The Commonwealth Court vacated a PUC declaratory order that assigned Conrail responsibility for Delair Bridge drainage maintenance over I-95, holding that the 1966 PUC order’s plain text assigned that duty to PennDOT and that the PUC’s Oxford comma-based reasoning was clearly erroneous.
The Commonwealth Court vacated the UCBR’s denial of benefits, holding that wages from a prior denied unemployment claim cannot be precluded from a subsequent eligibility determination because the wage-preclusion rule applies only when prior benefits were actually awarded.
In a precedential opinion, the Commonwealth Court vacated the OOR’s procedural dismissal of a RTKL appeal, exercised de novo review rather than remanding, and affirmed the PSP’s denial of records relating to a noncriminal death investigation, holding that the noncriminal investigation exemption applied.
In an en banc published opinion, the Commonwealth Court holds that Whistleblower Law claims against Commonwealth agencies fall within its exclusive original jurisdiction and are not subject to the Section 761(a)(1)(v) exception for tort-like actions, resolving the question with binding precedent for the first time.
In a published opinion, the Commonwealth Court declares that simple assault is not a crime of violence under Act 235 and that PSP exceeded its statutory authority by creating a regulatory catch-all allowing denial of lethal-weapons certification for “any other crime” beyond the enumerated crimes of violence.