Clarity on Role of Non-Treating Provider in Worker’s Compensation Matter (PA)
On December 22, 2021 in the case captioned Keystone Rx LLC v. Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that non-treating providers, such as pharmacies and imaging centers, may not have a role in the process of non-utilization review. This case arose when Claimant Thomas Shaw, an employee of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, was injured and...Read More
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New NY Insurance Disclosure Obligations Effective December 31, 2021 (NY)
On December 31, 2021, New York State Governor signed into law a new act implementing much more rigorous insurance disclosure obligations than previously existed. While defendants in New York have always been required to disclose applicable insurance policies and coverage limits, defense attorneys had some flexibility as to the timing of such disclosures. Unless plaintiffs attorneys pressed the...Read More
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Art Gallery’s Covid-Related Losses Are Not Covered By Insurance Policy
In 10012 Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Guy Hepner v. Sentinel Insurance Company, LTD., the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision to dismiss plaintiff’s claim for failure to state a proper basis for relief. Guy Hepner, a New York City-based fine arts gallery displaying the works of Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and many others, filed suit against its...Read More
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Hot Yoga Gone Wrong: Gym Saved by Exculpatory Clause in Member Usage Agreement
When it comes to slip and falls, one doesn’t usually think of a hot yoga studio in a luxury gym as a site rife with hazardous conditions. However, in New Jersey, the Appellate Division had to examine a summary judgment decision in a case where plaintiff allegedly slipped and fell on sweat on the floor of a hot yoga studio in Florham Park. Skarbnik v. Life Time Fitness, Inc., 2021 WL 3923270...Read More
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Timing is Everything!
In Synergy Contracting v. Fednat Insurance, Case Number 2D21-144 (Fla. 2d DCA December 10, 2021) the insured’s home suffered a covered loss. The insured contracted for repairs with, and assigned its policy benefits to, Synergy Contracting. A dispute arose, and Synergy sued Fednat for breach of contract. Fednat invoked the policy’s appraisal clause, timely paid the $3,795.62 appraisal award and...Read More
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Show Me The Facts (PA)
In Gayle Staiger and John Staiger v. Weis Markets, Inc., d/b/a Weis Markets, a customer of Weis Markets filed suit against the store after she allegedly slipped and fell while browsing the beverage isle. Gayle Straiger, and her husband John Staiger, asserted claims of negligence and loss of consortium against Weis Markets for failing to properly maintain the premises. However, the sole factual...Read More
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No Napkin, No Trial (NJ)
In a New Jersey Appellate Division decision from last month, a defendant’s award of summary judgment where a slip and fall was captured on video was affirmed. Estate of Lillianthal by Cohen v. Baskin-Robbins, 2021 WL 5108555 (App. Div. 2021). In this case, plaintiff fell inside a Dunkin Donuts, purportedly because of a green, sticky substance and errant napkin. Plaintiff did not notice a...Read More
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Western District of PA Grants Motion Dismissing Claim for COVID-19 Losses
This month the U.S. District Court for Pennsylvania in the Western District granted a Defendant-Insurer’s motion to dismiss a plaintiff-dentist’s claim for lost business income stemming from COVID-19. The dentist had an insurance policy with the defendant that included coverage for lost business income stemming from physical loss or damage to its property and civil authority coverage. The...Read More
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Let The Fact Finders Decide (PA)
In Daniel Spisak v. Advanced Auto Parts, Inc., Mr. Spisak brought a negligence claim against Advanced Auto Parts for failing to properly maintain its parking lot after a winter storm. On December 22, 2017, Mr. Spisak was dropping off a delivery of car batteries to an Advanced Auto Parts in Connecticut when he slipped and fell on an icy patch located in the company’s parking lot. Spisak...Read More
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Just The Facts Please
Few things are more irritating than having to tell a client, in a first party insurance claim, that it must pay prevailing party attorney’s fees and costs that are two, three, four times or more than that recovered by the insured. This is especially true in Florida where it often seems that excessive, legally unsupported, fee and cost awards are not the exception, but the norm. In Citizens...Read More
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