Harry Stump, Attorney At Law

1380 Old Freeport Road
Suite 3B
Pittsburgh, PA 15238

Phone: 412-281-5325
Email: hs@hstumpesq.com
Directions to our office

About

Harry Stump received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1968.  After military service in Vietnam, he received a Juris Doctor degree from the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Law in 1973, where he was Topics and Research Editor of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review.  He was admitted to the practice of law before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the Western District of Pennsylvania.  He has been engaged in the practice of law since 1973.

He served as an Assistant District Attorney of Allegheny County under Robert W. Duggan, Jack Hickton and Bob Colville.  While there he prosecuted approximately a thousand criminal cases, including approximately fifty jury trials.  He initially prosecuted criminal fraud cases involving Theft by Deception, 18 P.S. § 3927. He was the trial attorney in landmark prosecution of a travel agent that spent the travel funds and left her customers stranded at the airport, Commonwealth v. Crafton, 367 A.2d 1092 (Pa. Super. 1976) and a Hong Kong tailor who failed to deliver the tailor-made suits purchased by his customer: Commonwealth v Bhojawani, 364 A.2d 335 (Pa. Super. 1976).  He then prosecuted major felony and homicide cases.

He served as a judicial legal assistant to the Honorable Joseph M. James of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas while he was Administrative Judge of the Civil Division and then President Judge of Allegheny County.

He served as an Administrative Assistant to Allegheny County Commissioner William R. Hunt, reviewing contracts and serving on the Allegheny County Commissioners’ labor grievance board.

He has been in the private practice of law since 1976.  While in a private criminal law practice, he defended several homicide cases and other criminal defendants.

As a criminal defense attorney, in Commonwealth v. White, 380 A.2d 753 (Pa. 1977) he successfully defended his Court of Common Pleas Criminal Division ruling that the Pennsylvania Death Penalty Statute was unconstitutional.  In Commonwealth v. Yocham, 397 A.2d 766 (Pa. 1979) he convinced the  Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reverse the first degree murder conviction of a young man already serving a life sentence for murder.

In Lucchino Appeal, 434 A2d 1323 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1981) he fought the Allegheny County Controller’s surcharge of former Allegheny County Coroners. 

In Kapres v. Heller, 612 A.2d 987 (Pa. 1992), he fought to hold minors civilly responsible for providing other minors alcoholic beverages.

In Nationwide Assurance Co. v. Easley, 960 A.2d 843 (Pa. Super. 2008) he fought against unfair automobile insurance exclusions for drivers of cabs and other employer furnished vehicles.

In Oliver v. City of Pittsburgh, 11 A. 3d 960 (Pa. 2011), he successfully convinced the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to rule 7-0 to reverse the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decision at 977 A.2d 1232 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2009).  This decision ended the unfair collection of Heart and Lung Subrogation from Pennsylvania police officers, fire fighters and other public safety worker in car accident cases.

He has concentrated his practice in personal injury cases and insurance law, representing accident victims over the last 40 years.

He has recently lectured internationally on personal injury liability to obstetrical-anesthesia conferences in Novi Sad, Serbia; Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina (de facto capital of the Republika Srpska) , and Skopje, Republic of Northern Macedonia.  These countries were part of the former Yugoslavia and are relatively unfamiliar with civil liability practice.  These lectures were presented on behalf of Kybele, a global leader in health system strengthening in low and middle income countries, to improve the quality and safety of health care during childbirth.