News & Publications

Case Bulletin – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds that Insurance Policy Provision Requiring IME is Void

Most automobile insurance policies include a provision that requires an insured who is seeking first party benefits to submit to an independent medical examination, (IME).  In a recent opinion, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that those medical examination policy provisions conflict with Section 1796(a) of Pennsylvania’s Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law, (MVFRL), which includes […]

Case Bulletin – Safe Auto Ins. v. Oriental – Guillermo (214 A.3d 1257 (Pa. 2019)

In the August, 2019 decision of Safe Auto Insurance Company v. Oriental-Guillermo, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania found that an unlisted resident driver exclusion (URDE) in an automobile insurance policy was enforceable against the policyholder’s live-in girlfriend. Therefore, the court found that the automobile insurance carrier was not obligated to provide insurance coverage to the […]

Case Bulletin – Pennsylvania Supreme Court Publishes Opinion Regarding Discovery Rule and Statute of Limitations

On October 17, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court published an opinion that requires determinations regarding the applicability of the discovery rule to toll a statute of limitations to be put to a jury.  In Nicolaou v. Martin, et al., No. 44 MAP 2017, 2018 WL 5019804 (Pa. October 17, 2018), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held […]

Case Bulletin – The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Examines Definition of “Occurrence” Contained in Homeowners Policy for Actions Constituting Criminal Assault

In September of 2018, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania addressed the issue of whether an insurer’s actions constituting criminal assault could be considered an “occurrence” under a homeowner’s insurance policy affording coverage and indemnity. The declaratory judgment action in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania stemmed from an underlying civil […]

Case Bulletin – Pennsylvania’s Superior Court Rejects Tolling Claims in Latent Disease Cases

On November 16, 2018, Pennsylvania’s Superior Court addressed whether claims of latent disease against an employer were tolled until the seminal Tooey ruling was issued in 2013.  Moeller v. Armstrong World Indus., Inc., 361 MDA 2018, (Pa. Super. 2018); Riley v. Armstrong World Indus., Inc., 122 MDA 2018 (Pa. Super. 2018), Michael Moeller was employed […]

Case Bulletin – Third Circuit Permits Insurer’s Contribution Claim Against Liquor Licensee

On August 22, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reinstated an insurer’s contribution claim against a liquor licensee for allegedly overserving alcohol to its insured driver. Encompass Insurance Co. v. Stone Mansion Restaurant Inc., No. 17-1479 (argued October 12, 2017). In March 2011, Brian Viviani and Helen Hoey attended a […]

Case Bulletin – PA Superior Court Holds Foreign Corporations who Register to do Business in Pennsylvania can be Subject to General Personal Jurisdiction

The United States Supreme Court has recently authored a number of cases restricting situations in which courts can exercise general personal jurisdiction over an out of state defendant. See e.g. BNSF Ry. Co. v. Tyrrell, 137 S.Ct. 1549, 1558 (2017); Daimler AG v. Bauman, 571 U.S. 117, 137 (2014). However, the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued […]

Case Bulletin – Allegheny County Judge Colville Approves of Alternative Service via Facebook

The Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure regarding service of original process provide: (a)  Original process may be served (1)  by handing a copy to the defendant; or (2)  by handing a copy (i)   at the residence of the defendant to an adult member of the family with whom he resides; but if no adult member […]

Case Bulletin: Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Rejects Employee’s Worker’s Compensation Claim Based on “Coming and Going” Rule

On May 17, 2018, the Commonwealth Court affirmed the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board’s dismissal of a claim filed by an electrical worker which arose after that worker was injured in a motor vehicle accident while driving to work.  Generally, the “coming and going” rule exempts employers from liability for injuries suffered by employees while commuting […]

Case Bulletin – Superior Court Grants New Trial In Case in which Jury Charge Contained an Outdated Definition of “Defect”

On February 16, 2018, the Superior Court found that a Defendant manufacturer/supplier was entitled to a new trial following a denial of post-trial motions.  It held that because the Supreme Court’s decision in Tincher v. Omega Flex, Inc., 104 A.3d 328 (Pa. 2014) created a new definition of “defect” a jury charge containing an outdated […]

Case Bulletin – DUI Legal & Practical Developments; What It Takes to Reach the Legal Limit

Along with DUI laws in states across the country, Pennsylvania DUI laws and associated penalties are changing.  A recent U. S. Supreme Court case, Birchfield v. North Dakota, decided on June 23, 2016, held that taking a blood sample or administering a breath test is a search governed by the Fourth Amendment.  In this context, […]

Case Bulletin – Pennsylvania Supreme Court holds that statute of limitations for an uninsured motorist claim begins to run upon “an alleged breach of a contractual duty” by the insurer.

