News from 2018

RTKL – A View from All Sides

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania hosted a panel discussion entitled, “Right-to-Know Law: A View from All Sides,” during its May 4 Solicitors’ Conference. The panel included two Nauman Smith attorneys; Stephen Feinour, who serves as solicitor to various townships and boroughs, and Craig Staudenmaier, who provides legal counsel to both requesters and third parties. They were joined by a representative from the Office of Open Records and Chad Schnee of the Solicitor’s Office of Berks County… Read On

Nauman Smith Attorney Chosen for Practicum

Craig Staudenmaier was selected to present oral argument during the Commonwealth Court Historical Society Practicum on Appellate Advocacy held on April 9. The biennial program is presented by the Administrative Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and the Commonwealth Court Historical Society. The event offers attorneys an opportunity to hone their written and oral advocacy skills from distinguished jurists and key court staff… Read On

What Impact Does the Trump Twitter Case Have on Local Public Officials?

Public officials who use social media should review the recent federal court ruling that held that President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking critics from accessing his Twitter account. The ruling confirms that citizens have a right to participate in discussions generated on social media accounts of public officials. The ruling does not prevent public officials from adopting reasonable… Read On

Nauman Smith Announces New Staff

Nauman Smith is pleased to announce that Thea Paolini has joined the firm as an associate and Linda Plantz as a legal assistant. Thea is a member of the firm’s Tax Trusts & Estates, Business & Employment and Litigation practice groups. She has a special interest in business and business operations, in particular. Thea graduated magna cum laude from Gettysburg College… Read On

Decoding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Pass-Through Deduction

Internal Revenue Code § 199A (“§ 199A”), effective beginning in 2017, added by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Act”) has been less publicized than the Act’s famous reduction of the corporate tax rate, but within the circles of tax professionals there is a confused buzz. With the highly debated reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21%… Read On

Don’t Let #EqualPay Catch Your Business by Surprise

Over the past year, women in the workforce have been able to illuminate some persistent issues in their industries thanks to overwhelming support for the #MeToo movement against workplace sexual harassment. Not to be overlooked is the related push for equal pay which has been slowly but steadily gaining steam. Hashtags such as #EqualPay, #20PercentCounts, #NoCeilings… Read On

Superior Court Rules that Grand Jury Documents Are Not Available to the Public Under Common Law or First Amendment Rights to Access

In Re 2014 Allegheny County Investigating Grand Jury, 2018 PA Super 56 (Mar. 14, 2018) On March 14, 2018, Judge Strassburger writing for a three-judge panel of the Superior Court ruled that records relating to grand jury proceedings are not subject to disclosure under either a common law right to access or the First Amendment. In this issue of first impression… Read On

Commonwealth Court Awards RTKL Statutory Penalty for Bad Faith Against Department of Corrections

Uniontown Newspapers, Inc., d/b/a/ The Herald Standard; and Christine Haines v. PA Dept. of Corrections, No. 66 M.D. 2015, filed March 23, 2018 On March 23, 2018, the Honorable Robert Simpson released an unreported opinion in the above matter addressing what it means to act in bad faith under the RTKL Section 1305(a). The case held that some of the actions or lack thereof by the DOC in responding to a RTKL request amounted to bad faith which merited statutory sanctions and granted the maximum civil penalty of $1,500 against the DOC… Read On

Discovery of Requester Financial Information in RTKL Cases?

Tricia Mezzacappa v. Borough of West Easton, 290 C.D. 2017 & 498 C.D. 2017, filed Jan. 18, 2018 On January 18, 2018, the Commonwealth Court filed an unreported opinion in an appeal from a trial court order granting a municipality’s Motion to Compel Deposition in Mezzacappa v. Borough of West Easton, Nos. 290 C.D… Read On

Tenants by the Entirety: An Important Property Interest

Many married couples who bought property together prior to marriage are missing out on an important benefit of marriage: holding property as tenants by the entirety. Unmarried couples often hold property as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, but never make the change to tenancy by the entirety after they tie the knot, or in the case of same-sex couples in Pennsylvania… Read On


Subscribe to our Newsletter