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Contract Cases in Federal Court

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When your business is sued in federal court, it can be a strange and surprising experience. A common question that we receive from business owners is, “How can my business be sued in federal court over a contract? Isn’t federal court just for crimes and serious litigation?”

How it Works

In most cases, federal cases over contracts are brought because one party is from a different state than the opposing party and there is more than $75,000 in damages that are at issue in the lawsuit. In other words, your first instinct might be right: a contract case only enters the federal court because it is a pretty big deal. 

Beyond this, contract cases in federal court are much different than contract cases in state court. A breach of contract action requires that the plaintiff (the person bringing the lawsuit) demonstrate that the defendant violated the terms of an agreement. This agreement doesn’t have to necessarily be written (although it usually is when there is a lot of money at stake). 

Several defenses to contract actions exist, including proof that the contract was impossible to perform or that the plaintiff violated the contract first. In rare cases, the contract itself might violate state or federal law, which means it cannot be enforced in court.

More About Federal Court Cases

Cases in federal court should be taken seriously because they tend to move quickly. This is especially true of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, often referred to as “the rocket docket” because of the speed with which the cases move to trial. In other words, if you are not preparing from day one, you are not going to be ready by the time the case gets to the summary judgement phase and to trial. 

Contact Cornerstone Law Firm

If you or your business has been sued in federal court, it is important to seek litigation attorneys who can handle your case. Contact the Cornerstone Law Firm and speak with our experienced federal litigators to discuss your options in moving forward and how you can best defend your case.

Call Cornerstone Law Firm Today

Harassment Charges in Berks County Dismissed – March 2020

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Last month, Attorney Joel Ready obtained dismissal of harassment charges in Berks County. The charges had been filed against a defendant over an alleged dispute with an ex-girlfriend. After oral argument in front of a Berks County Magisterial District Judge, the charges were dropped completely. The charges were filed in the Bernville area “upon information received” by a State Trooper, which means that the Trooper was filing the charges based on what the alleged victim told him. 

“We’re glad to see these charges dismissed,” Attorney Ready says. “This case shows, once again, the importance of being prepared to fight charges and not merely plead guilty to avoid the trouble of litigation.” 

More About Harassment Charges

Harassment is a summary offense under Pennsylvania Law, which means that it comes with a fine and potential confinement up to ninety (90) days in prison. In some circumstances, harassment charges can also result in higher penalties, including a misdemeanor conviction. Harassment requires that the Commonwealth prove that the defendant either physically assaulted or repeatedly annoyed someone with no legitimate purpose.

Harassment charges do go on your permanent record, although, if they are a summary offense it is not considered a “criminal record.” Nonetheless, potential employers, family members, friends, neighbors and others can find that you were found guilty of these charges if you plead guilty to them.

Contact Us Today

It is important to speak with an experienced criminal offense attorney about harassment charges so the attorney can help you decide whether you should challenge the charges or not. Contact Cornerstone Law Firm today for more information.

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Representation in Federal Court

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If you’ve been sued in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, there are a number of questions you will need to confront quickly. These questions include whether you were properly sued in the Eastern District, whether the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has “personal jurisdiction” over you in a lawsuit, and whether you have any counter-claims or defenses that you will need to raise in your first pleadings.

In federal court, if you have been served with a complaint you typically have only 21 days from the date of service to answer. If you waive service in advance, you will have longer to respond. 

Does Your Case Belong in Federal Court?

In addition to determining counterclaims and affirmative defenses available to you, an important question you should analyze is whether the case belongs in federal court rather than state court. Unlike state courts, federal courts are of limited jurisdiction, which means they can only handle cases specifically authorized by the Constitution and by Congress.

Whether the case you are involved in falls under those categories of cases authorized by Congress and the Constitution is a question requiring legal analysis that needs to be done immediately to determine whether the court has subject-matter jurisdiction over the claim. 

Choosing Your Next Steps

Additionally, like any other case, as a defendant, you need to decide up front whether you wish to fight the case and defend it on its merits or attempt to settle it and avoid the rising costs of defending a lawsuit. This decision can be difficult, but is made easier when you really understand the likelihood of your success in defending a case and the possible risks involved in losing it. This requires an exploration of the facts and law that gave rise to the lawsuit.

The Eastern District of Pennsylvania is sometimes called the “rocket docket” because of the speed with which litigation moves and the promptness of trial dates. Most cases in the Eastern District are set for trial in less than a year from the date the suit is filed. This is remarkably fast for courts of any kind and makes the Eastern District of Pennsylvania one of the most fast-paced courts in the country. 

Contact Cornerstone Law Firm

Perhaps you have heard the expression, “Don’t make a federal case out of it.” This simple expression confirms one truth about federal cases—they are serious and shouldn’t be ignored.

