News & Of Interest

Whistleblowers While You Work – Pennsylvania District Court Analyzes Whistleblower Claim and Grants Summary Judgment for Employer

Recently, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania partially granted a Defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the basis that the Plaintiff lacked any reasonable belief that the company violated any law of the Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower (“SOX”) Act. In Ngai v. Urban Outfitters Inc., plaintiff, who was Director of Sourcing and Technical Design for Urban...Read More

Don’t Forget to Turn On the Lights . . . PA Supreme Court Highlights New Exception to Sovereign Immunity

In an April 28, 2021 opinion, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania cannot claim sovereign immunity where a dangerous condition, caused by poor lighting, exists on its property. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Wise v. Huntingdon County Housing Development Corporation, et al. overturned a Commonwealth Court’s contrary decision. Plaintiff, Shannon...Read More

Retired NY State Judges Will Be Able To Recertify After Being Forced To Step Off The Bench Due To COVID-19

New York State Supreme Court justices who reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 will again be able to re-apply for their job and continue the bench. The New York State Constitution says judges must retire at the end of the year they reach age 70. The constitution allows for judges to recertify for a maximum of three two-year terms after proving that they’re still mentally and physically fit...Read More

Join WCM on our Brand New Podcast – “Call Your Next Witness”

For purposes of this post, we will assume that our readers are mostly insurance claim professionals, attorneys, underwriters and others involved in the insurance industry.   Now, think back to before you were involved in this industry, whether just out of college or law school, or before you changed careers and started working in insurance.  What were your pre-conceived notions of...Read More

Plaintiff Would “Rather be in Philadelphia,” But Her Case Gets Transferred to the Middle District

Philadelphia has much to recommend it.  World class cuisine.  Great universities.  Gritty.  But one thing Philadelphia, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania as a whole, lacks is any connection to the this case.”  With those words, Hon. Joshua D. Wolson, U.S.D.J. began his opinion in Darrup v. Wal-Mart, wherein he transferred the case from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to the Middle...Read More

New Jersey Appellate Division Permits a Driver and Employer’s Determination of Improper Actions as Admissible Evidence

In Hassan v. Williams, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey found that a trial court improperly excluded multiple documents, including the determination letter written by an employer that its driver acted improperly, as well as the letter written by that driver about his own conduct. At the trial level, these documents were excluded as the Court held they went to the...Read More

2nd Circuit Clarifies Article III Standing Based on “Increased Risk” of Identity Theft (NY)

Earlier this week, the Second Circuit issued a significant ruling with respect to the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive personal identifiable information (“PII”). Federal circuits have been split with respect to whether an increased risk of identity theft following a data breach, without proof of actual harm,  is sufficient to confer Article III standing.  The decision in McMorris v. Lopez...Read More

Compliance with Industry Standards Inadmissible in PA

The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently issued an opinion that deals plaintiffs a major victory in product litigation. See Sullivan v. Werner Company, et al., 2012 Pa. Super. 66 (Pa. Super. Ct. April 15, 2021). Sullivan was injured when he fell from scaffolding manufactured by Werner. Sullivan was familiar with the product and testified to assembling “hundreds” of scaffolds through the course...Read More