Articles & Publications

On May 9, 2012, the Pennsylvania Superior Court reached a decision in Commerce Bank/Harrisburg, N.A. v. Stephen F. Kessler & Lisa K. Kessler that will have a significant impact on the priority of a lender’s open-end mortgage liens. Specifically, the Court in Kessler held that, under the Pennsylvania Mechanics’ Lien Law of 1963, as amended, an open-end mortgage will have priority over a prior-in-time mechanics’ lien only where all of the proceeds of the mortgage are used to pay all or part of the costs of completing erection, construction, alteration, or repair of the mortgaged premises. Where a portion of the proceeds of the open-end mortgage is used to pay for items such as tax claims, closing costs, the satisfaction of an existing mortgage, or payment of other judgments and liens on the property, the super-priority of the open-end mortgage is destroyed.

Melissa will be hosting "NightTalk: Get to the Point" at 8 p.m. on May 4, 2012.

Penina K. Lieber, a Member of Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC, will begin her third one-year term as secretary of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) at the close of the organization's Annual Meeting on May 11th in Lancaster, PA.

Will your real estate exemption be affected by the Mesivtah case?  Pennsylvania Supreme Court case:  Mesivtah Eitz Chaim of Bobov v. Pike County Board of Assessment, decided on April 25, 2012.

Ms. Murtha is a Member of the firm's Banking and Bank Regulatory Law Practice Group.

Paul J. Gitnik of Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC has been invited to serve on the Public Health and Energy and Environment Visioning teams by Allegheny County Executive, Richard Fitzgerald. These “Vision Teams” will be reviewing how government operates, and should operate, and will begin a process that will result in recommendations on operations, efficiencies and policy for Allegheny County moving forward.

We are pleased to announce that Michael A. Weiss, a Member of Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch has been selected to be part of the Pennsylvania Diabetes Action Partnership (PDAP) Executive Leadership Team (ELT).

Ms. Harper is a Member of the firm's Tax Law Practice Group and Corporate & Business Law Practice Group.

PBA Secretary Penina Lieber on ABA's IOLTA Commission. Mrs. Lieber has been appointed to a one-year term on the American Bar Association Commission on Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA).

Penina Kessler Lieber and Susan Chase discuss the steps you need to take if you're thinking of merging with another organization in Nonprofit World.

Veteran Pittsburgh attorneys Marvin S. Lieber and Penina Lieber have joined the firm as Members.  Mr. Lieber is widely known for his distinguished career as an advisor to publicly traded and privately owned companies, financial institutions, as well as health and education charities.  Mrs. Lieber is a nationally recognized expert in the law governing nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations.