The Legal Intelligencer Blog

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 comes from PLW, as reporters Ben Present and Zack Needles write about questions looming over the Lackawanna County Family Court guardian ad litem program. A review of family court records by the reporters reveals that the court contracted one person to act as guardian ad litem an average of 88 cases per year between 2009 and 2011. This came after there were no such appointments in 2007 or 2008. There will be more on this story in subsequent issues of The Legal and PLW, so stay tuned.

Below the fold on Page 1, Ben Present writes that a trial court may not refuse to award contractual interest to a prevailing party if the agreement provides for a specific amount. The state Supreme Court reversed a split panel of the Superior Court in TruServ Corp. v. Morgan’s Tool and Supply Co.

On Page 3, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes in an allocatur story that the state Supreme Court is going to consider if health care providers or their records-producing proxies must disclose their actual and reasonable costs of producing charts and records.

There’s much more inside this week’s PLW, including Samuel C. Stretton’s Ethics Forum, in which he discusses a county president judge interfering with a district judge’s constitutional rights; Brandon Swartz’s Personal Injury column on diagnostic testing and bone scans; a $2.6 million medical malpractice verdict heading back to trial court after a second appeal; and Shelly Pagac and Jennifer Russell’s commentary on Employment Law and English-only rules in the workplace.

The lead story in today’s Legal is a look at profit margins and how they relate to a firm’s fiscal health. As reporter Gina Passarella writes, the profitability of firms has become an increasingly important issue. Of the 10 Pennsylvania-based firms that have reported financials so far this year, profit margins range from 22 percent to 44 percent.

Also above the fold on Page 1, Zack Needles writes that a federal judge has preliminarily approved the $17.75 million settlement of the “kids-for-cash” lawsuit. Robert K. Mericle, the builder of two juvenile detention centers who allegedly paid millions in “finder’s fees” to former Luzerne County Judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., agreed to the settlement in December in a civil suit brought by a class of juvenile plaintiffs.

Below the fold on Page 1, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that a Lehigh County judge has upheld a $23.1 million award in a medical malpractice case in which a woman had both of her legs and a finger amputated because of an infection that went septic and gangrenous.

In more Regional News on Page 3, Hank Grezlak has a From the Chief column in which he asks when men are going to put an end to the boys’ club and stop the misogyny that has become all too common.

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.

On Page 5 today is Peter F. Vaira’s look at the Eastern District, as he writes about the use and misuse of depositions in a conversation with Dennis R. Suplee, an expert in depositions from Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis.

In a Business of Law column on Page 7, Frank Michael D’Amore writes the second in a series about the top areas where law firms differ, including their willingness to embrace change.

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 an insurance company covering Penn State asking a Philadelphia court to declare it should not have to provide coverage of cover the university’s defense costs in a lawsuit stemming from the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal. As reporter Ben Present writes, a complaint seeking declaratory judgment filed by the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association Insurance Co. in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, an “abuse or molestation exclusion” in its general liability policy should excuse it from paying the school’s costs.

Also above the fold on Page 1, Wolf Block has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review a lawsuit filed against it by a former partner seeking severance payments from the now-defunct firm. As reporter Gina Passarella writes, Wolf Block has lost to ex-partner Michael Budin at both the trial court and Superior Court levels. Budin sued when he did not receive an annual $26,000 severance pay he was expecting.

On the bottom of Page 1, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that the Philadelphia family courthouse has received the green light from the Philadelphia Art Commission to add an additional story to the building. The added story will unify the family court’s domestic relations and juvenile divisions in one site.

In more Regional News on Page 3, a Philadelphia judge has ruled that an expert’s overnight change in his report was proper cause for nonsuit, despite the plaintiff’s lawyer not completing his case. As Amaris Elliott-Engel writes, the plaintiff in the case alleges her husband’s brain cancer was caused by exposure to a Rohm and Haas chemical manufactured by an Illinois plant and then allegedly negligently stored.

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, Andrew J. Rolfes and Jeffrey L. Braff write about the legacy of former National Labor Relations Board Chairman Wilma Liebman.

As it is Thursday, this week’s Young Lawyer column is on Page 7, as Stephanie L. Kosta writes that she learned all the essential skills she needed to become partner way back in elementary school.

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.

New Family Court Building Moves Closer to Getting Built

By Gina Passarella
Of the Legal Staff

The state Department of General Services on Friday officially acquired the air rights to 15th and Arch streets, the site of a new family court building, allowing construction of the project to begin in the coming weeks.

