Little appealed the order denying his PCRA petition in which he alleged trial counsel was ineffective for failing to preserve an issue for direct appeal relating to a restriction on questioning of a defense witness. After the PCRA court denied a new trial on the ineffectiveness claim, Little appealed. A panel of the Superior Court … Read more
The plaintiff in a motor-vehicle-accident case appealed from an order of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas that sustained the defendant’s preliminary objections because the venue should have been in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. In Matthews v. Erie Ins. Grp., the Superior Court agreed. The plaintiff sued because the defendant insurance company, … Read more
In Schmitt v. State Farm Ins. Co., State Farm appealed the trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment. Critically, the trial court resolved the appellee’s declaratory-judgment action but did not resolve the issue of damages. The Superior Court quashed the appeal as interlocutory and unreviewable. The Court analogized the case to Bolmgren v. State Farm … Read more
In Commonwealth v. Wallace, a jury convicted the defendant of aggravated assault and related charges. On appeal, he claimed seven points of error, including two evidentiary issues. The Superior Court affirmed. First, the defendant alleged that that the trial court committed reversible error by allowing the jury to view two photographs of the victim’s shooting … Read more
Khalil v. Williams was a legal malpractice action based on the defendant-attorneys’ representation of the plaintiff in a premises liability suit. In the malpractice suit, the plaintiff’s complaint made five claims: (1) legal malpractice based in negligence; (2) legal malpractice based in breach of contract; (3) negligent misrepresentation; (4) breach of contract; and (5) fraudulent … Read more
Grove v. Lutz involved Seller’s attempt to extend a lease, and collect the lease payments, on a property after Seller had sold the property to Buyers. In 2015, twelve years after Seller sold the property to Buyers, Seller entered into an amended lease to continue to collect rents from a tenant on the property. Even … Read more
Commonwealth v. Moose is another decision of the Pennsylvania appellate courts concerning Subchapters H and I of SORNA. In 1995, the defendant entered a negotiated guilty plea to third-degree murder, rape, and criminal conspiracy. At the time the defendant pleaded guilty, Pennsylvania had not yet enacted laws requiring sex offender registration. In December 2011, PA … Read more
Commonwealth v. McConnell involved a dispute amongst neighbors. On the evening of May 31, 2019, the defendant turned on eight construction-grade floodlights in the backyard of his home. The floodlights were directed towards the home of the defendant’s neighbor, whose own backyard lights were annoying the defendant. At least seven neighbors complained to the police … Read more
The Superior Court clarified the time frame during which a spouse can revoke their choice to receive a one-third share of their deceased’s spouses’s estate, commonly called the “spousal election” in In re Jabbour. Here, the surviving spouse filed the spousal election in an “abundance of caution because she did not have sufficient information about … Read more
In Adams v. Rising Sun Med. Ctr., the Superior Court dealt with cross appeals from a wrongful death and survival jury trial. The administratrix of the decedent’s estate wanted to testify that she was present when the decedent told a doctor about her family’s medical history. According to the plaintiff, this evidence was admissible as … Read more