Pennsylvania Case Summaries
Show: 1 day 1 week 1 month All
Custom (decided): –
Sort: Newest first A–Z
Coverage since May 28, 2026
✉️ New decisions, briefed in your inbox every morning — subscribe to Daily Case Law, free →

Pennsylvania

PennsylvaniaBusiness RegulationCriminal LawGambling Law
Uncategorized

POM of Pennsylvania v. Department of Revenue — Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds Skill Game Devices Are Slot Machines Requiring Gaming Act Licensing

/

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed the Commonwealth Court and held that “skill game” devices—electronic gaming terminals marketed as legal skill-based alternatives to slot machines—are “slot machines” under the Gaming Act and prohibited “gambling devices” under the Crimes Code, with a 120-day stay giving operators time to adjust before enforcement resumes.

PennsylvaniaCivil ProcedureEminent DomainReal Estate
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Uncategorized

Carlino East Brandywine v. East Brandywine Twp. — Collateral Estoppel Cannot Rest on a Prior Dismissal for Lack of Standing

/

The Commonwealth Court vacated a permanent injunction granted in a decade-long Chester County land development dispute, holding that the trial court wrongly applied collateral estoppel: because the prior declaratory judgment action was dismissed for lack of standing, the issues were never actually litigated, and the identity-of-issues element was independently unsatisfied because the prior case turned on the Prevailing Wage Act while the injunction proceeding did not.

PennsylvaniaMunicipal LawNonprofit LawStatutory Interpretation
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Uncategorized

Overbrook Golf Club v. Radnor Township — Nonprofit Member-Owned Clubs Are Not Businesses Subject to the Local Business Privilege Tax

/

The Commonwealth Court held that nonprofit, member-owned golf clubs are not “businesses” subject to a local business privilege tax on membership dues and assessments, because the clubs do not operate for profit and their members do not receive commercially taxable “services” — rejecting Radnor Township’s reliance on Fish v. Township of Lower Merion.

PennsylvaniaAdministrative LawReal EstateStatutory Interpretation
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Uncategorized

Dieffenbach v. Rose Tree Media SD — RETSL Exceptions Cannot Challenge Constitutionality of the Tax Itself

/

The Commonwealth Court held that Pennsylvania’s Real Estate Tax Sale Law exceptions procedure does not permit constitutional challenges to the validity of a tax levy, affirming dismissal of a pro se taxpayer’s Uniformity Clause attack on Delaware County school taxes as beyond the scope of the RETSL exceptions process.

PennsylvaniaAdministrative LawRight-to-Know LawStatutory Interpretation
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Uncategorized

Noto v. Luzerne County — Right-to-Know Law Permits Market-Value Fees for Complex County Data Sets

/

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, sitting en banc, upheld Luzerne County’s $10,100 fee for bulk CAMA property assessment data, holding that Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law permits market-value-based fees for complex data sets — not merely the cost of duplication — and that coordinating pricing information across counties does not constitute bad faith.

PennsylvaniaAdministrative LawAppellate ProcedureConstitutional
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Uncategorized

Kapish v. Bureau of Driver Licensing — Ten-Year Court-Caused Delay in License Suspension Hearing Mandates Reversal Under Middaugh Due Process Test

/

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania reversed the denial of a license suspension appeal, holding that Court Administration’s ten-year failure to schedule a hearing — despite repeated court orders to do so — constituted an extraordinary government-caused delay that violated the licensee’s due process rights under the Middaugh framework and mandated dismissal of the suspension.

PennsylvaniaAdministrative LawCivil Procedure
Uncategorized

Paul v. PSP — Court vacates OOR dismissal but affirms denial of RTKL request under noncriminal investigation exemption

/

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.

PennsylvaniaAdministrative LawCivil ProcedureEmployment
Uncategorized

Spallone v. PSP — Commonwealth Court holds Whistleblower Law claims against state agencies belong in its original jurisdiction

/

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.

PennsylvaniaAdministrative LawConstitutionalEmployment
Uncategorized

Fick v. Bivens — Court declares simple assault is not a disqualifying offense for Act 235 lethal-weapons certification

/

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.

Scroll to Top