Mary McGinley Honored by Duquesne University

Mary McGinley was selected by the Women's Law Association of the Duquesne University School of Law as the 2013 recipient of its Woman of the Year award.  Mary was honored at an event on April 23rd.  Please click here to read full article from Duquesne University.

(Pictured left to right:  Managing Partner, Patricia Dodge, Mary McGinley, Mary's Father, and Russell Ober, Jr.)

Mary received her Juris Doctor degree from the Duquesne University School of Law in 2002 and received her Bachelor’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University in 1999.  While in law school, she was a member of the Duquesne Law Review and studied at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

She is currently Of Counsel at Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP and a member of the firm’s Business Litigation and Tort Litigation Groups. In her practice, Ms. McGinley has represented a broad range of corporations in a variety of matters, including closely held corporations in shareholder disputes, and leading manufacturers in contractual disputes. She has also represented individuals in estate litigation matters before the orphans court and in employment restrictive covenant disputes in both state and federal court.  She has obtained favorable results for clients in jury and non-jury trials.

In addition to receiving the Duquense University School of Law Woman of the Year award, she was named a 2012 Athena Young Professional Award finalist.  In 2011, she was given the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award by the Allegheny County Bar Association, which recognizes outstanding leadership and distinguished service to the legal profession.  She was also named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers for the past three years.  Finally in 2009, she was selected by The Legal Intelligencer as a “Lawyer on the Fast Track.”

Ms. McGinley is an active member of the Allegheny County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.  She has served on the Allegheny County Bar Foundation’s Board of Trustees as well as several of its committees.  She serves as Co-Chair of Attorneys Against Hunger, an annual campaign that benefits local hunger agencies and that is sponsored by the Allegheny County Bar Foundation.  Ms. McGinley also served on the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Judiciary Committee, which rates judicial candidates to help voters make informed decisions.

Contractors Need To Be Aware of Law's Limits

Brandon B. Rothey
bbr@muslaw.com

Brandon Rothey's  article, “Contractors need to be aware of law's limits,” by was featured in the Business Workshop section of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Please click here to read what Brandon had to say.  

Validity Variance Relief

Hunt v. The Zoning Hearing Board of Conewago Township, 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 39, 61 A.3d 380 (2013)



Frank Kosir, Jr., Esquire
fk@muslaw.com

This matter addressed the issue of whether a local zoning ordinance requiring all residential lots to abut a public road as a condition to their use for residential purposes was confiscatory, thereby entitling the owners of landlocked parcels to a validity variance.  Scott A. Hunt, Vicki E. Hunt and Sandra R. Glick (“Owners”) were the individual owners of a total of three parcels of real property (“Parcels”) situated in Conewago Township (“Township”), York County, Pennsylvania.  The Parcels are situated in the Township’s C-v conservation district, and are part of a subdivision created in the late 1800s.  Access to the Parcels is achieved by passing over the lands of an adjoining property owner by virtue of a fifty-foot wide easement.

In the 2000s, the Township passed an amendment to its zoning ordinance (“Ordinance”) requiring that all lots situated in the C-v district abut a public roadway in order to be used for residential purposes.  In response, the owners requested a determination from the Township’s zoning hearing officer that the Parcels were not subject to this requirement due to their having access to a public road by virtue of the easement.  The zoning officer concluded that, since the language of the Ordinance required lots to abut a public road in order to be used for residential purposes, the Parcels were non-compliant, and could not be used for residential purposes.  The owners then appealed to the Township’s Zoning Hearing Board (“Board”) seeking, inter alia, variances from the Ordinance to permit for residential construction on the Parcels or, in the alternative, validity variances establishing their right to use the Parcels for residential purposes.  After conducting a hearing, the Board denied all of the Owners’ requests, concluding that the Ordinance was clear on its face and that, as there was no dispute that the Parcels did not abut a public road, they could not be used for residential purposes.  The Owners then appealed to the York County Court of Common Pleas, which affirmed.

On appeal, our Commonwealth Court reversed.  In issuing its ruling the court noted that, in order to establish its right to a validity variance, an applicant need not satisfy all of the elements required for a standard use or dimensional variance.  Rather, an applicant for a validity variance must establish that the zoning regulation from which it seeks relief is “restrictive to the point of confiscation” and that the issuance of a validity variance is necessary to permit a reasonable use of its land.   In this instance, the Ordinance precluded any type of use on parcels that did not abut a public road and, as the Owners’ Parcels are not located adjacent to a public road, essentially rendered them unusable and valueless.  For these reasons, the Ordinance was confiscatory in nature, and the Owners were entitled to their requested validity variance relief. 

Drafting To Avoid Or Win Litigation - Pennsylvania Bar Institute CLE Program

Tony J. Thompson, Esquire
tjt@muslaw.com

Attorney Tony J. Thompson will be presenting "Preliminary Considerations of a Breach" on July 30, 2013 at 10:00 am for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.  Details of Mr. Thompson's presentation will include Review of the Contract, Identification of Potential Parties, Notice Provisions, Notice to Carriers, Opportunities to Cure - Understanding UCC Issues, Demand for Indemnification and Preservation of Evidence.

The PBI Program will include both a morning session and an afternoon session which offer a total of 6 CLE credits.  Please click here for more information about this program or to register.

Program Location:
PBI Professional Development Conference Center
Heniz 57 Center
339 Sixth Avenue, 7th Floor
Pittsburgh, PA

Date:  Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Morning Session:  9:00 am
Afternoon Session:  1:00 pm

Staying Sustainable - Presentation on Tuesday, May 14th

Staying Sustainable
High Performance Building Codes, Energy Benchmarking and Green Leasing - a focus on national trends coming to the region.

Chad Michaelson of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP and Billy Grayson of WESCO Distribution, Inc. will present Staying Sustainable on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the Duquesne Club.  Following the presentation Chad and Billy will host a panel discussion on this topic that will be moderated by Kevin McKeegan of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP. 

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 from 11:30 pm - 1:15 pm

$45 members; $65 non-members

Duquesne Club, 325 Sixth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222 | 412-391-1500

For additional information about this program or to register please contact Melodee Bright.

ABA Intellectual Property Roundtable - Thursday, May 16, 2013 @ Noon

David G. Oberdick, Esquire
dgo@muslaw.com

Meyer, Unkovic & Scott is proud to sponsor the Pittsburgh Roundtable for the American Bar Association Intellectual Property Litigation Section.  These quarterly meetings allow IP litigation practitioners to network with other attorneys and discuss topics of interest.

Who Should Attend:  Practicing attorneys interested in intellectual property matters.  Need not be members of the ABA IP Litigation Section.

Lunch will be provided by Meyer, Unkovic & Scott.

Topic:  Addressing Willful Patent Infringement in a Post-C.R. Bard World

Host: David G. Oberdick, Esquire

Date: Thursday, May 16, 2013 | 12:00 noon

Location: Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP
Henry W. Oliver Building, 12th Floor
535 Smithfield Street
Pittsburgh, PA  15222-2304
412.456.2800

Please RSVP by May 14, 2013 to: rsvp@muslaw.com

Click here for a printable invitation.

Business Basics 101

Attorney Beth Slagle was interviewed on Business Basics 101 by Rebecca Harris the Director of the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Chatham University on Radio 90.5 WESA.  In the interview Beth discusses the process for creating a roadmap for business success by going through the basics of starting your business.  Please click on the following link to hear Beth’s interview in its entirety:  http://wesa.fm/post/business-basics-101

Beth Slagle (left) and Rebecca Harris (right)

For More information on starting your business please contact Beth Slagle at bas@muslaw.com.