Is Being Free Of Fault Necessary To Be Awarded Summary Judgment On Liability In An Automobile Case? (NY)
Though automobile accidents, large and small, are things we try to avoid at all costs, sometimes they do happen. If there is competing testimony in a case as to how a car accident did happen, summary judgment on liability may be ruled out. Recently, in Golovnya v. Artemchenko, 210 A.D.3d, (2d Dep’t November 30, 2022), a defendant, who was awarded summary judgment on liability by the lower...Read More
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Health Club Found Not Liable For Infectious Disease Claim (NY)
Generally, a property owner in New York has a duty to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition. To hold a defendant liable for a breach of this duty, a plaintiff must establish as part of his or her case that the defective condition existed and was a proximate cause of the alleged injury. A defendant may have a plaintiff’s claims dismissed on summary judgment by demonstrating that...Read More
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No Dram Shop Liability for Pennsylvania Employers Serving Alcohol to Intoxicated Employees (PA)
Work-sponsored outings and events are normally seen as a much-welcomed reprieve from the old “9-5”. However, when alcohol is involved, Pennsylvania employers have potential liability to third parties who are injured by suffer at the hands of an intoxicated employee. In Klar v. Dairy Farmers of America Inc., the Superior Court of Pennsylvania addressed the standard which applied to an...Read More
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Summary Judgment Denied For Vehicle Struck From Behind Where Proximate Cause Was An Issue (NY)
The general rule in New York for rear-end accidents with a vehicle that is stopped or stopping is that there is a rebuttable presumption of negligence on the part of the driver that hits the vehicle in front of them. Accidents involving multiple vehicles can involve competing testimony and questions of fact that can make summary judgment difficult. For example, in Houslin v. New York City...Read More
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Labor Law 240(1) Does Not Apply To Scaffold Accident Where Fall Was Caused by Separate Hazard (NY)
New York Labor Law section 240, the so called “Scaffold Law”, imposes strict liability on property owners and contractors where a construction worker sustains an elevation-related injury. However, section 240 does not apply to all worksite hazards and courts will examine the specific facts to determine if the section will apply. For example, in Krarunzhiy v. 91 Cent. Park W. Owners Corp.,...Read More
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What Is A Passageway Under NY Labor Law?” (NY)
When a plaintiff alleges a Labor Law 241(6) predicated upon a New York City Rules & Regulations code, the plaintiff must establish a prima facie case that the NYCRR is violated. For example, in Stewart v. Brookfield Off. Props. Inc., 2023 NY Slip Op 00226 (2d Dep’t January 18, 2023), the plaintiff allegedly fell at a construction site while installing a lighting fixture. Plaintiff...Read More
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Supreme Court To Interpret Whether Treble Damages Under UTPCPL Necessarily Constitute A Second Bite At The Apple (PA)
With the turn of the new year in a lawsuit entitled Dwyer v. Ameriprise Financial, et al. No.: 519 WDA 2021, on January 9, 2023, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a court may triple the damages awarded against a defendant in a consumer protection suit in which the plaintiff already won punitive damages and attorney fees. Dwyer remains a case to watch as...Read More
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Plaintiff’s Lack Of Diligence Merits Dismissal In PA
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently issued an opinion in which the court laid out the burden that a plaintiff must satisfy when she files a writ of summons to commence a lawsuit. In Senyk v. Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, 2023 WL 127520 (Pa. Super. Jan. 9, 2023), the plaintiff was injured when she slipped and fell while visiting a cemetery in Philadelphia. She...Read More
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