Opinion Summaries
At Sullivan | Simon, we read and summarize every precedential opinion from all of the state appellate courts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court reversed and remanded the Court of Common Pleas order that granted the preliminary objections filed by District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala, Jr. to the plaintiffs’ complaint in mandamus. The plaintiffs filed the action after the DA’s Office refused to accept their private criminal complaints that alleged Pittsburgh’s City Council and Mayor… Continue reading Konieczny v. Zappala
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court vacated an order granting Employer’s petition to modify Claimant’s compensation status to partially disabled. Claimant argued that the workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) erred in failing to consider reasonably related conditions not formally added to the notice of compensation payable for which he underwent surgeries previously determined to be Employer’s responsibility. The… Continue reading Sicilia v. API Roofers Advantage Program
The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s order that dismissed this negligence and wrongful death action. The plaintiff was the administrator of the estate of an individual who sustained fatal injuries when the brakes failed on a dump truck he was operating for his employer, the defendant. The defendant filed preliminary objections asserting, among… Continue reading Riemenschneider v. D. Sabatelli, Inc.
The Third Circuit affirmed the civil penalties imposed for the defendant’s Bank Secrecy Act violation. The defendant claimed that the District Court erred when it found he willfully failed to report his foreign bank accounts in 2007 and 2008, and the IRS’s penalty calculation was an abuse of discretion. The defendant also argued the District… Continue reading United States v. Collins
The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the Commissioner of Education’s determination that the Somerville Board of Education violated Parselss’s rights when it refused to permit her to return to her tenured, full-time teaching position. The Court held that, consistent with the principles espoused in Bridgewater-Raritan Educ. Ass’n v. Bd. of Educ. of Bridgewater-Raritan Sch. Dist.,… Continue reading Parsells v. Somerville Bd. of Educ.
This opinion thoroughly reviews the caselaw about the voluntariness of a defendant’s statement after the police give Miranda warnings. An en banc panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court vacated the defendant’s convictions of rape and IDSI. The defendant argued that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statement. The Court found… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Smith
The lower court convicted the defendant of charges related to the sexual assault of a four-year-old. He raised numerous issues on appeal with the Pennsylvania Superior Court, which denied each argument. First, the Court held that the defendant was not entitled to relief on a claim that the lower court violated the coordinate jurisdiction rule… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Taylor
The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that “a school employee cannot obtain disability retirement benefits where disciplinary charges have not been shown to ‘relate’ to a disability under N.J.A.C. 17:1-6.4.” The plaintiff was a school bus driver until she crashed her bus while intoxicated. She then entered into a confidential separation agreement which ended her… Continue reading Rooth v. Bd. of Trs., Publ. Emp.s’ Ret. Sys.
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed the Pennsylvania Parole Board (Board) order, determining that the Board relied upon admissible evidence when properly recommitting White as a convicted parole violator (CPV), and that White’s recalculated maximum parole date included all applicable credits. White contended that the Board lacked sufficient evidence to revoke his parole and recommit him… Continue reading White v. Pa. Parole Bd.
The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that the judge of workers’ compensation (JWC) erred “in her expansive application of N.J.S.A. 34:15-28.2,” and, additionally, she abused her discretion in “imposing a manifestly excessive assessment.” Ripp filed a petition with the Division of Workers’ Compensation, seeking benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act. Ripp received temporary disability benefits… Continue reading Ripp v. Hudson Cty.