The acquisition was the last piece of a settlement with former owner Donald Pulver of Northwest 15th Street Associates, who was kicked off the project after the court found out he had a side deal with the First Judicial District's tenant representative, Jeffrey Rotwitt, to develop the project. Rotwitt was also terminated from the project.

The Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts issued a statement Friday that said the acquisition of the air rights completed a "complex bankruptcy settlement" that would allow DGS to build the courthouse using architectural plans commissioned by the FJD and paid for with $7 million from the Family Court Facility Fund that was established for that specific purpose.

DGS paid Pulver as part of the settlement $1.1 million to acquire the air rights.

According to the court, the project's general contractor, Daniel J. Keating, estimated construction to begin "within weeks." DGS is developing the building and, upon completion, will lease it to the city of Philadelphia under a long-term lease on behalf of the First Judicial District. Pulver has agreed to continue to consult on the project as needed.

Pulver said in a statement Friday that he was "very pleased that the family court project continues to move toward completion." He said he looks forward to continuing to work with DGS, the FJD and the city of Philadelphia to provide whatever support and expertise he can to benefit the project.

"For more than six years, we've worked on developing a first class property that would create jobs and make a positive impact on the Philadelphia community," Pulver said in the statement. "Since that time, we've made a great deal of progress toward that goal. We developed architectural and engineering plans, applied for and obtained permits, worked with city officials to get 15th Street widened, and conducted environmental and geotechnical studies, just to name a few."

Gina Passarella is the senior reporter for The Legal. She can be contacted by e-mailing [email protected] or caling 215-557-2494. Follow her on Twitter at @GPassarellaTLI.

Phila. Family Courthouse Project Back in Court

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

The Philadelphia family courthouse project is back in court.

Gordon Group Electric, of Feasterville, Pa., has filed an appeal to the Commonwealth Court protesting the state Department of General Services' decision to award to another contractor the electric contract for a courthouse unifying the Philadelphia juvenile and domestic relations branches into one building.

Lawyers for Gordon Group, Joel L. Frank and Scot R. Withers of Lamb McErlane in West Chester, said they do not think their client's appeal will delay the project.

"While we don't have an exact timeline for the overall anticipated project, we don't believe there would be much delay to the overall project," Frank said. "It's our understanding that a lot of work needs to be done before ... the electrical work needs to be done."

Gordon Group is seeking to have the contracted awarded to it, Frank said. Gordon Group's overall bid was $300,000 less than the winner contractor's bid and would be a savings to Pennsylvania, Frank said.

The Commonwealth Court has scheduled oral argument for April 27 on Gordon Group's application for a stay and its application for special relief.

Troy Thompson, a spokesman for DGS, said the project is going to move forward as the appeal is pending. But he said that construction contracts haven't been finalized until the real property at the courthouse site is transferred to the state. The transfer of the real estate is still under negotiation, according to interviews.

DGS Deputy Secretary for Administration James E. Henning said in correspondence from March that he was denying the protest as without merit because, among other reasons, while Gordon submitted the lowest cost on the electrical contract for $22.1 million, its technical submission scored lower.

According to DGS's analysis of Gordon Group Electric's protest, Gordon Group and the winner electrical contract bidder, the Farfield Group, satisfied the mandatory requirements for the contract. Farfield Group bid $22.4 million.

Gordon Group also argued that Farfield should have been disqualified because Farfield vice president and chief operating officer Edward Nescot's electrician's license in the city of Reading has been suspended.

According to correspondence released by DGS, Gordon Group said that unlicensed electrical tradesmen employed by Farfield did work at a school in Reading. However, Farfield is still being allowed to perform work in Reading using another Farfield employee's master electrician's license.

Gordon Group also told the DGS that its debriefing process of the DGS' decision involved "lack of transparency" because of "the refusal of DGS to disclose or discuss the scores Gordon Group received and to provide any input or rationale." Gordon Group wants the basis for each respective score to be revealed.

In response, DGS said that a prospective contract has "no legally maintainable interest" to access score sheets.

Farfield Company's counsel, Theodore A. Adler of Reager & Adler in Camp Hill, Pa., could not be reached immediately for this blog.

Amaris Elliott-Engel is a reporter for The Legal Intelligencer. She can be contacted at [email protected].

