Francis G.X. Pileggi

For over 30 years, I have practiced in the areas of corporate and commercial litigation as well as other complex litigation and administrative proceedings. My practice includes representation in high-stakes disputes for a wide range of clients in many industries as well as for utility companies, government entities and non-profits in multiple states. I have also litigated successfully, in both federal and state appellate courts, groundbreaking Second Amendment cases and related constitutional issues on behalf of civil rights organizations.

OOR: Reports Directed to Nursing Home Quality Assurance Committee Exempt From Production Under RTKL

By Francis Pileggi

November 17, 2020

This synopsis was prepared by Pennsylvania attorney Catherine Olanich Raymond. On August 14, 2020, the OOR entered a Final Determination holding that some categories of information relating to personnel hired to work with infection prevention and control at a nursing home (“preventionists”) are producible under the RTKL, but that reports made by the preventionists to the home’s quality assessment and assurance (“QAA”) committee are exempt from production. Nicole Brambila and Public Source v. Bucks County,…

PA Right to Know Law Blog

Pennsylvania COVID-19 Lockdown and “Life-Sustaining/Non-Life Sustaining” Business Distinction Orders Held Unconstitutional.

By Francis Pileggi

October 4, 2020

This synopsis was prepared by Pennsylvania attorney Catherine Olanich Raymond. On September 14, 2020, the Honorable William S. Stickman, IV of the Western District of Pennsylvania entered judgment that Governor Wolf’s “stay at home” order and the order closing “non-life-sustaining” businesses for months (“business shutdown”) are unconstitutional in County of Butler, et al. v. Thomas W. Wolf, et al., Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-677, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167544 (W.D. Pa. Sept. 14, 2020). Governor Wolf…

Chancery explains how AmerisourceBergen plaintiffs’ Caremark claim passed pre-suit demand test

By Francis Pileggi

September 7, 2020

This post was prepared by Frank Reynolds, who has been following Delaware corporate law, and writing about it for various legal publications, for over 30 years. The Delaware Court of Chancery recently decided AmerisourceBergen Corporation shareholders’ breach-of-duty suit was one of the few Caremark claims to pass Delaware’s pre-suit demand test because it may prove the directors and officers turned a blind eye to a subsidiary’s criminal enterprise of cancer drug repackaging in Teamsters Local…

Mid-Year Review of Key Delaware Corporate and Commercial Decisions

By Francis Pileggi

July 13, 2020

For the last 15 years, I have published a list of key corporate and commercial decisions by the Delaware Supreme Court and Court of Chancery on these pages. On a few occasions, I have published a Mid-Year Review of those cases. This year, veteran reporter and court watcher Jeff Montgomery of Law360 published such a review this month, and quoted your truly about the import of a few of those decisions. The link …

Court of Chancery Announces New Courtroom Protocols

By Francis Pileggi

June 9, 2020

In connection with the Delaware Supreme Court’s recent Order providing for the multi-phased, limited reopening of Delaware Courthouses as of June 8, 2020, while at the same time extending Delaware’s “judicial emergency declaration” for another 30 days, the Delaware Court of Chancery has issued an Order to impose new Courtroom protocols for attorneys and visitors, also effective June 8, 2020, such as installing podiums on counsel tables instead of a common podium in the…

PA Right to Know Law Blog

OOR Requires Production of Emails among Borough Manager and Council Members

By Francis Pileggi

April 25, 2020

Email communications among Council Members and the Borough Manager of Lewistown were required to be produced, pursuant to a recent decision from the Office of Open Records in the matter styled Maguire v. Lewistown Borough, OOR Docket No. AP 2020-0260 (April 20, 2020). Basic Facts The Final Determination of the OOR in this matter followed an appeal from the denial of a request to the Borough for emails between and among the Borough Manager and…

Chancery Allows Delaware Expedited Relief Request Despite NY Forum Selection Clause

By Francis Pileggi

April 25, 2020

A recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision entertained a request for expedited relief in Delaware despite a New York forum selection clause, in part due to the unavailability of the New York Courts that were not fully operational due to the coronavirus shutdown. Francis Pileggi and Chauna Abner co-authored an article with an overview of the ruling in Conduent Business Services v. Skyview Capital, C.A. No. 2020-0232-JTL, Transcript Ruling at **33-34 (Del. Ch. Mar. 30, …

More Closures in Delaware Due to Pandemic

By Francis Pileggi

March 23, 2020

Yesterday, on the same date as the announcement that the Governor of Delaware required the closure of “non-essential businesses” (that apparently is defined not to include law firms), the Delaware Supreme Court ordered, in essence, all Delaware Courts closed to the public until April 15 (e.g., for in-person access) due to the pandemic that has nearly shutdown most of the U.S. and much of the world. This is a supplement to prior Standing Orders …

Delaware Supreme Court Declares Judicial Emergency Due to Coronavirus

By Francis Pileggi

March 16, 2020

By Delaware Supreme Court Order, effective March 16, 2020, Delaware’s high court declared a judicial emergency, following the Governor of Delaware declaring on Friday, March 13, a state of emergency due to the coronavirus, and also on the same day that President Trump proclaimed a National Emergency. The foregoing hyperlink provides the actual Court Order. One provision makes it easier for trial courts, in their discretion, to postpone trials and hearings at least for 30…

Delaware Courts’ Response to the Coronavirus

By Francis Pileggi

March 12, 2020

According to the World Health Organization this afternoon, and a televised announcement from the President of the United States this evening, a novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has now been declared to be a worldwide pandemic. Two other examples of how serious this situation is: The President announced a travel ban from most of Europe to the U.S. for the next 30 days, and the NBA just cancelled the rest of their season. The Delaware Courts…

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