s lead story in PLW is the Superior Court setting to begin posting unpublished memorandum opinions. As reporter Zack Needles writes, the court’s technology department is working on the matter and the goal is to start posting opinions by the end of the year or before then.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Ben Present writes that attorneys for Jerry Sandusky’s victims were angered by the court’s decision to release the victims’ names.

On Page 3, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that a workers’ compensation attorney has challenged the 20 percent cap on attorney fees.

There’s much more inside this week’s PLW, including Samuel C. Stretton’s Ethics Forum, in which he writes about lawyers who find themselves overextended; Matthew T. Mangino’s Criminal Practice column in which he writes about reducing prison population through sentence advocacy; and Leonard Deutchman’s Cyberlaw column, in which he writes that personal devices in the workplace provide legal and technical challenges.

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.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Thursday 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 plaintiffs counsel in the federal Avandia multidistrict litigation seeking court approval of the dispersal of up to $143.75 million in attorney fees as well as costs undertaken for the common benefit of the entire mass tort litigation. As reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes, the requested fee is estimated to be 6.25 percent of the settlements reached in the litigation, according to the motion.

Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Zack Needles writes that the state Supreme Court has suspended indicted Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Robert Mulgrew without pay in a one-page per curiam order issued Wednesday.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Gina Passarella writes that a woman charged with kidnapping two children who did not exist has been awarded $151,000 in a suit against the city detective who arrested her.

In more Regional News on Page 3, a Third Circuit ruling held that corporations defending criminal charges aren’t entitled to pretrial access to general, fact-based employee statements.

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 this week’s Young Lawyer column, the YL Editorial Board writes about how to get your referral network off the ground.

In a Commentary on Page 7, Holly R. Rogers writes about the rights of the gay and lesbian community in the workplace.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to email any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

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 today is a group of Bimbo Bakeries food delivery drivers surviving a motion to dismiss claims in their collective action against the company for allegedly wrongly classifying them as independent contractors instead of employees. But, as reporter Gina Passarella writes, U.S. District Court Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims under the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law and for negligent misrepresentation.

Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that former Traffic Court Judge Willie F. Singletary was charged by the Judicial Conduct Board for allegedly showing two pictures of his “erect penis” to a Philadelphia Parking Authority contractor. The board said Thursday that he violated the state constitution and judicial conduct rules for magisterial district judges.

Below the fold on Page 1, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that drugmaker Pfizer is arguing to the state Supreme Court that $8.6 million in punitive damages should not have been awarded in a hormone-replacement therapy case without evidence that its subsidiary misled federal regulators or knew the dangers of the drug were greater than what consumers were warned about.

In more Regional News on Page 3, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes about changes to come in the First Judicial District’s bail forfeiture process.

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 Maritime Law column on Page 5, Michael F. Merlie writes about PCBs and the transfer of vessels, detailing the consequences at hand and how to comply.

In a Criminal Law column on Page 7, Richard Q. Hark writes about Section 3553 and federal sentencing provisions.

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.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

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 today is a debate regarding privilege-waiver issues in the Catholic Archdiocese abuse case. As reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes, attorneys for the archdiocese say it may assert attorney-client privilege that can’t be waived even if its former personnel director – who is accused of endangering the welfare of children by not taking proper action to protect them from sexually abusive priests – waives his own privilege.

Also above the fold on Page 1, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes about the latest legal salvo between Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille and federal capital case defenders. Castille said in an opinion last week that Defender Billy H. Nolas has created “state-federal gridlock” in a Philadelphia murder case by telling the trial court that his client’s federal appeals pending in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were being paused to allow state-court proceedings to go forward.

On the bottom of Page 1 today, reporter Zack Needles writes that a man injured in a drywall accident has settled for $5.75 million with the subcontractor whose employee allegedly dropped the drywall.

In more Regional News on Page 3, a Cherry Hill, N.J., firm is suing a former whistleblower client for a share of an award the client received after she revoked the firm’s power of attorney.

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 this week’s Employment Law column on Page 5, Vianei Lopez Robinson of Legal affiliate Texas Lawyer writes about some fixes that companies should make this year, including updating the company’s social media policy.

