Benjamin C. Dunlap, Jr
Benjamin C. Dunlap, Jr. divides his practice between public utility and related work for railroad clients and business and employment law for companies ranging in size from startups to major national companies.
Ben represents Class 1 and short line railroads on public crossing and related matters before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Such cases frequently involve large amounts of money with the opportunity for significant cost savings by the railroad. Such cases often entail related contractual and property matters that are litigated in state and federal courts.
Ben represents a major insurance holding company in contractual matters as well as employment and benefits issues on a regular basis. Ben is a member of the company's labor negotiating team and drafts the collective bargaining agreement. He represents the company on provider terminations, as well as on coverage issues for groups.
Ben's work with smaller companies includes contract drafting and litigation, including franchise agreements. He has represented small to mid-size companies in the areas of intellectual property rights, disputes with the Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection, and employment disputes before the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as well as in state and federal courts.
Significant Cases:
- Successfully represented a railroad in a case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirming that contract rights are preserved between the parties even when the PUC orders payment in the first instance for rail-highway crossing work contrary to the contract. Consolidated Rail Corporation v. City of Harrisburg and the Harrisburg Authority, 842 A.2d 369 (2004).
- Conducted legal review of a company's Fair Labor Standards Act audit involving more than a hundred employee positions.
- Successfully represented a railroad in a case establishing that the PUC is without authority to allocate costs to a railroad possessing only operating rights at a rail-highway crossing. City of Chester v. Pa. Public Utility Comm'n, 798 A.2d 288 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2002).
- Represented a local company in a contract dispute, the arbitration award from which resulted in nearly $1 million in additional revenues.
- Represented a Class 1 railroad against the City of Philadelphia in a contract dispute in federal court over park access rights that led to a favorable negotiated settlement for the railroad.
Publications:
- What You Don't Know Could Cost You $18 Million, Business2Business Magazine, October 2007
- New Health Insurance Regulations Add to Employers' Responsibility, Central Pennsylvania Business Journal
Nauman Smith Shissler & Hall, LLP
200 North 3rd Street, 18th Floor
P.O. Box 840
Harrisburg, PA 17101
717.236.3010
fax: 717.234.1925
info@nssh.com