The Pennsylvania Superior Court says “yes”, according to a recent decision by an en banc panel, but this ruling “totally distorts the meaning of the Protection from Abuse Act which is to prevent domestic violence,” says Family Law attorney Dorothy K. Phillips.
“What should have been a civil action dealing with a commercial setting has now been covered by a Protection from Abuse Order preventing one business sibling from abusing another business sibling,” says Phillips, who commented on the ruling in “Abusing the Abuse Act,” published in the November 5, 2007 issue of the Pennsylvania Law Weekly. The article also appears on her web site, www.mydivorceattorney.com.
In its September ruling (Custer v. Cochran), the Superior Court expanded the Protection from Abuse Act to cover feuding family members in business settings who have no contact outside of the business and who do not reside together.
“This constitutes a total distortion and watering down of this important legislation,”
The Pennsylvania Law Weekly is one of the most prestigious legal resources in the Commonwealth. The publication offers timely and objective coverage on federal and state cases for all 67 counties throughout Pennsylvania. Phillips is a featured family law columnist and regular contributor.
Phillips, who is founder and managing Partner of Dorothy K. Phillips & Associates, LLC, is a frequent author and lecturer on a variety of family law issues. She has been featured on WPVI-ABC 6, KYW-CBS 3, WCAU-NBC 10, Fox Philadelphia, and CNNfn, and has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Business Journal, Harper’s Bazaar magazine, and The Legal Intelligencer. A resident of Wynnewood, PA, Phillips also has been chosen to be listed in Who’s Who in American Law. She has received an AV rating by Martindale Hubble and is listed in the Martindale-Hubble Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.
A former family therapist, Phillips received her B.S. from The University of Pennsylvania (1964), her M.A. from New York University (1975) and her Juris Doctor degree from Villanova University School of Law (1978). She is a member of the American, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and the Montgomery County Bar Associations and the Pennsylvania and American Trial Lawyer Associations. She is a member of the Bars of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.
For over two decades, Dorothy K. Phillips has focused her practice in the area of domestic relations, providing advice and counsel on a variety of complex marital issues involving divorce, division of property, alimony, child custody and child support. With three offices throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Dorothy K. Phillips & Associates, LLC is committed to providing its clients superior counsel and support.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Divorce Attorney Pennsylvania
Family Law Philadelphia
Dorothy K. Phillips
(215) 568-7757
www.mydivorceattorney.com
E-mail: dkp@dkphillipslaw.com
