OPINION BY Judge SIMPSON. In this workers' compensation appeal, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation and CompServices, Inc. (collectively, Employer) ask whether the workers' compensation authorities erred in denying their petition for review of a utilization review (UR) determination. Additionally, Employer challenges the grant of Larry Clippinger's (Claimant) petition to review medical treatment and/or billing and his penalty petition. Employer argues the workers'...
OPINION BY Judge BUTLER. Rose White (Claimant) petitions for review from the March 24, 2011 order of the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Board) affirming the determination of a Workers' Compensation Judge (WCJ) denying and dismissing Claimant's petition to review her benefit offset. The issues before this Court are: 1) whether the "old age" offset provision provided for in Section 204(a) of the Workers' Compensation Act (Act) 1 violates Article I, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania...
OPINION BY Senior Judge FRIEDMAN. International Association of Firefighters, Local Union No. 627 (Union) appeals from the December 3, 2010, order of the Court of Common Pleas of York County (trial court) that granted the City of York's (City) Petition to Vacate Arbitration Award. We reverse and remand. The Union and the City operated pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) encompassing the period from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2006. Before expiration of that CBA, the...
OPINION BY Judge BROBSON. In these consolidated appeals, Appellant Newtown Square East, L.P. (NSE) appeals from several orders of the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County (trial court). The orders pertain to NSE's validity challenge to the Planned Residential Development (PRD) Ordinance enacted by Newtown Township (the Township) in 2009 (PRD Ordinance), and to the trial court's imposition of an appeal bond on NSE. 1 In the appeal docketed at 137 C.D. 2011, NSE seeks to challenge the...
OPINION BY Judge BROBSON. Appellant Newtown Square East, L.P. (NSE), appeals from two orders of the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County (trial court). One of the orders from which NSE appeals is the trial court's June 24, 2010 order, which denied NSE's land use appeal and affirmed the order of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (Board), approving a planned residential development (PRD) Tentative Plan Application (Tentative Plan) submitted to the Board by intervenor BPG Real Estate...
OPINION BY Judge McCULLOUGH. Nicole Lee (Claimant) petitions for review of the September 9, 2010, decision of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review (Board), which held that Claimant is ineligible for benefits under section 402(b) of the Unemployment Compensation Law (Law). 1 We affirm. Claimant became employed by the Williamsport Area School District (Employer) as a full-time classroom assistant in 1995. In September 2005, Claimant suffered a herniated disc while restraining a...
OPINION BY Judge COHN JUBELIRER. Reliance Insurance Company in Liquidation (Liquidator) has petitioned this Court for a declaratory judgment that Aramark Corporation 1 (Aramark) must reimburse various state guaranty associations for amounts the guaranty associations paid out on Aramark's behalf and for which the guaranty associations have now presented proofs of claim to the estate (Estate) of Reliance Insurance Company (Reliance). Liquidator, as administrator of the Estate, seeks...
OPINION BY Judge BUTLER. Philadelphia Entertainment and Development Partners, L.P., d/b/a Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia (PEDP) petitions this Court for review of the December 23, 2010 final order of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (Board) granting summary judgment in favor of the Board's Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement (BIE) and revoking PEDP's Category 2 Slot Machine License (License). The issues before this Court are: (1) whether the Board committed reversible error by applying...
OPINION BY Judge SIMPSON. This first of two related interlocutory appeals by permission returns to us after our Supreme Court vacated our prior decision in Meyer v. Community College of Beaver County, 965 A.2d 406 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2009) ( en banc ) and remanded the case to us. In doing so, the Supreme Court determined that the part of the Judicial Code commonly known as the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act (Tort Claims Act) 1 does not grant immunity to a local agency from all statutory...
OPINION BY Judge McCULLOUGH. Barbara J. Bell (Bell) appeals from the September 7, 2010, order of the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County (trial court) granting the preliminary objections of the Township of Spring Brook (Township) to a complaint filed by Bell which sought to compel the Township to investigate, review, address and, where appropriate, enjoin and/or prohibit zoning code violations on a neighboring property. We now affirm in part and reverse and remand in part. Bell is the...
