Category: Fall 2013 Pennsylvania Legal Update

Leventry, Haschak & Rodkey, LLC (LHR) is celebrating its 30th anniversary! What was once known as Leventry Law Office consisting of Attorney Timothy Leventry as a sole practitioner has developed into a full-service law firm with seven full-time attorneys, one counsel of Record, two paralegals and a professional staff of cleven employees. LIIR represents individuals, […]

Employees who commit “willful misconduct” are not eligible for unemployment compensation after they are terminated. But what is considered “willful misconduct? In Pennsylvania, willful misconduct, as determined in UCIBOR v. Vereenu, a 1977 case, is considered “an act of wanton or willful disregard of the employer’s interests, the deliberate violation of rules, the disregard of […]

Just about every homeowner carries insurance for losses from fire and other causes. But many insured homeowners don’t realize that their insurance policies include “vacancy clauses.” Such clauses suspend or restrict some insurance coverage if the home is vacant or unoccupied for 60 or more consecutive days before the occurrence of the loss. Pennsylvania’s “snow […]

An easement is a limited right to use the property of another. Common easements include driveways, private roads, and utility rights-of-way for electric, water, or communication lines. Most easements are contained indeeds; some can arise simply due to the passage of time. A “prescriptive’ easement arises when, for 21 consecutive years, one landowner uses the […]

Cancer Patient Sues Twice Exposure to asbestos can cause a myriad of illnesses, often manifesting many years after the exposure. Pulmonary asbestosis is a nonmalignant asbestos-related lung disease; those who suffer from it are considered to be at a heightened risk for lung cancers. Certain lung cancers are recognized as related to asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma […]

A Pennsylvania county trial judge has acknowledged that a driver who gets in an accident while using a GPS device may be found liable for reckless indifference and obliged to pay punitive damages, but only if the injured plaintiff can prove that the driver had completely diverted his or her attention away from the road […]