stanleycheiken

When can someone be legally liable for the unlawful conduct of someone else? There are several circumstances in which this is true. One of them is in the case of a civil conspiracy. A civil conspiracy occurs when two or more persons agree to commit an unlawful act and...

The purpose of damages in breach of contract disputes is to put the non-breaching party in the same place it would have occupied if the contract had not been breached. This can be accomplished in several ways, depending upon the specifics of the transaction. At times,...

I watched a good deal of the Derek Chauvin jury trial that wrapped up last week. Based upon the evidence presented, I was not surprised by the verdict. Perhaps if Chauvin had testified that he was ignorant, scared and poorly trained, he may have been able to avoid the...

Tough question, right? Not really. Your business should settle its case if the cost and exposure of moving forward with litigation substantially outweighs the cost of the settlement that can be achieved. So we're done here, right? Not really. The difficulty, of...

I spent four days in Chester County handling a jury trial this week. Everyone in the Courthouse wore masks, except the witnesses on the stand who wore face shields. Wearing masks is a bit uncomfortable, and it is certainly harder to emote and to observe others'...

One of the changes in the law that has occurred since I began practicing is what is commonly referred to as the Litigation Hold. It is now common in every case for the litigants to be informed to preserve evidence in all of its various forms due to the possibility...

The Courts in which I practice are resuming jury trials and I have several scheduled in the near future. It is going to be fascinating to see how COVID-19 affects them. Will we be able to seat and keep a jury? How will physical distancing affect the conduct of the...

I love business litigation. Most of my clients don’t - and that’s a good thing. Business men and women should love their businesses, and loving litigation is generally not the best way to love your business. It is expensive, time consuming, distracting, and risky....

As Courthouses begin to reopen in earnest, I have begun to appreciate the transformational advancement in the legal profession know as the Zoom conference. I hope that judges and court administrators throughout the country realize how much more efficient it is for...

There are a variety of ways in which business partners can sever their relationship. They vary from amicable to acrimonious; from simple to highly complex. The method by which partners separate is generally dissolution. In highly combative situations, dissolution can...