News & Of Interest

Change To New York’s Wrongful Death Statute Awaits Its Fate

With the passing of the Grieving Families Act by the New York State Senate and Assembly on June 7, 2022, the proposed legislation currently awaits its fate before Gov. Kathy Hochul. This legislation, if signed into law, would change the state’s 175-year-old wrongful death statute by permitting the families of wrongful death victims to recover compensation for emotional anguish. While the...Read More

Double Standard: NY Appellate Court Supports Summary Judgment For A Construction Manager But Not For An Architect Based On Similar Evidence

The Appellate Division, Fourth Department recently issued a decision evaluating the different standards applied to determine liability for an architect and construction manager on the same project. In Dentico v. Turner, plaintiffs sued the architect and construction manager of a hospital where plaintiff Alan Dentico worked as a maintenance groundskeeper. Dentico allegedly sustained injuries...Read More

New Jersey District Court Continues Trend Of Rejecting Coverage For COVID-19 Losses

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently followed the national trend in rejecting a company’s claim that it was entitled to insurance coverage for losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Tumi, Inc., et al. v. Factory Mutual Insurance Company, the plaintiff luggage retailer sought coverage for business losses caused by the closure of its retail stores as a result of...Read More

Clash Of The Titans: Legal Fight Brewing Over Elon Musk’s Decision To Terminate The Twitter Purchase Agreement

A high-profile legal fight has begun over the recent decision by Elon Musk to back out of purchasing Twitter. On July 8, 2022, Musk advised Twitter of his plans to terminate their purchase agreement, claiming that Twitter was in “breach of multiple provisions” of the original $44 billion agreement. Musk claimed that Twitter failed to provide adequate data regarding the number of fake accounts...Read More

Precedential Pennsylvania Decision Deems Nursing Home Arbitration Agreement Unconscionable & Inherently Unenforceable (PA)

In an opinion released on July 5, 2022 in Kohlman, Administratrix for the Estate of Fay A. Vincent, Deceased v. Grane Healthcare Company, et al., 2022 Pa. Super 118, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania issued a precedential decision regarding whether an arbitration agreement between may be considered unconscionable and therefore unenforceable. Despite both Pennsylvania and federal law favoring...Read More

The Benefit Of The Auto Insurance Bargain (PA)

On July 6, 2022, in an appeal from the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit upheld the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor auto insurer State Farm’s motion for summary judgment. The case, Tina Bubonovich v. State Farm Mutual Auto Ins. Co., was initiated by the plaintiff when, after recovering the available limits of the other driver’s liability coverage, as...Read More

WC Bar Extends To Corporate Relatives (PA)

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently held that the workers’ compensation bar extends to provide immunity to an entity who managed and owned the business that employed the injured plaintiff at the time of his injury. However, the fact pattern is rather unique, so the result does not necessarily change the current legal landscape. The plaintiff in the case was injured by heavy machinery...Read More

Technology Is Evolving – Data Privacy Laws Are Finally Catching Up

On June 21, 2022, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) was released by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.  The purpose of the Act is to instill uniformity among members of the privacy community and those impacted by privacy legislation.  Because states have enacted their own privacy laws, uniformity among multi-state sectors is long overdue.  The Act is the first...Read More