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PA Commonwealth Court Issues Opinion on Licensed Premises

In News by Flaherty & O'Hara

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Makes Clear The Meaning of “Location, Place and Property” As They Relate To Licensed Premises and Gas Pumps / The Sale Of Liquid Fuels: We are excited to have represented Weis Markets in a victory in Commonwealth Court, which handed down its opinion January 30, 2014 in Water Street Beverage Ltd., t/a Keller’s Beer, Petitioner, v. Pennsylvania …

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Liquor businesses get shaken, stirred

In News by Flaherty & O'Hara

If Gov. Tom Corbett has his way, it will soon be last call for Pennsylvania to be in the liquor business. In his latest budget proposal, Corbett made his anticipated push for a total privatization of state-controlled wholesale and retail operations that have been around since Prohibition. The plan lets retail beer distributors now restricted to selling by the case or keg …

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The liquor debate: The pros and cons behind privatizing PA’s liquor system

In Featured by Flaherty & O'Hara

By Sue Gleiter | sgleiter@pennlive.com Governor Tom Corbett is putting liquor privatization in Pennsylvania on the fast track. On Wednesday, he announced a proposal that would get the state out of the business of selling booze and at the same time fund educational programs for school districts. The issues has been hotly debated on both sides of the fence. Here’s a quick …

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Flaherty & O’Hara Featured for Liquor Licensee Expertise

In News by Flaherty & O'Hara

Flaherty & O’Hara was featured in a piece written by Thomas Olson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, originally appearing on February 28, 2012. “Other firms do liquor licensing but with just a couple of attorneys and working only in their own state,” said Mark Flaherty from the firm’s third-floor office at Sixth Avenue and Smithfield Street. “Nobody does this in as …

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Snow flies in August with Batman downtown

In Community by Flaherty & O'Hara

Where Downtown office workers saw fake snow and “Batman”-related traffic disruptions all around Wednesday, Jack Cohen saw a pretty big boost to his business. Cohen’s Smithfield Street store, S.W. Randall Toys and Gifts, has been seeing a lot of Batman-related business over the past several weeks, from “The Dark Knight Rises” cast and crew as well as Batman enthusiasts looking for collectibles. …

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Pittsburgh law firms unite to fund Downtown arts

In Community by Flaherty & O'Hara

Eighteen Pittsburgh law firms have banded together to contribute funding to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust as part of a new initiative to encourage funding for Downtown arts. The Cultural Trust Legal Society was created by Downtown lawyers Chester Babst and Thomas VanKirk in response to the changing economic environment intensifying the need for arts funding. “We saw giving going down by just under a …

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PA Supreme Court ruling: Grocery stores can sell alcohol

In News by Flaherty & O'Hara

Grocery stores with established restaurant operations within them have full legal right to sell beer, wine and spirits, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled today. The court ruled unanimously in favor of Wegman’s grocery store and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board after a three-year legal challenge led by the Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania, an industry trade group. The MDBA challenged …

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Flaherty & O’Hara Featured for Nation-wide Liquor Licence Expertise

In News by Flaherty & O'Hara

“My dad was a liquor agent for 25 years,” Mr. Flaherty explained. He went out on inspection calls with his father, and remembers the particulars of the job — measuring the distance between a church and a bar, for instance. On other calls, “he’d set me at the pinball machine,” while his dad examined the place. Read the full article …