Election Worker Class Action Against City Dismissed
A class action composed of Philadelphia election workers claiming they were covered by the city's minimum wage ordinance has been thrown out by a common pleas court judge. READ MORE »
Jury May Eye Fault of Docs Who Settled in Med Mal Case
Even after several doctors in a medical malpractice suit settled with the plaintiff, jurors could weigh their liability along with the remaining defendants in the case, a Carbon County judge has ruled. READ
Patent Case Serves as Reminder That the Details Matter
It has long been recognized that all co-owners of a patent have an independent right to full ownership of the patent. This is somewhat akin to the real estate concept of tenants by the entirety. This principle has led to a number of procedural issues under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19 when one co-owner has refused to join a suit asserting a jointly owned patent. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently addressed this issue with respect to involuntary joinder under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19(a) and affirmed the right of one co-owner to impede another co-owner's patent infringement suit in STC.UNM v. Intel, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 10524 (Fed. Cir. June 6, 2014). The relevant language of Rule 19(a) reads: "(a) Persons required to be joined if feasible. READ MORE »
The Inconvenient Truth About Forum Non Conveniens
As our nation's economy continues to grow globally, lawsuits involving international parties will rise accordingly. For the courts of Pennsylvania, this means that more cases will require an inquiry as to whether a foreign forum is more appropriate for hearing a given case. READ MORE »
Mobile Workforce Creates Breeding Ground for Wage-and-Hour Risk
For today's connected workforce, the ability to do work anytime, anywhere is invaluable. Yet allowing non-exempt employees to perform work at home or other remote locations is fraught with legal risk. In fact, whenever non-exempt employees use employer-provided devices out of the office, it engenders thorny questions such as when the compensable workday began, and whether even commuting time might potentially be compensable. Employee "freedom" wrought by technology has created new legal challenges for employers in the form of wage-and-hour risks on multiple fronts. The rising tide of wage-and-hour litigation, coupled with the rapid growth of an increasingly technological and interconnected workforce, means that remote work off-the-clock claims may well be the next frontier in wage-and-hour litigation. READ MORE »
Defending Strategic Energy Policy: The Case Against Municipal Activism
An undeniable trend has emerged in recent months. Courts in various states are upholding local authority to limit natural gas development pursuant to zoning or home rule provisions. Many municipalities in states like Pennsylvania and New York have sought permanent bans or temporary moratoria on hydraulic fracturing. These efforts at the local level are fueled by a combination of political grandstanding and pandering combined with the "not in my backyard," or NIMBY, syndrome. As to the former, it's a variation on the old saw about immigration: "I'm in favor of immigration, except for any which happens after I got here." The mayor of Princeton, N.J., provides a recent example of the NIMBY syndrome. There, the mayor of the town, in which for physical and geological reasons there would never be fracturing, has taken up the battle to "ban fracking" in Princeton. Obviously, the ban is without real meaning given the geology. READ MORE »
