Negligence

Game, Set, Match: Plaintiff Tripping On Tennis Court Has No Claim Under Primary Assumption of Risk Doctrine (NY)

In Schwartz v. Ramapo, 2021 NY Slip Op 04773 (2d Dept. 2021), a plaintiff was playing tennis when she suffered injuries after tripping on a raised sprinkler head in between two tennis courts owned and operated by the Town of Ramapo.  The Rockland County Supreme Court Judge dismissed the Ramapo defendants’ under the doctrine of primary assumption of risk. “Pursuant to the doctrine of primary...Read More

PA Superior Court Finds That Employer Is Liable For Contribution Despite Not Being At Fault For Plaintiffs’ Injuries

In McLaughlin v. Nahata, et al., the Pennsylvania Superior Court found a hospital could seek indemnity or contribution toward a $17 million verdict rendered against it, from the employer of the doctors found liable for malpractice. Plaintiffs Alyssa McLaughlin and William McLaughlin sued two doctors over injuries Alyssa received while treating at The Washington Hospital (“TWH”). Plaintiffs...Read More

Failure to Preserve Surveillance Video Undercuts Key Defense Argument (PA)

A recent opinion in Nixon v. Family Dollar Stores of Pennsylvania, LLC, a slip and fall case from the Middle District of Pennsylvania, highlights the importance of preserving video surveillance, and the potentially dire consequences for failing to do so. In April 2018, Vanessa Nixon was shopping for a birthday card at a Family Dollar store in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, took five or six steps...Read More

WCM Obtains Summary Judgment Prior To Discovery Pursuant To The Homeowner’s Exemption of NYC’s Sidewalk Law

Wade Clark Mulcahy successfully obtained pre-discovery summary judgment dismissing the Plaintiff’s complaint and the City of New York’s crossclaims against Gloria and Debra Lewis, arguing the insured were shielded from liability pursuant to the Homeowner’s Exemption of New York City Administrative Code §7-210. The action against our clients and the City of New York arises out...Read More

Plaintiff’s Slip and Fall on Wet Floor Goes to Jury as Summary Judgment is Denied (NY)

In Lopez v. 1355 Morris Ave, LLC (1st Dept. 2021), the First Department upheld a trial court’s decision to deny defendants’ motion for summary judgment. In some premises liability cases, a defendant can occasionally avoid liability if it shows that it warned the bystander of a dangerous condition, or that the bystander had knowledge of the dangerous condition prior to the accident. Here,...Read More

High Stress Job? No Damages (NY)

In New York, the plaintiff in Mehmeti v Miller commenced an action to recover damages for personal injuries he sustained to his head and left arm as a result of a motor accident. Following a jury trial on the issue of damages, the jury found that the plaintiff had suffered a permanent consequential limitation of use of a body function, organ, or member and awarded the plaintiff $50,000 for 4...Read More

Ice, Ice Baby (NJ)

In New Jersey, a plaintiff sought to recover after he slipped on ice, fell, and broke his hip. The night before the accident, it had been sleeting and raining, creating a hazardous condition. At the time of plaintiff’s fall, the conditions were still ongoing. Plaintiff’s expert stated that the defendant, a property manager, could have mitigated the dangerous and icy conditions had they...Read More

New Guidance on Statute of Limitations in PA

On July 21, 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Rice  v. Altoona-Johnston issued a pivotal decision concerning the applicable statute of limitations in Pennsylvania for claims stemming from alleged sexual abuse. By way of background, in 2016, Rice, after reviewing a PA Grand Jury Investigative report, which detailed findings that hundreds of children were victimized by over fifty...Read More

PA Landowner Avoids Liability for Snowmobile Crash, Snowmobile Club Not So Lucky

In Conway v. N.E.P. Sno Trails, Inc., the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna determined that a landowner could not be held liable for a snowmobiler’s injuries that occurred on its property. The court did, however, find that the snowmobile club the snowmobiler was a member of could be held liable. Plaintiff, Brent Conway, filed a negligence action against a snowmobile club and landowner after...Read More

Friends Keep Their Promises & Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk (NJ)

Is an individual who volunteers and assures police officers during a car stop of an alleged drunk driver that he will take the drunk driver and his car safety home – but instead relinquishes the car back to the drunk driver before reaching that destination – civilly liable if the drunk driver then collides with and injures another motorist? In this case, Diaz v. Reynoso, police stopped a...Read More