MERLE SIMON AND STEVEN A. SIMON v.WYETH PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., ET AL (at 2620) MERLE SIMON AND STEVEN A. SIMON v.WYETH PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

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MERLE SIMON AND STEVEN A. SIMON v.WYETH PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., ET AL (at 2620) MERLE SIMON AND STEVEN A. SIMON v.WYETH PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., ET AL APPEAL OF: PHARMACIA & UPJOHN COMPANY, LLC (at2673) No. 2620 and 2673 EDA 2007 2009 PA Super 263 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 12/31/2009
	Appeal from the Order Dated September 7, 2007, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Civil Division, at No. June Term, 2004, No. 4229.
Before: ORIE MELVIN, BOWES, and DONOhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=725292761438552781HUE, JJ.
Opinion by: BOWES, J.
This is an appeal by plaintiff-wife, Merle Simon, a New Jersey resident, and a cross-appeal by defendant Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, LLC (“Upjohn”), a pharmaceutical company headquartered in New Jersey. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the trial court’s grant of judgment notwithstanding the verdict and remand to the trial court for consideration of Upjohn’s motion for a new trial.

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. TERI RHODES

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. TERI RHODES No. 143 WDA 2009 2009 PA Super 261 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 12/31/2009
	Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence entered November 21, 2008 In the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County Criminal Division at No. CP-25-CR-0000110-2008
Before: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J., ORIE MELVIN and BENDER, JJ.
Opinion by: BENDER, J.
Teri Rhodes appeals the judgment of sentence imposed following her entry of an open plea of guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2503(a), in the death of her infant daughter by neonaticide. Rhodes contends that the sentence imposed, of nine to eighteen years’ incarceration, was manifestly excessive and the trial judge was motivated in imposing sentence by a pronounced bias that should have compelled him to recuse. Upon review, we concur in Rhodes’s assessment. Because the record of these proceedings establishes that the trial judge acted substantially in derogation of the Pennsylvania Sentencing Code on the basis of evidence gathered ex parte, we conclude that the sentence imposed constitutes an abuse of discretion. We conclude further that the trial judge abused his discretion in refusing to grant Rhodes’s request for recusal. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of sentence and remand this matter for re-sentencing before another jurist.

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REVEREND MELVIN S. MUNDIE v. CHRIST UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

REVEREND MELVIN S. MUNDIE v. CHRIST UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST No. 573 MDA 2009 2009 PA Super 262 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 12/31/2009
	Appeal from the Order March 3, 2009, In the Court of Common Pleas of Adams County, Civil Division at No. 08-S-1251.
Before: BENDER, GANTMAN, and POPOVICH, JJ.
Opinion by: POPOVICH, J.
Appellant Reverend Melvin S. Mundie appeals the order sustaining Appellee Christ United Church of Christ’s preliminary objection and dismissing Appellant’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. After careful review, we reverse.

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. GERRY BURNS

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. GERRY BURNS No. 2127 EDA 2007 2009 PA Super 260 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 12/31/2009
	Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence, March 29, 2007, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No. CP-51-CR-0802891-2005
Before: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J., MUSMANNO, ORIE MELVIN, BENDER, BOWES, PANELLA, DONOHUE, SHOGAN, AND ALLEN, JJ.
Opinion by: FORD ELLIOT, P.J.
Gerry Burns appeals from the judgment of sentence of March 29, 2007, following his convictions of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse (“IDSI”), sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, and indecent assault. A divided panel of this court filed a memorandum opinion on December 19, 2008, which reversed the judgment of sentence and remanded the case for a new trial upon finding that the trial court should have allowed appellant to pierce the Rape Shield Law and cross-examine the victim regarding whether she had engaged in sexual activity with another man earlier on the day in question. On February 26, 2009, we granted the Commonwealth’s application for reargument en banc and withdrew the panel memorandum opinion. After careful review, we now affirm the judgment of sentence.

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. RONALD BYRD

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. RONALD BYRD No. 3158 EDA 2008 2009 PA Super 259 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 12/30/2009
	Appeal from the Order Entered October 7, 2008 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0007719-2008
Before: STEVENS, GANTMAN, and ALLEN, JJ.
Opinion by: STEVENS, J.
The Commonwealth appeals from an order entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County granting Appellee Ronald Byrd’s motion to suppress a handgun seized by the police. We reverse the suppression order entered below and remand for further proceedings.