FJD Collection Efforts Showing Results

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff
 
After two months of allowing former defendants to set up plans to pay tardy court fees, fines and costs without penalty, the First Judicial District is reporting that it is collecting 4 percent of that outstanding debt, exceeding debt industry expectations.

Experts were projecting that the court system would be able to only collect 1 or 2 percent of the outstanding debt.

Now that the penalty-free period for setting up payment plans is over this week, other former defendants who still owe the FJD will have their cases turned over to a collection law firm, said David Wasson III, the FJD chief deputy court administrator, during a press conference today. The amount of remittances received in January and February doubled, Wasson said.

The FJD also announced today that 622 city of Philadelphia employees owe a total of $1 million in tardy court fees, fines and costs. The FJD is working with the City Controller's Office to identify those employees to give them the opportunity to set up payment plans for the delinquent court fees, fines and costs or to issue orders attaching their wages.

If employees do not set up payment plans, Municipal Court President Judge Marsha Neifield said she would issue orders to attach their wages.

Neifield said it not the responsibility of the courts to remedy Philadelphia's ongoing debt and fiscal challenges, but the FJD would do its part to try to collect money owed by "622 Philadelphia city employees who should know better."

Wasson said the largest amount owed by a city employee is $150,000, but a more typical debt is under $1,000.

Up to 20 percent of a former defendant's wages can be attached, Wasson said. But on a sliding scale based on salaries and that most people owe less than $1,000, most people will pay $35 a month, Wasson said. Controller Alan Butkovitz said that the sliding scale is based on federal law thresholds based on poverty and income levels. That sliding scale also was used when the Controller's Office initiated a collection effort in 2010 of back taxes owed by city employees, Butkovitz said.

Wasson said the court gives up to 20 years for people to pay back debt.

Court officials estimate that a total of $1.5 billion is owed to the court with some of that debt dating back decades.

Contested Construction Contract Slows Progress on Phila. Family Courthouse

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

While the state's public works developer is moving ahead with plans to develop a new family courthouse in Philadelphia, the process has been slowed while the office responds to a protest to its decision on awarding the electrical contract for the building, a state Department of General Services spokesman said.

DGS spokesman Troy Thompson said Hampton Technologies Inc. filed a protest Jan. 22 to DGS's decision to award the electrical contract to the Farfield Co. of Lititz, Pa.

DGS's process in response to protests to its contract awards is to have its contract officer file a response, to have the protesting party file a reply to the contract officer's response, and then to have the DGS secretary or the secretary's designee make a decision on the protest, Thompson said.

The matter is pending until a decision is made by DGS Acting Secretary Sheri Phillips or her designee, Thompson said.

All of the contracts have to be in place before the project moves ahead because all of the ultimate contractors need to be involved in the planning process, Thompson said.

The construction contracts also must be fully executed before DGS buys the real property at the courthouse site at 15th and Arch streets as part of the bankruptcy settlement of private developer Northwest 15th Street Associates, Thompson said.

Northwest filed for bankruptcy last year because the original Family Court deal structure unraveled upon the revelation that the court's tenant representative had struck a codevelopment agreement on the other side of the transaction with Northwest.

But in the settlement of Northwest's bankruptcy, the state plans to buy the air, surface and developments rights at 15th and Arch streets from Northwest, which has a mortgage for those rights from the Philadelphia Parking Authority. The settlement will not be considered finalized until the sale of the real property rights closes.

Court leaders were worried that Gov. Tom Corbett would not support a project championed by former Gov. Edward G. Rendell, but the project has received Corbett's support, The Legal previously reported.

The four contracts that DGS awarded in January for general contractor, mechanical, plumbing and electrical would equal $122,447,000, $60 million less than the $200 million budgeted to construct the courthouse.

Amaris Elliott-Engel can be contacted at [email protected].

DGS: Family Court Construction Contractors Will Be Selected Next Week

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

In the waning days of Gov. Edward G. Rendell's administration, the state Department of General Services is expecting to announce the selection of the construction contractors to build the Philadelphia family courthouse next week, a spokesman reported today.

Today is the day by which the DGS had originally aimed to award the contracts. The contractors will be made public on DGS's website, said Troy Thompson, the DGS's press secretary.

The deadline for bids on contracts for general contractor, HVAC, plumbing and electrical construction work on the courthouse site at 15th and Arch streets was Dec. 20.

The courthouse's planners have been viewing time as of the essence because Governor-elect Tom Corbett is not bound by Rendell's decision to release $200 million in state capital funds for the courthouse until construction contracts are in place.