Statutory Interpretation – Page 2

Massachusetts Adoption Family Law Jurisdiction

Massachusetts Appeals Court

Adoption of Zula — Juvenile Court Has Jurisdiction to Hear Birth Mother’s Adoption Consent Revocation During Pending Care and Protection Case

/ June 26, 2026

The Massachusetts Appeals Court held that the Juvenile Court has jurisdiction under G.L. c. 210, § 1, to hear a birth mother’s motion to revoke her adoption consent and to approve an open adoption agreement, even though the consent was executed before the subject child was added to a pending care and protection petition, because the 1993 statutory amendments require only that a care and protection proceeding be pending when the motion is filed—not that it was pending when the consent was executed.

North Carolina Probate Statutory Interpretation Trusts & Estates

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Uncategorized

In re: Greenamyer — Will Witnesses Must Sign in Their Own Hand; Third-Party Signature Adoption Not Permitted Under N.C.G.S. § 31-3.3

/ June 20, 2026

In a question of first impression, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that N.C.G.S. § 31-3.3 does not permit attesting witnesses to adopt signatures written entirely by a third party: because the statute expressly allows the testator to have another sign on his behalf but omits any similar provision for witnesses, the legislature’s intent is that witnesses must physically sign the will themselves, rendering invalid a revised will whose two witness signatures were written by the notary at the witnesses’ verbal direction while the witnesses never touched the pen.

North Carolina Probate Statutory Interpretation Trusts & Estates

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Uncategorized

In re Greenamyer — Attesting Witnesses Must Sign Wills Personally; Third-Party Proxy Signatures Barred Under N.C.G.S. § 31-3.3

/ June 19, 2026

In a first-impression decision, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that N.C.G.S. § 31-3.3 bars attesting witnesses from having a third party write their signatures on a will, applying the expressio unius canon to the statute’s express testator proxy-signing provision and affirming summary judgment invalidating a revised will whose two witnesses never physically touched the pen.

Pennsylvania Business Regulation Criminal Law Gambling Law

Uncategorized

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

/ June 17, 2026

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.

New York Civil Procedure Environmental Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, Second Department

Uncategorized

Klaus v. Town of Brookhaven — CERCLA’s Discovery Rule Preempts NY’s CPLR 214-c in Landfill Toxic Tort Cases

/ June 12, 2026

The Appellate Division, Second Department holds that 42 U.S.C. § 9658 — CERCLA’s federal discovery rule for toxic tort statutes of limitations — applies to all state-law toxic tort actions involving hazardous substance exposure, even where no CERCLA liability exists. CPLR 214-c’s accrual date is displaced by the federally required commencement date in Brookhaven Landfill cancer-cluster litigation.

Pennsylvania Municipal Law Nonprofit Law Statutory 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

/ June 12, 2026

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.

Pennsylvania Administrative Law Real Estate Statutory Interpretation

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

Uncategorized

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

/ June 12, 2026

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.

Pennsylvania Administrative Law Right-to-Know Law Statutory Interpretation

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

Uncategorized

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

/ June 11, 2026

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.