Commonwealth Court Ruling on Act 13 Oil and Gas Regulation is Not the Last Word.

No. 894 On July 26, 2012, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decided a Constitutional challenge to Act 13, the latest legislative attempt to regulate the booming oil and gas industry. By a 4-3 vote it found certain provisions of the statute unconstitutional. See Robinson Township et al. v. Commonwealth, No. 248 MD 2012, not yet found […]

Time Management Ninja on Procrastination.

No. 893 Get out of the midsummer doldrums. Here’s a list by Craig Jarrow, the Time Management Ninja, of 21 strategies to get going. Some of them may surprise you. CLT

Doc Review, Is There No End to the Humiliation?

No. 892 I suspect that most lawyers who participate in doc review projects find the experience, well, not good for the ego. So here’s a study that says that High School students can do better. Of course, even geniuses go through high school, so perhaps the sample was not statistically valid. Then again, there is […]

Unintended Consequences: Freeh Report Becomes the Oracle.

No. 891 When the Penn State Board commissioned the Freeh Report, it could not have know the havoc it would unleash. The Report contains strong accusations, but they are nevertheless only accusations. Many witnesses either refused to talk to Freeh or were not asked. Now some of those are crying out that the Freeh Report […]

Taking the Bullet

No. 890 It seems that every time there is a mass murder, like the one that occurred in Aurora, there are unpredictable acts of heroism. Three young men died in that theater, each shielding their girlfriends from a shower of bullets. We heard similar stories occurring during the attempted assassination of Gabby Giffords, the Virginia […]

Clinton for Vice President?

No. 889 The internet is jumping with rumors of a Vice-Presidential switch for Hillary Clinton. The Washington Post says this talk will not die. Her poll numbers are high and she would definitely bring something to the campaign. If the President were to change running mates in 2012, it would be a loud statement that […]

Lien Priority Under Mechanics Lien Law

No. 888 Under the Mechanics Lien statute before it was amended, construction lenders had to take special measures to prevent contractors from obtaining a lien priority by starting excavation before the mortgage was recorded. The Mechanics Lien Law of 2006, which became effective on January 1, 2007 changed that — or did it? In Metro […]

Unexpected Consequences Department: Negative Home Equity is Boosting Prices.

Properties under water stay off the market. This deprives non-selling owners of comparable sales at true market value — lower than the mortgage in many cases. Short sales and sales by banks are often culled by assessors as not being representative of the market. Sometimes they are wrong — those low values ARE the market.

Stephen M. Covey, Leader.

No. 886 Stephen M. Covey died today at 89. He taught us many things. Not the least of which was to live as much of our life as possible in Quadrant II — Important but not Urgent. Too often we rarely get out of Quadrant I, the Urgent. We thought we were simply busy. He […]

PRCP 4009.1 Amended to Address Format of Electronic Documents.

No 885 An Amendment to Rule of Civil Procedure 4009.1 which contains clarification concerning discovery of electronic documents, will go into effect on August 1. Here is the text of the amendment, with deletions from the existing Rule in bold with brackets like [this] and the additions in bold and underlined. The new provision states that […]

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CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

Legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus.

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