If you work in the Pennsylvania real estate market, chances are you may have encountered the lis pendens doctrine. Lis pendens is a latin term that roughly translates to “notice of a pending legal action”. As its translation indicates, the purpose of a lis pendens is to give notice to a third-person (typically a potential buyer) that a certain parcel of real estate is subject to a pending lawsuit and that any interest a buyer acquires in that real estate will be subject to the result of the pending legal action.

In its most practical sense, a lis pendens is a written filing indexed against a parcel of real estate such that any potential buyer will be made aware that there is an ongoing dispute relating to title of the property. This effectively precludes a transfer of real property since any potential buyer would then own the property subject to the cloud on title.

In the state of Pennsylvania, there exists the concept of “open adoption.” The term itself sounds a little strange since the purpose of adoption is for the child to become part of a new family that is better able to meet the child’s needs. Why would an adoption be open? The answer is: for a variety of reasons.

One of the main reasons why the Pennsylvania legislature enacted the Act 101 Notice statute (the statute creating open adoptions) was to allow adoptees and adoptive families to have access to the adoptee’s family medical history. 23 Pa. C.S. §2503 specifically states that upon the entry of an order terminating a parent’s parental rights, the court shall advise the parent, in writing, of his/her continuing right to place and update both personal and medical history with the court and the Department of Public Welfare. Being able to obtain an adoptee’s medical history is incredibly beneficial, however, the primary issue with this statute is that it requires the biological parents to provide and update their medical information, which generally does not happen.

Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP is pleased to announce that Megan Weiler has joined the firm’s growing Family Law practice group, focusing her practice in all aspects of family law in Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. Ms. Weiler practices primarily in the area of domestic relations, handling all phases of the negotiation and litigation of cases including divorce, equitable distribution, marital settlement agreements, child custody and parenting time issues, custody evaluations, spousal support/alimony, child support, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, protection from abuse and adoption. Ms. Weiler offers supportive, practical, and insightful advice and representation to clients facing the challenges inherent in family law matters.

Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP is a full-service law firm located in Doylestown, PA. At AMM, we pride ourselves on developing deep relationships with our clients by taking time to understand their goals in order to provide responsive, practical legal advice and aggressive advocacy.

Reprinted with permission from the June 23rd edition of The Legal Intelligencer. (c) 2021 ALM Media Properties. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.

The United States Supreme Court narrowed the application of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) in its June 6, 2022 opinion in Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, 596 U.S. ____ (2002). The case, along with the earlier case New Prime Inc. v. Oliveiri, 556 U.S. ____ (2019) , represents the narrowest narrowing of the Supreme Court’s broad holding in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 284 U.S. ____ (2018). In Southwest Airlines v. Saxon, the court answered the narrow question of whether an employee employed as a “ramp supervisor” fell within the Federal Arbitration Act’s exemption of “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce”, concluding that the workers did fall within the exemption. The case does not presage a trend towards narrowing the application of the Federal Arbitration Act, and instead demonstrates that the Court intends to encourage honoring arbitration agreements by insisting on a textual and precedential approach to the FAA.

Saxon was employed as a ramp supervisor at Southwest Airlines at Chicago Midway International Airport. At the beginning of her employment, she signed an employment agreement agreeing to arbitrate wage disputes individually. As a ramp supervisor, Saxon’s job was to train and supervise teams of ramp agents. Ramp agents are employees who physically load and unload baggage, airmail and freight. Occasionally, ramp supervisors assist ramp agents in loading and unloading cargo. Saxon filed a putative class action of ramp supervisors against Southwest, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Southwest moved to dismiss, citing Saxon’s employment agreement which required arbitration pursuant to the FAA. Saxon argued that the ramp supervisors were exempt from the FAA pursuant to the exemption for “workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.” The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the case, agreeing that the exemption did not apply. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed, finding that the loading of cargo to be transported interstate is “itself commerce.” The Seventh Circuit’s holding conflicted with an earlier decision of the United States Court of Appeals of the Fifth Circuit. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and found that Saxon belong to a “class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce”, and was exempt from arbitration.