If you have been sued in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, we welcome you to contact Cornerstone Law Firm. Contact us today for a consultation on your federal case:

Call Cornerstone Law Firm Today

Waiving Summons in Federal Court

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When you have been sued in federal court, it is customary for the attorney who represents the plaintiff (the person suing you) to reach out to you by email or letter with a copy of a Waiver of Summons. An example of what this document looks like is provided below.

waiver of summons
Sample Waiver of Summons

A Waiver of Summons requests that you sign and accept the service of the Complaint, thus simplifying the process of bringing you in to court to be sued. So why would anyone do this? Why make it easier for the person trying to sue you? There are three good reasons why you should consider waiving service of the Complaint:

1. You have more time to answer

If you are served with a Complaint in federal court, you get only 21 days to answer the Complaint. This is a very quick turnaround, especially when you take into consideration the time it might take to find a litigation attorney you trust who can handle a federal case.

However, if you sign the Waiver of Summons, you get 60 days from the date the waiver was offered to you. With more than double the time to answer, you may also have the opportunity for other procedural maneuvers and even opportunities to resolve the case out of court before undertaking the expense of filing an answer or a motion to dismiss.

2. It costs less to waive summons

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4, if you refuse to waive service, you are responsible for the cost of service. This can cost hundreds of dollars in some cases and that cost will ultimately be passed on to you, regardless of whether you win or lose the lawsuit. Compared to other litigation costs, this may not seem like much, but when you have the option to waive service and avoid this cost altogether, it certainly seems unnecessary.

3. You can avoid the embarrassment of personal service

Many people do not care about personal service and do not mind if a private process server shows up to hand them a complaint. However, if you run a business, and in many other circumstances, you may prefer not to be embarrassed in front of coworkers, friends, business associates, or relatives by service of the complaint and the announcement in front of those people that you have been sued in court.

Waiver of Summons allows you to avoid living under the constant fear of a process server arriving in your office or at your home, and announcing to everyone within earshot that you have a lawsuit in federal court against you.

To waive or not to waive?

With all that said, there are also some times that it is not wise to waive service of process. Although these situations are relatively rare, a good litigation attorney who handles cases in federal court can help you decide whether it is right to waive service or to force the other side to serve you with the process. And more important than this decision are the many decisions that will immediately follow.

Should you file an answer or a motion to dismiss? Should you be in discovery immediately or is a private, internal investigation the first step? These and a hundred other questions can be worked through with experienced litigation counsel.

Call Cornerstone Law Firm today if you have been sued in federal court to discuss your case and to see if one of our litigation attorneys can help you. 

Criminal Trial Attorneys in Berks County

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If you are facing criminal charges in Berks County, Pennsylvania, you will find yourself facing several very important questions as you strategize how to handle your case. The chief among all these questions is whether you should go forward to a trial on your charges or accept a plea deal. If you decide to go to trial, finding a good trial attorney will be vital.

Why a Trial Lawyer is Important

At Cornerstone Law Firm, our attorneys have experience at all stages of trial work and stand ready and willing to take your case all the way to trial. Whether to go to trial on criminal charges is an important and personal decision and depends on many factors. Getting good advice on whether you should go forward to trial rather than taking a deal that has been offered is an important part of this process.

A good trial attorney is willing to cross-examine the government’s witnesses, will effectively present your case in a way that is understandable to the jury, and can help you make the all-important decision on whether to testify or not. At Cornerstone Law Firm, our attorneys can help you with these questions. 

Contact Cornerstone Law Firm

Whether you are in the midst of criminal charges or are at the beginning of a criminal case, we welcome your call to discuss your charges. Your first consultation with us is free and totally confidential. Call us today and see how we can help you.

Trial Attorney in Snyder County, Pennsylvania

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If you’ve been charged with a crime in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, it’s important that you have aggressive legal representation. Criminal charges can change your life, and having an attorney prepared to take you to trial, if necessary, is a vital part of a strong defense.

Why a Trial Lawyer is Important

Not every attorney or law firm is willing to take cases to trial. Some attorneys practice only in achieving plea deals or attempting to work out a case with a prosecutor. While there’s a time and a place for that art, there are also times when only a trial lawyer can help you with your case. At Cornerstone Law Firm, our criminal trial attorneys are able to help you with every phase of the process.

An attorney’s trial practice skills include giving effective opening and closing statements, excellent cross-examination, and wisdom about which witnesses to call on your behalf. A good trial lawyer will also know how to help you investigate your claim in advance of trial so that you are well prepared to present your case.

In Snyder County, individuals facing criminal charges often find that they are faced with the difficult choice of choosing between a plea deal they don’t like or facing a judge or jury at trial. Making this decision is easier when you have a trial attorney by your side to help you evaluate your chance.

