Mike Trout to the Phillies?!
And now that I have your attention … Mike Trout will undoubtedly be the most sought-after free agent in baseball when he becomes a free agent in 2020. But an obscure loophole in California labor law could let him out of his rookie contract sooner. Section 2855 of the California Labor Code mandates that no…
Election Day 2015: Philly’s Future in the Balance
The primary election is happening here in Philadelphia and across the Commmonwealth tomorrow, May 19, 2015. Pennsylvania holds closed primaries, which means a voter can only vote for candidates in the party in which he or she is registered. That said, Philadelphia has effectively been a one-party town for so long that the Democratic primary…
Goodnight, Sweet Prince
The news of the Prince Music Theater’s closing hit me pretty close to home. Although the Prince had been floundering for years, it’s still a sad day for the arts in Philadelphia. In late 2010, after years of staving off creditors, the Prince filed Chapter 11. With guidance and counsel from Slepner Law, the Prince…
Prince Music Theater on the ropes?
This article calls attention to the fact that the Prince Music Theater’s days may be numbered. Back in October 2010, I represented the Prince in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. As the months (and years) wore on, we fought against every one of TD Bank’s efforts to foreclose on the building and shut down the…
SlepnerLaw wins in Landlord-Tenant Court!
Recently I had the pleasure of representing landlord clients in a standard eviction in the Philadelphia Municipal Court. Back in November, my clients had a default judgment entered in their favor because neither the tenant nor his attorney showed up for court. We promptly went about executing on the judgment. In mid-May – six (6!) months…
About time
The FBI raided the Philadelphia Sheriff’s office yesterday. More details here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fbi-raids-philly-sheriffs-office-takes-files-19975429. If you are facing a sheriff’s sale, you probably don’t have to worry about moving for a while.
Philly Justice
Yesterday I had the honor of sitting as an arbitrator in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas arbitration center. Back in February, I took a CLE course on the ins and outs of how to be an arbitrator. The course reviewed rules of evidence and procedure, and showed how arbitrators can best handle situations that…
Epic Win!
Today the Honorable Ellen Ceisler of the Court of Common Pleas found in favor of the appellants in Lewis, et al. v. Zoning Board of Adjustment, et al., stating that there was no hardship and thus no reason for the variances to be granted. The developers in question in this case had sought variances to completely demolish…
Election
My first foray into electoral politics was in high school, where I ran for student council treasurer on a platform that I have mostly forgotten (although I do recall something having to do with a Coke machine). Despite being backed by the best campaign video ever (set to The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”), I…
Double secret probation
My alma mater is in the news again. This time, the Association of American Law Schools put Villanova Law School on a two-year probation following the grade inflation morass of 2011. Villanova, as you may recall, was embroiled in a grade-inflation scandal in 2011. It was one of the first of many such unpleasant events…