Auto

A Connecticut Auto Dealer in Pennsylvania’s Court: Personal Jurisdiction over the Internet (PA)

Does the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have personal jurisdiction over an auto dealer in Connecticut? This was the question recently examined by the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas in D&S Auto Sales v. Commercial Sales & Marketing. The Defendant, a Ford dealership located in Mystic, Connecticut filed a preliminary objection to a claim of faulty service and repair of a vehicle...Read More

NYPD Traffic Officer Traffic Owed No Special Duty to Plaintiff Struck by Taxi

On November 1, 2012, an NYPD traffic officer was directing traffic at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and East 10th Street in Manhattan, New York, after the traffic lights were non-operational due to Hurricane Sandy. As the officer was manually directing traffic, a collision occurred at the intersection between a motorcycle driven by the Plaintiff and a taxi. Subsequently, in Mendez v. City of...Read More

Joyride Fails to Bring Joy to Injured Passenger (NJ)

New Jersey motorist Sheavonra Adderly was involved in a one-car collision that caused injury to one of her passengers. That passenger sought coverage under the vehicle’s insurance policy issued by Liberty Mutual. However, Adderly was not the owner of the vehicle involved in the accident, and the policy excluded coverage if a person drives the covered vehicle without a reasonable belief...Read More

Read it and Weep: Plaintiff’s Case Against Insurer Dismissed for Failure to Understand the Insurance Policy (NJ)

In Giselle Polizzi v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey case gave a lesson in policy interpretation following a dispute over an automobile policy. In this case, Giselle Polizzi (“Polizzi”) was injured in a car accident with an underinsured motorist while borrowing her parents’ vehicle. Due to language in an endorsement within...Read More

UIM Coverage and Avoidance of Forum Selection Requirements? Court Holds That’s Too Much to Ask For Following an Invalid Waiver (PA)

In Matthews v. Erie Insurance Group, the plaintiff’s action arose following a motor vehicle accident. The plaintiff appealed from the trial court order sustaining Erie Insurance Group (“Erie”)’s preliminary objections to venue and transferring the case from Philadelphia County to Bucks County. The Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. The Appellant, Matthews, was operating a...Read More

Does The Operator Of A Snowplow Need To Operate By The Rules Of The Road? (NY)

In Kaffash v. Village of Great Neck Estates, the Appellate Division, Second Department addressed whether the defendants were entitled to summary judgment on the issue of liability after the defendant struck the plaintiff while operating a snowplow. On the date in question, one of the defendants was operating a snowplow owned by his employer (co-defendant). While moving the plow in reverse, the...Read More

There is No Such Thing as the “Sudden Emergency Defense” according to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (PA)

In Graham v. Check, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that the “sudden emergency doctrine” should not be understood as a defense to alleged negligent driving. Further, a claimed “sudden emergency” will not diminish the standard of care drivers should exercise. In the early morning hours of March 6, 2018, plaintiff Francis Graham crossed the street without a “walk signal.” He was wearing all...Read More

Pennsylvania Court Finds Plaintiff Made Good Faith Efforts to Serve the Defendants Under the Circumstances Created by COVID-19

In a dispute focused on what constitutes sufficient notice of a lawsuit, Judge David Williamson of the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas ruled in West v. Mulero that a plaintiff’s lawyer’s correspondences with and attempts to serve the Defendant’s attorney directly, rather than follow procedural rules directing service through the Sheriff’s Office were sufficient,...Read More

NJ Court Holds Statutory Insurance Minimums Supersede Stated Policy Coverage Limits

The matter of Rafanello v. Taylor-Esquivel arose out of a multi-vehicle accident involving a commercial dump truck operated by Jorge Taylor-Esquivel and under the control of his employer, NAB Trucking (the truck was leased). Esquivel, however, was not listed in the Covered Driver’s section of NAB’s liability policy. The trial court determined that NAB’s exposure was capped at $35,000 which, in...Read More

Stolen Car or Implied Consent? Look Beyond the Driver’s Seat (NJ)

During a night of imbibing, Galvan-Martinez asked his good friend Munoz for a ride to work the following morning. Munoz responded non-committedly, stating that he would “if he had time.” A few drinks later, Munoz walked home, leaving his keys behind. The next morning Munoz received a phone call from his friend advising that he had driven Munoz’s vehicle to work and been involved in an...Read More