Alfred A. Gollatz

Commercial Litigation

February 6, 2015 by Hoppel Design

Your business is business. Ours is litigation.

A critical tool in protecting your company’s interests, litigation can also be used to attack those same vital interests – often putting your entire life’s work at risk, and leaving your future uncertain.

At MacElree Harvey, our Commercial Litigation Practice is uncompromisingly committed to providing clients with the upper hand – utilizing the advantage that comes from our years of experience, and our dedication to helping you achieve your overall goals.

With a depth of expertise and the resources expected of large firms without sacrificing the responsiveness and personal attention typically found in much smaller firms, our experienced commercial litigators advise and advocate for the rights of businesses and individuals engaged in sales, trades, and commerce.

Whether you’re an industry leader with high visibility, or a smaller family-owned franchise, from onset to closing, our attorneys are equipped with the sophisticated knowledge and training to ensure you have the right team on your side.

Our clients know that it doesn’t matter if they’re a large business involved in breach of contract dispute, a business or individual seeking to protect his or her intellectual property, or a shareholder seeking to protect his or her rights in a corporate dispute, our commercial litigators approach each matter the exact same way – with the expertise required to properly advise you on the next steps, the skill to unrelentingly fight for, or defend you – and – most importantly – the initiative to obtain the result desired.

If you would like to schedule a consultation, please call the firm at 610.436.0100 or submit the contact request form.

Banking & Finance Litigation

February 6, 2015 by Hoppel Design

MacElree Harvey’s Banking and Finance Litigation practice group provides legal services to clients who encounter business or personal problems that create financial distress. Whether the financial stress relates to a customer, tenant, competitor, related company, family member, or the client itself, our attorneys are ready to provide counseling, workout solutions and litigation services.

Our Banking and Finance Litigation attorneys have decades of experience regularly working on the following types of matters:

Bankruptcy

Secured and unsecured creditor representations; relief from automatic stays; discharge objections; creditor lien preservation; and defense against debtor or bankruptcy trustee claims for preferences and fraudulent transfers.

Loan Enforcement and Collection

Lender and borrower representations in collection actions, suits on promissory notes, foreclosure actions, confessions of judgment, garnishments, loan default and delinquency proceedings; creditor representations for breach of contract; and purchaser of goods representations for breach of contract.

Real Estate Leases

Landlord representations for lease enforcement; landlord representations for renegotiation of leases in default; landlord representations for collection of delinquent rent; landlord representations for recovery of leased premises possession; landlord representations for evictions; and tenant representations and defense for breach of lease claims.

Loan Workouts

Advise lenders and borrowers regarding debt restructuring, debt consolidation or alternative financing arrangements; and negotiation of loan restructuring to fit the client’s current financial situation.

Liens

Contractor and subcontractor representations for filing of mechanic liens on residential and commercial projects; homeowner or business owner defense representations where mechanics liens have been filed against their property; repairman representations for repairman’s liens; garage representations for garage liens; and warehouse representations for warehouse liens.

Business Disputes and Complex Litigation

Business and individual representations in disputes involving complex commercial transactions and claims including but not limited to fraud, piercing the company veil, successor liability, fraudulent transfers, civil conspiracy and guarantor or personal liability.

Banking and Lender Liability Defense

Bank and other financial institution defense against claims of Uniform Commercial Code Article 3 and 4 violations, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and fraud allegations; and lender liability representations.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Arbitration Litigation

Client representations against brokers or brokerage firms for unsuitable investments and “churning” (excessive buying and selling of securities to generate commissions for the broker) before FINRA.

Executions and Garnishments

Creditor representations to enforce judgments through sheriff sales of real estate, attachment of bank accounts and levy and sale of personal property; advise financial institutions on the attachment of customers’ accounts by creditors; and creditor and debtor post-judgment representations to stay or contest executions.

If you would like to schedule a consultation, please call the firm at 610.436.0100 or submit the contact request form.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

February 4, 2015 by Hoppel Design

In many legal matters, going to trial is the least desirable way to reach an outcome. Litigation costs can be very high and emotions can run the gamut of apprehension to anger and even worse. Using Alternative Dispute Resolution, parties can resolve business disagreements, estate and trust disputes, family law matters and other legal disputes in a more efficient and surprisingly more satisfactory way than heated courtroom battles.

The process of Alternative Dispute Resolution is valuable because it involves a knowledgeable, neutral person to provide a forum in which a parties can settle their differences.

