Change Your Mind After Signing a Home Improvement Contract? It happens more often than people think. A contractor shows up at your home in Allegheny County. There is a problem—maybe a sewer backup, a cracked pipe, or a roofing issue. You feel pressure to act quickly. So, you sign a contract. …
We Have You Covered: Western PA Attorneys
PA’s Statute of Repose (42 Pa.C.S. § 5536) Claims Another Victim
PA’s statute of repose creates a hard deadline to sue; it’s like an avalanche that destroys just about everything in its path. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Clearfield Cnty. v. Transystems Corp., No. 10 WAP 2025, ___ A.3d ___ (Pa. Apr. 30, 2026) created yet another powerful example, this…
Binding a Partnership to a Deal: PA Law Update
I. Agreement Formation With a Partnership Under Pennsylvania law, binding a partnership to a contract requires proof of three things: (1) mutual assent, (2) sufficiently definite terms, and (3) consideration. Courts apply an objective theory of contracts, focusing on what the parties said and did—not their later characterizations of…
Anticipatory Repudiation in PA (and CASPA Update)
When One Side Walks Away Early Contracts don’t always fall apart at the end. Sometimes, one party makes it clear—before the work is finished—that they won’t follow through. Pennsylvania law has a doctrine for that situation called anticipatory repudiation. Anticipatory repudiation allows a party to treat a contract as…
Superior Court Affirms Disputed Settlement
When parties walk away from negotiations believing different things, courts face a difficult question: what should they do when one party insists a binding settlement was reached, while the other claims no agreement ever existed—or that a different deal controls? Any time settlement discussions advance far enough that…
The Use of Surety Bonds in PA to Protect Subcontractors & Owners
An Extra Layer of Payment Protection Subcontractors on construction projects often face a basic risk: they perform the work but depend on the general contractor—not the owner—to get paid. If the contractor encounters financial trouble or simply refuses to pay, the subcontractor may be left chasing payment long after the…
Confession of Judgment in PA: Procedure & Defenses
Introduction Pennsylvania remains one of only nine states that still permit creditors to obtain a confession of judgment, which is powerful because it allows a creditor to obtain and enforce a judgment without prior litigation or notice to the debtor, based on the debtor’s advance contractual authorization—typically contained in a…
Strategy: Settling With Fewer Than All Defendants in PA
Strategic Settlements In complex tort litigation—particularly construction litigation and other multi-defendant cases—plaintiffs often face a difficult strategic question: Should they settle with some defendants and proceed to trial against others? In Pennsylvania, a plaintiff may settle with fewer than all defendants pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 229….
What Does “Service” Mean in PA State Court?
Servicing Papers in PA State Court Civil Cases You might wonder: why is service of legal papers so important in Pennsylvania? And, what constitutes “good service” in PA state court cases? The answers depends on whether we’re talking about serving the lawsuit, itself, or subsequent papers in the case. …
Appeal to Superior Court: Worth Doing in a Civil Case?
When a party is unhappy with a decision by a judge or jury in the Court of Common Pleas of Pennsylvania, the appellate process offers an important safeguard. In most civil cases, that safeguard is an automatic right of appeal to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. However, it is critical…