Erie Ins. Exch. v. Bristol., No. 124 MAP 2016 (Pa., Nov. 22, 2017). In July 2005, Michael Bristol was injured in a hit-and-run accident while working as a lineman for RCC, Inc.  RCC was insured though a policy issued by Erie Insurance that contained an Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Endorsement.  That endorsement contained an arbitration clause. […]

Case Bulletin – Superior Court Holds Fair Share Act Applies to Strict Liability Claims

On Tuesday, December 28, 2017, the Superior Court ruled that the Fair Share Act, 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102, applies to strict liability cases, including asbestos litigation. Roverano v. John Crane, Inc., ___ A.3d ___, 2017 WL 6761077 (Pa. Super. 2017). In Roverano, the plaintiff alleged exposure to asbestos during his employment from 1971-1981. He was […]

Case Bulletin – Third Circuit Upholds Dismissal Based On Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

On September 7, 2017, the Third Circuit upheld a dismissal of a Complaint against Walt Disney Parks and the Walt Disney Company based upon lack of personal jurisdiction. See Barth v. Walt Disney Parks & Resorts U.S., Inc., 2017 WL 3951783 (3d Cir. Sept. 8, 2017) (unpublished). The Plaintiffs sued the Disney Defendants in Philadelphia […]

Case Bulletin – Brandt v. Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., 2017 WL 4271039 (Pa. Com. Pl.) Philadelphia trial court grants Defendants’ motions in limine and excludes two of Plaintiffs’ experts from testifying at trial in talcum powder mesothelioma case.

On September 25, 2017, a Philadelphia trial court (the “Court”) granted Defendants’ motions in limine and precluded two of Plaintiff’s experts from testifying at trial in a talcum powder mesothelioma case Brandt v. Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., 2017 WL 4271039 (Pa. Com. Pl.).  After extensive motions, briefing and several days of testimony in Frye hearings, the […]

Case Bulletin – Pennsylvania Supreme Court holds that “proof of an insurance company’s motive of self-interest or ill-will is not a prerequisite to prevailing in a bad faith claim.”

Rancosky v. Washington Nat. Ins. Co., No. 28 WAP 2016 (Pa., Sep. 28, 2017). This appeal arose from a dispute between Conseco Health Insurance Company and its insured (LeAnn Rancosky) over a cancer insurance policy Rancosky had purchased in connection with her employment as a postal worker.  The dispute centered on the policy’s waiver-of-premium provision, […]

Case Bulletin – Federal District Court holds Minimum Financial Requirement for Diversity Jurisdiction Met in UM Bad Faith Action

On May 18, 2017, Judge Conaboy from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania held that the minimum requirement of greater than $75,000 to satisfy diversity jurisdiction was met in an Uninsured Motorist (UM) bad faith claim, even where the policy limits were below this threshold. Koerner v. GEICO Cas. Co., […]

Case Bulletin – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Clarifies the Duty of Informed Consent

On June 20, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court addressed a trial court’s instructions to the jury related to informed consent in Shinal v. Toms, M.D., 31 MAP 2016 (Pa. 2017), ultimately overruling prior Superior Court holdings.  In doing so, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a physician may not delegate to others his or her […]

Pennsylvania Superior Court Permits Evidence of Industry and Safety Standards In Products Liability Case Post-Tincher

On April 11, 2017, the Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s admission of evidence of industry and safety standards in the first products liability case considering this issue after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Tincher v. Omega Flex, Inc., 104 A.3d 328 (Pa. 2014).   In Renninger v. A&R Machine Shop, ___ A.3d […]