Plaintiff’s Now Occasionally Entitled To Recording IMEs In NJ
Recently, the Appellate Division dealt with three separate cases consolidated into one appeal on the issue of when a plaintiff’s attorney may have a third-party attend a plaintiff’s medical exam with a defense doctor, as well as whether it is permissible for a plaintiff’s attorney to audio and/or video record his client’s exam with a defense doctor. Difiore et. al. v. Pezic, et al. dealt with...Read More
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Too Many Auto Accidents Stop Causation Chain (NY)
In Smith v. Gray, 2022 WL 1418973 (2d Cir. 2022), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and the Court found that a physician’s expert report needs to be specific and undisputed if a defendant puts forth persuasive evidence that the plaintiff’s injury is related to a preexisting condition in order for a...Read More
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Gist Of The Action Remains Useful In PA Motion Practice
In Moravia Motorcycle, Inc. v. Allstate Insurance Company, plaintiffs brought the following claims in connection with damage sustained to a motor home: (1) negligent misrepresentation; (2) breach of contract; and (3) bad faith. Allstate moved for summary judgment on Counts I and III. The claim arose from a curious scenario, as the plaintiffs’ motorhome was parked in a lot they owned when a...Read More
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Intrafamily Exclusion In Auto Policy Ruled Unenforceable (NJ)
On May 6, 2022, a New Jersey appellate panel upheld a policyholder’s win in a coverage dispute with Travelers Insurance Company, holding an intrafamily step-down exclusion acted as a “hidden trap” in a family’s auto policy where not reflected in the policy declarations page. Specifically, in Cristina Dela Vega v. The Travelers Insurance Company, et al., (No.:...Read More
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Claim Of Injury On A City Bus Fails To Take Off From The Ground (NY)
In this week’s review, we study a quirky case where a plaintiff sued the MTA Bus Company because she sustained serious injury when she fell from a sudden and violent stop on a New York City bus. (Who among us has not been in this common situation at one point while living in New York City.) In Orji v. MTA Bus Co., NY Slip Op 02811 (2d Dept. 2022), the plaintiff alleged the city bus stopped at...Read More
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Common Owners Get Hit With Joint Liability (PA)
In a recent case from the Eastern District of PA, Snyder v. Hunt, the court granted plaintiff’s appeal for a directed verdict after finding plaintiff established a prima facie case of premises liability against common landowners. Evidence provided multiple owners of a driveway extending between two rows of houses and enjoyed an easement over the driveway in common with other abutting owners,...Read More
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An Arbitrator’s Award In Excess Of Policy Limit Constitutes Grounds For Vacatur (NY)
New York Appellate Court holds once an insurer has paid the full monetary limits set forth in its insurance policy, the insurer’s duties to the policyholder under the policy cease. Accordingly, where an arbitrator’s award directs payment in excess of the monetary limit of a policy of insurance, the Appellate Division, First Department has held that the award is subject to vacatur. In Allstate...Read More
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Be Careful With That “Reply All” Button . . . First Department Finds That A Series Of Emails Can Constitute An Enforceable Settlement Agreement
In Matter of Philadelphia Ins. Indem. Co. v. Kendall, 197 A.D.3d 75 (1st Dep’t 2021), the First Department found that an email exchange constituted a valid settlement agreement. In Kendall, the parties had presented their cases to an arbitrator. After the arbitration, but before the arbitrator rendered his decision, the parties settled the case for $400,000. The arbitrator then informed the...Read More
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Johnny Depp Takes The Stand In A $50 Million Defamation Lawsuit
Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp recently took the stand in a Virginia court in a defamation case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Depp is suing Heard for $50 Million dollars over a 2018 Op-Ed she wrote for the Washington Post, where she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” What is particularly interesting about this suit is that the Op-Ed never...Read More
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Attorney Who Failed To Pay Uncooperative Experts Found To Have Breached Contract (NY)
Recently, in the Supreme Court, New York County case Tiago v. Trachtman plaintiffs, both psychologists retained to be expert witnesses by the defendant, were awarded summary judgment as to liability under the breach of contract claims only and successful in severing and dismissing the defendant’s counterclaims. Contemporaneously, the Court denied the defendant’s cross-motion for summary...Read More
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