At MacElree Harvey both our Pennsylvania and Delaware attorneys often use Alternative Dispute Resolution to facilitate resolution of our clients’ legal disputes. In addition, the Firm has several attorneys who offer Alternative Dispute Resolution services as part of their practice by serving as Mediators and Arbitrators.

The use of Alternative Dispute Resolution forums to resolve disputes in Pennsylvania and Delaware has expanded greatly in the past thirty years. Many types of disputes are particularly suited to resolution through mediation or arbitration. Some examples include:

Divorce
Custody
Personal injury
Estate matters
Employment conflicts
Breach of contract

The primary methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution are Mediation and Arbitration, which are chosen depending on the client’s individual situation, and desired manner of interacting with the process and the other parties involved.

Mediation
Mediation is a process by which parties to a dispute use a neutral party to attempt to facilitate a mutually agreeable resolution to their conflict. It is a confidential process in which the mediator, an impartial third party, directs settlement discussions, but does not render a judgment on any issue in dispute. The mediator helps the parties reach their own negotiated settlement by holding joint sessions with all parties present followed by caucuses with each party individually, during which issues are defined, emotions are defused, and potential resolutions are discussed. Mediation is a non-adversarial way to resolve conflicts, including lawsuits. A mediator can facilitate the parties in conflict to frame the business problem caused by the conflict, hear the parties out, and engage them in the process of working through the conflict to reach an agreement acceptable to the parties that includes gives and takes, and specific behavior.

Arbitration
When Arbitration is used, a neutral person (called an arbitrator) hears arguments and evidence from each side, then, in contrast to Mediation, decides the outcome of the dispute. Arbitration is less formal than a trial, and the rules of evidence are often relaxed. Participants in Arbitration may choose for the outcome to be considered binding or non-binding. When the outcome is binding, the right to a trial is waived, and participants agree to accept the arbitrator’s decision as final, often with no right to appeal. When participants choose nonbinding Arbitration means that the parties are free to request a trial if they do not accept the arbitrator’s decision.

MacElree Harvey attorneys have the experience to serve as arbitrators, mediators and to represent parties at mediations and arbitrations in disputes throughout Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Insurance Coverage Disputes

February 4, 2015 by Hoppel Design

The purpose of insurance is to manage your risks and to avoid catastrophic financial loss. MacElree Harvey attorneys understand this and are committed to not only helping individuals and businesses get the coverage they deserve but maximizing that coverage. Our attorneys recognize that each case is different and requires a unique, creative, cost-effective and tailored approach to maximize insurance recovery and to achieve client goals. Whatever that approach might be, the MacElree Harvey team is experienced to handle everything from the claims handling process to the most complex insurance coverage litigation and arbitration. In certain cases, litigation may not be the best option and our attorneys recognize that.

The Insurance Coverage practice group has dealt with a wide variety of disputes relating to insurance coverage, including:

Bad Faith
Business Interruption Coverage
Construction Defect Coverage
Construction Disputes
Environmental Coverage
Errors and Omissions (“E&O”) Coverage
Directors and Officers (“D&O”) Coverage
Employment Liability Coverage
Fiduciary Liability Coverage
General Liability Coverage
Life, Health and Disability Coverage
Insurance Agent/Broker Malpractice
Insurance Code Violations
Intellectual Property Coverage
Professional Liability Coverage
Property Coverage (including Homeowners and Renters)
Reinsurance Coverage
Warranty Coverage

The Insurance Coverage Group also regularly advises individuals and businesses on insurance issues and policy needs.

If you would like to schedule a consultation, please call the firm at 610.436.0100 or submit the contact request form.

Litigation Law

January 29, 2015 by Hoppel Design

Litigation Law

From its inception, MacElree Harvey has been the home of accomplished trial lawyers serving clients in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Northern Delaware.

Our attorneys are known for their efficient and effective representation of a broad range of clients.

The firm has continued that tradition by recognizing that the legal challenges facing individuals, families, businesses, professionals, and charities can have devastating consequences if not properly prosecuted or defended.

To meet the challenges of today’s legal climate, while MacElree Harvey continues to have a broad range litigation practice, the firm has also begun to concentrate its practice areas so that clients who face a particular legal challenge in these areas can expect quality representation by the right litigation lawyer with the right level of experience.

PRACTICE AREAS