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Pennsylvania Bakery Wins Trademark Lawsuit over Indiana Company with Similar Name
Starting a business is exciting, but also involves worry and the possibility of legal issues. One important matter to consider when starting a new business in Pennsylvania is the name for your company. For one thing, the name must not infringe on that of a pre-existing business. A new company in Indiana found this out […]
Can You File a Lawsuit Against an Employee for Starting a Competing Business in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania does not have a specific statute regarding “customer poaching,” but there are ways you can protect your business from an employee who uses protected information to establish a competing business. In Erie County, a local barn-door hardware company filed a five-count complaint against its former office manager. The hardware company alleged that the ex-employee […]
IRS Issues Proposed Regulation on a New 20 Percent Deduction for Pass Through Businesses
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a proposed regulation on August 8, 2018 for a new provision know as Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 199A. Section 199A of the IRC allows many owners of sole proprietorships, partnerships, trusts and S corporations to deduct twenty-percent of their qualified business income. Please contact us to discuss how […]
Can You File a Lawsuit in Pennsylvania for a Breach of Contract If You Feel You Have Been Defrauded?
When a vendor or service provider fails to deliver goods or services that were paid for and expected, it can be considered a breach of contract. Generally, a breach is not considered to have occurred if there is a legally sound explanation for non-delivery and a refund or favorable remedy was provided. However, matters are […]
Pennsylvania Child Support – Part III – Child support deviations
The final step in determining a child support amount is accounting for any appropriate deviations to the base support amount that was calculated according to the method described in the previous part to this series. There are two types of deviations that the court may order: particularly listed deviations, and deviations that are based on […]
What Could Happen If My Small Business Does Not Have a Succession Plan?
Family businesses meant to last forever are best served by having plans in place outlining how the current ownership hopes things will be run in the future. When succession planning and other contingencies are mapped out ahead of time, a family-owned small business can be more easily transitioned when the current ownership retires. In Pennsylvania, […]
2017 Tax Act Limits 1031 Exchanges
IRC Section 1031 provides an exception and allows you to postpone paying tax on the gain if you reinvest the proceeds in similar property as part of a qualifying like-kind exchange. Gain deferred in a like-kind exchange under IRC Section 1031 is tax-deferred, but it is not tax-free. Prior to enactment of the 2017 Tax […]
Can Pennsylvania Stepparents Ever Be Required to Pay Child Support?
Pennsylvania courts favor child custody and support arrangements that are reached without judicial intervention, but things don’t always turn out that way. The process of determining custody and child support terms can develop into a prolonged legal dispute, made even more complex if stepchildren are involved. For example, the case of Shiloh v. Shiloh (2015) […]
Pittsburgh’s Bullhook Ban
In December of 2017, Pittsburgh City Council voted to ban the use of bullhooks, electric prods, shocking devices, hacksaws, and other instruments capable of inflicting pain, intimidating, or threating pain for the purpose of training or controlling wild or exotic animals, including elephants, lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, and camels, in the city of Pittsburgh. Each […]