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. MICHAEL GREENE

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. MICHAEL GREENE No. 538 MDA 2009 2009 PA Super 256 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 12/29/2009
	Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence, January 14, 2009, in the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County Criminal Division at No. CP-35-CR-0001831-2004
Before: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J., KLEIN, J. AND McEWEN, P.J.E.
Opinion by: KLEIN, J.
Dissenting Statement by: FORD ELLIOT, P.J.
Michael Greene appeals from the judgment of sentence of January 14, 2009, following his conviction of one count each of aggravated assault and simple assault. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole under Pennsylvania’s “three strikes” law, after the trial court found that two prior convictions in Massachusetts qualified as “crimes of violence” as that term is defined under Pennsylvania law. However, the relevant Massachusetts statutes incorporate the kind of robberies that would not qualify for the three strikes law in Pennsylvania, as well as those that do. The robberies for which Greene was convicted under the Massachusetts statutes could have been crimes where the victim only suffered or was put in fear of only bodily injury rather than serious bodily injury, which would be a robbery under Pennsylvania law, but would not qualify as a strike for Pennsylvania’s three strikes statute. Therefore, we find that the Massachusetts unarmed robbery and assault with intent to rob statutes do not qualify as substantially similar crimes of violence to relevant Pennsylvania law. As a result, we reverse Greene’s life sentence and remand for resentencing.

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. DONN STEVEN WATERS

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. DONN STEVEN WATERS No. 1418 EDA 2008 2009 PA Super 257 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 12/29/2009
	Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence April 14, 2008, Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Criminal Division at Nos. CP-51-CR-0003701-2007, CP-51-CR-0003702-2007; CP-51-CR-0003703-2007
Before: GANTMAN, DONOHUE and CLELAND, JJ.
Opinion by: DONOHUE, J.
Donn Steven Waters (“Waters”) appeals from the judgment of sentence entered on April 14, 2008 following his conviction of three counts of burglary, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3502(a), and related crimes. On appeal, Waters challenges the trial court’s classification of the burglaries as first-degree offenses under subsection (c) of the aforementioned statute. We reverse and remand for resentencing.

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. FRANCIS NICHOLAS RAKOWSKI, JR.

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. FRANCIS NICHOLAS RAKOWSKI, JR. No. 2059 MDA 2008 2009 PA Super 258 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 12/29/2009
	Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence August 27, 2008, In the Court of Common Pleas of York County, Criminal Division at No. CP-67-CR-0001198-2008.
Before: BENDER, FREEDBERG, and POPOVICH, JJ.
Opinion by: POPOVICH, J.
Dissenting Opinion by: BENDER, J.
Appellant Francis Nicholas Rakowski, Jr., appeals the judgment of sentence for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) in violation of 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3802(c) on grounds that: 1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction; 2) the verdict was against the weight of the evidence; and 3) the jury’s entry of inconsistent verdicts warrants a vacation of the judgment of sentence. After careful review, we affirm.

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. ADAM ROSEN

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. ADAM ROSEN No. 791 EDA 2009 2009 PA Super 254 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 12/28/2009
	Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence October 14, 2008, In the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Criminal Division at No. CP-46-CR-0005182-2001.
Before: PANELLA, POPOVICH, and COLVILLE, JJ.
Opinion by: POPOVICH, J.
Appellant Adam Rosen appeals the judgment of sentence of life imprisonment entered on October 14, 2008, in the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, for his conviction of first-degree murder following retrial. Appellant claims that the trial court erred by permitting expert psychiatric testimony from his first trial to be used as impeachment evidence in his second trial. Appellant asserts that this error presented him with a fait accompli regarding his choice to testify in his own defense and, thereby, violated his right to present a proper defense. Upon review, we affirm

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LEVAN JOHNSON, SR. v. PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE COMPANY

LEVAN JOHNSON, SR. v. PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE COMPANY No. 3173 EDA 2008 2009 PA Super 255 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 12/28/2009
	Appeal from the Order entered September 26, 2008 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Civil at No(s): June Term, 2007, No 2307
Before: BOWES, PANELLA, and FITZGERALD, JJ.
Opinion by: BOWES, J.
On appeal, Levan Johnson assails the propriety of the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Progressive Insurance Company on Appellant’s statutory bad faith insurance claim. We hereby affirm.

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