In a Criminal Practice column on Page 7, Richard Q. Hark writes about some recent changes to Megan’s Law that will add challenges for juvenile offenders attempting to rehabilitate themselves.

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.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Tuesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer, which also includes this week’s edition of Pennsylvania Law Weekly. 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.)

Today’s top story, writes reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel, is drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline asking the judge overseeing the federal multidistrict litigation regarding the diabetes drug Avandia to limit the contingency fees of attorneys representing individual plaintiffs to 25 percent of client awards. GSK said that in litigation “where, as here, the attorneys did not perform a substantial portion of the work, but rather benefited from coordinated discovery and other work performed by the plaintiffs’ steering committee,” the court should limit such fees, according to court papers.

Below the fold on Page 1 today, reporter Gina Passarella writes about the modest class action settlement for a group of amusement park-goers who said Palace Entertainment and Festival Fun Parks violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Card Transactions Act by printing receipts that contained the consumers’ credit and debit card expiration dates. The preliminary approval for the class in Hanlon v. Palace Entertainment Holdings will give individuals in the class a single free ticket to the amusement park.

On Page 3 of today’s Legal, reporter Zack Needles writes that the state Supreme Court, in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, has vacated a Superior Court ruling in the products liability case of an 11-year-old autistic boy. This comes less than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-2 in the case that the federal National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act pre-empts all vaccination design defect claims brought against vaccine makers in state court.

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.

Today’s Appellate Law column is on Page 5, as Howard J. Bashman writes about how to repair the record on appeal to ensure that it reflects the full truth in all cases. “Unfortunately, it is not unusual for the record on appeal to fail to accurately reflect what actually happened before the trial court,” writes Bashman.

On Page 7, Peter F. Vaira writes about Eastern District Practice, discussing methods for federal criminal discovery and a new book he has read that deals with the topic.

As it is Tuesday, it’s also your chance to read this week’s Pennsylvania Law Weekly. The lead story for PLW, written by Amaris Elliott-Engel, details the state Supreme Court’s rejection of a petition by Allegheny County to exercise its King’s Bench or extraordinary jurisdiction to determine if the county’s real property assessment system is constitutional.

On the bottom of Page 1, reporter Ben Present writes an allocatur story about the state Supreme Court granting the appeal of a convicted murderer who was denied the right to testify after the evidence phase of his trial had closed.

This week’s Page 3 story comes from Zack Needles, who writes that an Allegheny County trial judge has ruled that Pennsylvania law, rather than Texas law, should be used in deciding the sufficiency of evidence linking coal tar pitch volatiles to cancer in more than 60 products liability cases involving injuries that occurred in Texas.

There’s plenty more inside this week’s PLW, including Samuel C. Stretton’s weekly Ethics Forum, in which he tackles terminating relationships with uncooperative clients; Andrew D. Taylor’s Family Law commentary regarding Pennsylvania’s new Child Custody Act; a forgetful jury foreperson leading to an ineffective assistance claim; and a special needs trust allowing an auto-accident plaintiff to collect a settlement and keep her benefits.

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.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

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 big news of the day is what’s going on in Harrisburg, where preliminary hearings are currently taking place for two former high-ranking officials implicated in the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal at Penn State – former Athletic Director Timothy Curley and former Vice President of Finance and Business Gary Schultz. Reporter Ben Present is in the capital, where Mike McQueary, the graduate assistant who allegedly saw Sandusky rape a young boy in a shower in 2002, is expected to be taking the stand. "I would begin in excruciating detail as to what [McQueary] claimed to have observed and or heard in the showers, as if it were a movie in slow motion," said Theodore Simon, a Philadelphia criminal defense attorney who has defended several nationally followed trials.

Ben is posting live updates from the courtroom throughout the morning on his Twitter account. Follow him @BPresentTLI.

Reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel has a story in today’s Legal about the big changes coming to Philadelphia’s mass torts program, which is ending the consolidation of pharmaceutical cases into reverse-bifurcation trials with the new year. Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge John W. Herron, who was recently appointed the administrative judge of the trial division, said it is "incumbent upon administrators to constantly examine our protocols and our procedures.”