Contact Cornerstone Law Firm

Not every attorney handles trial practice, so finding an attorney willing to take your case the distance is important. At Cornerstone Law Firm, we’re willing to be with you from opening statements until the jury verdict comes in, and to counsel you ever step of the way.

Call today to discuss your case with our trial attorneys and see if we can help you make your case.

What is Litigation?

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What is litigation? What does it mean when a lawyer says that he or she is a litigator?

A litigator is someone that represents individuals or companies in lawsuits. This includes the entire process from filing a lawsuit all the way through to a jury trial or a bench trial before a judge. You may be asking yourself, “Isn’t that what all lawyers do?”

“Isn’t that what all lawyers do?”

Despite this common misconception, largely gleaned from television and movies, most lawyers do not spend their days in courtrooms. In fact, the great majority of lawyers rarely make appearances in courtrooms at all.

Lawyers handle a broad variety of transactional matters including drafting wills for estate plans, reviewing and advising clients on asset purchase agreements or contracts, or negotiating business deals for their clients. The litigation process is long, and most of it has nothing to do with ending up in a courtroom.

  1. Litigation begins when someone drafts and files a complaint.
    In Pennsylvania this process can also begin by filing a “Writ of Summons.”
  2. It continues with the attorneys sending discovery to the other parties involved asking them for documents, to answer questions, and to admit whether facts are true or false.
    In addition, discovery involves taking depositions. Depositions are essentially private court appearances where a witness to a case sits before a court reporter and the attorneys involved in the case and answers various questions so that the information can be developed on the record for future use in the case.
  3. Litigation then involves the filing of various motions including what are called dispositive motions.This includes motions for summary judgment which are typically filed at the close of discovery in a case. Motions for summary judgment ask the court to rule that the other party’s case is dismissed as a matter of law or that the filing party’s motion should be granted and they should be given a judgment as a matter of law. Many cases are resolved by a judge at this stage without a jury trial.
  4. The last step in the litigation process is the trial.
    Sometimes it’s in front of a jury, sometimes it’s only in front of a judge. Regardless, the trial is the last step in the process. It’s the part of the litigation process that great television scenes are made of.

Litigation can also involve the appeal that happens after one party loses and then appeals the verdict to a higher court. Both the party and that lost and brought the appeal and the party that won will have to continue litigating against one another as the matter goes up on appeal before a new panel of judges who review the record to see if any mistakes have been made.

So, if you’ve been served with a lawsuit or wish to file your own, call the litigation attorneys at the Cornerstone Law Firm. We want to help you solve your problem today.

When to Settle Litigation

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When you are locked in litigation with a foe, one of the most important things to determine is when the time is appropriate to settle litigation, even if it means compromising your overall claim. When you first file a complaint and start a lawsuit against someone or when you’re first sued, it’s easy to become extreme and say that you’re going to fight to the bitter end no matter the cost! Reality usually sets in fairly quickly, however, as legal bills, costs, and the emotional toll of litigation begin to make you reconsider. There are several factors that you should consider in determining how far to push your lawsuit.

Costs

One factor is the overall amount involved. In lawsuits over small amounts of money, it’s best to decide right up front how much you’re willing to walk away with without having to spend a fortune on the costs that are associated with litigating. One of the reasons this is so important is because litigation ultimately acts sort of like a poker game. The more cards that are revealed, the more you know as to whether you have a strong hand. Furthermore, at the end of the hand, you may be faced with an all-or-nothing proposition.

Will the jury buy your theory of the case, or will they buy your opponent’s? When you factor in the likelihood of winning or losing a suit, settling a case can eliminate the uncertainty and avoid much of the costs.

Emotional Strain

As noted above, the other thing to think about is the emotional strain of litigation. Is this a mere business dispute in which you’re not personally or emotionally invested? Are you part of a large corporation making business decisions and it doesn’t affect your personal life if you have to go and testify in a deposition? Or is this dispute between you and your long-time business partner that has torn your two formerly-close families apart? Would you prefer reconciliation over the money at issue?

There is a cost to litigation that goes far beyond what can be measured in dollars and cents, and it is important to take that into consideration when deciding when to settle.

Your Best Interest Matters to Us

When we represent clients in litigation, we seek to represent their best interests. This means that you are always in the driver’s seat to decide when to settle and when to push forward. It also means that we’re willing to settle early for you, even if it means we’re not going to make as much money in the case. We seek to have your best interests at heart at all times.

If you have questions about your lawsuit, whether it’s ongoing or merely one that you’re considering bringing, call the Cornerstone Law Firm today, and let us discuss with you how we can represent your best interests.