OPINION BY Senior Judge FRIEDMAN. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing (DOT) appeals from the December 23, 2010, order of the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County (trial court), which granted the license suspension appeal of Jeffrey A. Sestric (Licensee) and reinstated his driving privileges. We affirm. On October 10, 2009, Trooper James Lulkovitz was dispatched to an address on Meadow Road in Hanover Township in connection with an...
OPINION BY Senior Judge FRIEDMAN. 1 Brad M. Hruska (Licensee) petitions for review of the December 2, 2010, order of the Secretary (Secretary) of the Department of Transportation (DOT), which adopted a hearing officer's recommendation that Licensee be granted a driver's license suspension credit from April 16, 2010. We affirm. In September 2007, Licensee was cited for driving under the influence (DUI) and was accepted into an accelerated rehabilitative disposition (ARD) program. After...
OPINION re POST-TRIAL MOTIONS of the COMMONWEALTH of PENNSYLVANIA and JOHNSON & JOHNSON DEFENDANTS OPINION BY Judge SIMPSON. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. BACKGROUND ...................................................1121 A. Opening..............................................................1121 B. Parties..............................................................1122 1. Plaintiff Agencies ...............................................1122 a. DPW/Pennsylvania Medicaid..............................
OPINION re POST-TRIAL MOTIONS of the COMMONWEALTH of PENNSYLVANIA and BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB COMPANY OPINION BY Judge SIMPSON. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. BACKGROUND .............................................1210 A. Opening .............................................1210 B. History .............................................1211 1. Average Wholesale Price—Origin & Evolution .......................................1211 2. Plaintiff Agencies ...............................1214 a. DPW/...
OPINION BY Judge LEAVITT. International Development Corporation (International Corporation) appeals an order of the Court of Common Pleas of the 44th Judicial District, Wyoming County Branch (trial court) dismissing its action to quiet title to certain oil, gas and mineral rights located under land owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The trial court held that the Board of Property has exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate title in the mineral rights in question because the Game...
OPINION BY JUDGE LEAVITT. Germantown Cab Company petitions for review of a June 9, 2010, adjudication of the Philadelphia Parking Authority (Authority) imposing a $1,000 fine upon Germantown Cab. The Authority based this sanction on its holding that Germantown Cab had violated the Authority's taxicab regulation. 1 The Authority reached this legal conclusion notwithstanding this Court's en banc decision of April 28, 2010, that the Authority's taxicab regulation was invalid and unenforceable...
OPINION BY Judge LEAVITT. Germantown Cab Company petitions for review of a May 28, 2010, adjudication of the Philadelphia Parking Authority imposing a $1,750 fine upon Germantown Cab and suspending the operation of one of its taxicabs for 30 days. 1 The Authority based these sanctions on its holding that Germantown Cab had violated the Authority's taxicab regulation. 2 The Authority reached this legal conclusion notwithstanding this Court's en banc decision of April 28, 2010, that the...
OPINION BY President Judge LEADBETTER. Daniel King appeals from the September 3, 2010 order of the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County denying his "petition for rule to show cause why the court should not reconsider its July 28, 2010 order dismissing his post-trial motion with prejudice as untimely filed and allow him to re-file it nunc pro tunc " based on the Delaware County Office of Judicial Support's (OJS) failure to send his counsel written notices of the entry of orders or...
OPINION BY Judge SIMPSON. In this eminent domain case, John R. Williams (Owner) appeals from an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County (trial court) 1 that sustained Blakely Borough's (Borough) preliminary objections to Owner's petition for appointment of a board of viewers (petition for viewers) alleging the Borough effectuated a de facto taking of a portion of his property by installing a PVC drainage pipe that cuts off vehicular access to an adjacent road. Owner contends...
OPINION BY Judge COHN JUBELIRER. Mark A. Hackler (Claimant) petitions for review of an Order of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review (Board) that affirmed the Unemployment Compensation (UC) Referee's (Referee) Decision finding him ineligible for benefits under Section 402(e) of the Unemployment Compensation Law (Law). 1 On appeal, Claimant argues that his right to due process was violated because the Referee failed to adequately assist him, as a pro se claimant, during the...