Today’s Page 3 regional news story comes from reporter David Gialanella of Legal affiliate New Jersey Law Journal, who writes that a putative class action has claimed Colgate-Palmolive’s anti-bacterial hand soap has no advantage over other hand soaps and may even be harmful. The suit alleges that Softsoap Antibacterial has a deceptive name that "implies that it will destroy more bacteria than ordinary hand soap," when in fact Colgate "has no competent and reliable support for these claims."

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 an Asset Management column, Mark L. Silow takes a look at the tax aspects of foreign investment in U.S. real estate. As Silow writes, “The reach of U.S. income taxation extends to both U.S. citizens and residents on a worldwide basis, and to nonresident, noncitizens to the extent of their U.S. source income.”

In today’s Bankruptcy Update, Francis J. Lawall and James C. Carignan write that pre-petition services paid for after bankruptcy may still qualify for defense. They write about the “new value” defense, which “enables a recipient of a preferential payment potentially to reduce its liability to the extent of the value of goods or services such creditor provided to the debtor on an unsecured basis during the applicable pre-bankruptcy period.”

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.

Check back to the blog soon for Amaris Elliott-Engel's reporter's notebook, which will discuss some other changes coming to Philadelphia civil courts.

Fairness Commission Calls for Improvements in Indigent Defense

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

The Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness has asked the state Supreme Court to work with the commission to increase diversity among the lawyers who are appointed to represent indigent criminal defendants not represented by public defenders, according to the commission's annual report released today.

Six committees of the commission work on policies and procedures to eliminate racial, ethnic and gender bias in the judiciary. The commission was created in 2005 after the state Supreme Court commissioned a study to examine the prevalence of racial and gender bias in Pennsylvania courts; that study was released in 2003.

Philadelphia Chief Defender Ellen Greenlee, who is serving on a state commission examining the issue of indigent defense in Pennsylvania, said during a meeting of the commission today that Pennsylvania is the only state in the United States that does not provide state funds for indigent defense.

The indigent-defense commission, which will release its report in the next few months, wants to "move it off the blackboard and onto the agenda of the state legislature."

Once the report is launched, Lisette M. McCormick, who is both the director of the commission for fairness and a member of the indigent defense commission, said that a statewide coalition will be formed to educate the public and legislators about how the lack of state funding for indigent defense results in deficient legal representation for defendants.

Speakers at the meeting today included Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Rudolph Garcia, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and Greenlee.

Williams said many Philadelphians of color feel that the criminal justice system is an oppressor of their communities, not protectors of them.

But in order to achieve fairness in the courts, criminal justice leaders have to focus on victims, Williams said.

But many victims are young black men who are just as likely to be shot as to be the shooter, Williams said. There is overlap between assailants and victims on the "Venn diagram" of crime in the city because the number one cause of death for young black men is homicide, Williams said.

Eight people were killed last weekend in Philadelphia, he said, which did not make headline news. But if eight tourists from Sweden had been killed while visiting Philadelphia, the city would be thrust into lockdown in order to solve gun violence, Williams said.

"When we think about fairness and justice we have to think that -- those men in that diagram -- that their lives are just as important," Williams said.

The Legal will have more coverage of the latest report from the commission in an upcoming section of its Pennsylvania Law Weekly section.

Amaris Elliott-Engel is a reporter for The Legal. She can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @AmarisTLI.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

By Jaime Bochet
Of the Legal Staff

Welcome to your morning round-up of stories in today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer. Click the links below to access stories directly, or head to The Legal homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

Today's front page features two stories from senior reporter Gina Passarella. The top story is her coverage of one of the oral arguments before the state Supreme Court. "An attorney for Jordan Lewis, found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the 2007 shooting of a Philadelphia police officer in a Dunkin Donuts, argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Wednesday that evidence put on during the guilt phase of the trial improperly swayed the jury to find Lewis committed premeditated murder. The evidence, including the widow's testimony and playing surveillance footage of the crime in slow motion, was prejudicial to his client, the attorney said."

