Litigation

EDPA Holds Plaintiff’s Conclusory Allegations of Insurer Bad Faith Insufficient (PA)

In Harris v. Allstate, the plaintiff brought an action against her insurer, alleging the insurer breached the terms of the policy and engaged in bad faith conduct. By way of brief background, it was alleged that Allstate issued a policy to plaintiff. It was further alleged that a covered “peril” occurred, which caused “direct physical damage” to the plaintiff’s property. Plaintiff alleged that...Read More

Insurer Not Obligated to Defend or Indemnify Insured for Breach of Contract Claims (PA)

In Atain Insurance Co. v. Xcapes et al., the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania analyzed whether Atain Insurance Company (“Atain”) was obligated to, inter alia, defend and indemnify its insured, Xcapes, a home improvement contractor, with respect to state lawsuits filed against Xcapes asserting breach of contract, unjust enrichment/quasi contract, violations...Read More

No Mall Respondeat Superior (NY)

The distinctions between independent contractors and employees can determine liability in many circumstances. Here, we have an appellate decision that found that defendants were not liable for any of plaintiff’s injuries on that distinction. In Athenas v. Simon Prop. Group, LP, plaintiff slipped and fell on floor cleaner in the interior common area of a Long Island mall, in front of a Cohen’s...Read More

Nanty-Glo Rule Saves Pocono Pet Store (PA)

In Lori Monti v. Pet Supplies Plus LLC, et al. plaintiff Lori Monti (“Monti”) tripped and fell outside of a pet store on an alleged sidewalk defect. Monti claimed that there was a dip in the sidewalk, which was surrounded by loose pieces of gravel.  She alleged her walker became entrapped in the dip, which caused her to fall and sustain serious bodily injuries. Monti filed suit against Pet...Read More

Superior Court Declines to Expand Personal Jurisdiction over Foreign Corporations (PA)

In Fulano v. Fanjul Corp., the Pennsylvania Superior Court recently considered whether forty-one foreign plaintiffs could establish personal jurisdiction over four corporate defendants all located in different states or countries. Plaintiffs were forty-one Dominican agricultural workers who alleged they became sick after exposure to toxic chemicals while working in the Dominican Republic....Read More

Made-Whole Doctrine Does not Apply to Deductibles or Self-Insured Retentions (NJ)

The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently determined that the made-whole doctrine does not apply to first-dollar risk allocated to the insured.  In City of Asbury Park v. Star Insurance Company, the plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action against a workers’ compensation insurer seeking determination that it was entitled to full reimbursement before the insurer could assert subrogation...Read More

Painful Verdict for Pain and Suffering (NY)

The Bronx has a reputation for plaintiff-friendly verdicts, and the case of Cabrera v Port Auth. of N.Y. N.J. (2020 NY Slip Op 03993) did not disappoint. Plaintiff, an employee at a Dunkin Donuts franchise at LaGuardia Airport, was involved in an accident with a salt spreading truck in the parking lot during a snowfall. After a jury trial, she was awarded future damages for only a period of...Read More

The Show Must Go On: New Jersey State Bar Association Releases Report to Help NJ State Courts Resume Jury Trials Amidst Pandemic

As we head into the fifth month since the COVID-19 pandemic halted court operations, the New Jersey State Bar Association released a report and recommendations for the resumption of jury trials in the New Jersey courts. The report released in early July was created to help New Jersey courts restart jury trials in a way that will keep all participants healthy and safe, while accommodating and...Read More

Pennsylvania Superior Court Holds that Plaintiffs Have Wide Latitude in Choosing Legal Theories

On July 20, 2020, the Pennsylvania Superior Court granted a new trial after finding that a plaintiff was improperly precluded from pursuing all possible legal theories available to her. Adrienne Lageman filed a complaint for medical negligence after she suffered a stroke while undergoing a medical procedure at York Hospital. She alleged that the defendant anesthesiologist John Zepp improperly...Read More

WCM Obtains Dismissal of NJ Products Liability Lawsuit.

Partner Bob Cosgrove and Counsel Matt Care successfully obtained a with prejudice dismissal of a products liability lawsuit in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.  In the case of Elizabeth Kean, et al. v. Cedar Works, et al., the plaintiff alleged that, when she was a child, she fell from a defective swing set in her backyard onto her head.  She claimed that the fall caused a traumatic brain...Read More