Pennsylvania

Virus Coverage Doesn’t Always Mean Coronavirus Coverage (PA)

As the ever-changing landscape of COVID-19 insurance litigation gets more and more crowded, courts are becoming even more attentive to the language of the insurance policies at issue. In Ultimate Hearing Solutions II, LLC v. Twin City Fire Insurance Co., the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Court dissected an insurance provision titled “Virus Coverage” and found for the insurer based on a...Read More

Covid-19 Closures and the Reasonable Expectations of a Commercial Insured is still undecided in Pennsylvania (PA)

COVID-19 related insurance litigation has often left insurers with more questions than answers. In Brown’s Gym, Inc. v. The Cincinnati Ins. Co., another open question of law in Pennsylvania is being looked at in relation to such a COVID-19 initiated case. Here, the Court of Common Pleas of Pennsylvania in Lackawanna County recently ruled that a case by a commercial insured looking to sue...Read More

Trial Court’s Erroneous Instruction on Expert’s Testimony Regarding “Recklessness” Overturns a $2,000,000 Verdict and Orders a New Trial (PA)

James Temple, Administrator For The Estate of Elma B. Temple v. Providence Care Center, LLC D/B/A Providence Care Center involved a fall of a resident, Elma Temple at a nursing home, Providence Care Center in 2011. After the trial resulted in a verdict of $2 million in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages, Providence filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. 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

Plaintiff Falls Short in Premises Liability Matter (PA)

The Pennsylvania Superior Court provided important provides insight into the potential arguments that arise when a plaintiff is injured in a client’s rental property. In Monica Sprouse v. Daniel Keller and Kim Keller, & Donald Neill and Re/Max Action, plaintiff Monica Sprouse  unsuccessfully appealed the trial court’s decision which granted defendants motions for summary judgment. At the...Read More

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Declines to Adopt the “Continuous Representation Rule” for Legal Malpractice Claims

In Clark v. Stover, et al., the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to adopt the continuous representation rule to toll the statute of limitations in legal malpractice claims. This case arose from Stover’s representation of his client, the testator’s brother in an estate lawsuit filed in 2008, as well as a second related-complaint filed in 2010. After both lawsuits failed, in 2015, Clark filed...Read More

Damage Award Not Guaranteed Where Jury Finds Negligence and Causation (PA)

The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently affirmed a jury award of no damages in a three car auto accident case where the jury found one of the defendants negligent and the factual cause of the alleged injuries. See Felder v. Kukuyev, et al., 2020 WL 7780060, No. 920 EDA 2020 (Pa. Super. Ct. Dec. 30, 2020). In Felder, the Plaintiffs sought to recover non-economic damages (i.e. pain and...Read More

Conclusory Allegations of Bad Faith Against Insurer Insufficient to Survive Motion to Dismiss (PA)

Recently, in Daniel Dietz v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania considered whether the factual averments in the plaintiff’s complaint were sufficient to overcome Liberty Mutual Insurance Company’s partial motion to dismiss Dietz’s bad faith claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). By way of brief background, Dietz was involved in a motor...Read More

Excess Coverage: Unlimited Exposure for the Excess Carrier? (PA)

In Jin Ming Chen v. Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (Ct. of Appeals, 2020), Plaintiff commenced a personal injury suit after sustaining an injury at a construction site. At the time of the suit, defendant Kam Cheung Construction maintained both primary and excess coverage. The combined coverage limits totaled five million dollars per occurrence: one million per occurrence from...Read More

WCM’s 2020 Year in Review

At this point, more than enough has been written about 2020.   COVID-19 changed the world, and how we all view it.  When we left our physical offices in mid-March – and told everyone we’d see them the Monday after Easter – the prospect of working remotely for a month seemed like an eternity.   Nearly ten months later, and well, here we are. Despite the pandemic, Wade Clark Mulcahy LLP has...Read More