Below the fold, Gina has a business of law story, reviewing the national and local results of a survey regarding firm profitability: "The legal industry will see on average a slight increase in gross revenue, net income and profits per equity partner in 2011, while the Philadelphia market could face a slight increase in gross revenue and flat to modest bumps in net income and PPP, according to a preliminary survey of the marketplace by Wells Fargo's Legal Specialty Group."

Reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel has today's Page 3 Regional News story, a profile of the new head of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute. "As the organization approaches its 42nd year, it's the turn of an attorney to lead the organization, specifically Harrisburg attorney Charles Wasilefski of seven-lawyer firm Peters & Wasilefski."

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.

Page 5 features our "YL" or "Young Lawyer" page, this week an article by an anonymous lawyer from our South Florida affiliate, the Daily Business Review.  "The Rodent" writes about "divining the bonus pool."

Page 7 is where you'll find a "Securities Law" column by Katayun Jaffari of Saul Ewing, who wonders how the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower rules will affect companies.

Have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole? E-mail me or any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal!

Jaime Bochet is the Magazines & Supplements Editor for The Legal. Follow her on Twitter at @JaimeBochetTLI or e-mail [email protected].

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal (and PLW!)

By Jaime Bochet
Of the Legal Staff

Welcome to your daily round-up of stories in today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer. Click the links below to access stories directly, or head to The Legal homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

As is the case every Tuesday, today's paper is especially full, because it includes our Pennsylvania Law Weekly section, which includes analysis pieces, our Verdicts & Settlements section, and contributed columns by Samuel Stretton (Ethics), Brandon Swarz (Personal Injury), and Jeff Jubelirer (Public Relations).

But let's begin with The Legal.

Topping today's front page, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel has an analysis piece regarding the impact of the state Supreme Court's decision in Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania v. Koken. Even though Koken eliminated the Pennsylvania Insurance Department's command that automobile policies have mandatory arbitration clauses, attorneys around the state say that arbitration remains popular for the resolution of motor vehicle claims brought by motorists against their insurers under their uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) motor vehicle policies.

Below the fold, senior staff reporter Gina Passarella has the sixth and final piece in her weekly series examining the impact of e-discovery on the practice and business of law. This week, she writes that much is said about the burdens and challenges of e-discovery, and rightfully so, but the list of organizations dedicated solely to improving the process are nearly just as prevalent. 

Inside, in our Page 3 Regional News section, Gina has another business of law story, this time about a new practice. Dechert has created an outsourcing and offshoring practice under the umbrella of its intellectual property department in order to take advantage of the growing desire of its clients to outsource certain non-core business functions.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2. The top stories from our sister publications across the country make up our Page 4 National News section.

The Legal's contributed columns today include an "Eastern District Practice" column by Peter F. Vaira of Vaira & Riley, who discusses litigation costs that may be awarded to the prevailing party in a lawsuit pursuant to Local Civil Rule 54.1 and 28 U.S.C. § 1920. The article will not discuss the award of attorney fees.

Our second contributed article is "Upon Further Review," Howard Bashman's appellate column. Bashman hails the advent of cameras in the courtroom, calling it a "new day for openness" in the Pennsylvania appellate courts.

Today's Pennsylvania Law Weekly section begins with a story by reporter Ben Present, who writes, "A controversy in Western Pennsylvania stemming from allegations that a judge ordered her court reporter to alter transcripts from a murder trial became more complicated Thursday after the court reporter's lawyer said the court reporter denies altering the transcript and plans to sue one of the attorneys alleging misconduct."

Below the fold, reporter Zack Needles has an analysis piece regarding the continuing legal troubles of the Orie sisters. He writes, "As state Sen. Jane C. Orie, R-Allegheny, faces a new round of charges and a retrial on the horizon, legal watchers say her sister, state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, may be feeling the heat now more than ever."

And that is just the front page! Head to the main website of the PLW section to check out even more content from across the commonwealth.

Have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole? E-mail me or any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal and PLW!

Jaime Bochet is the Magazines & Supplements Editor for The Legal. Follow her on Twitter at @JaimeBochetTLI or e-mail [email protected].