News & Of Interest

Default is not a Total Loss (NY)

In a personal injury action, plaintiff Castaldini claims personal injury when a propane tank exploded at the home of defendant Walsh. Upon defendant’s failure to answer, plaintiff’s motion to enter default judgment was granted by the trial court, and the case was sent to inquest for a trial on damages. At the inquest trial, plaintiff testified as to his injury and submitted a written sworn...Read More

Statute of Limitations and Pollution Exclusion at Play for Toxic Tort Coverage Analysis (PA)

The Western District of Pennsylvania recently determined that a number of insurers did not owe coverage for hundreds of bodily injury claims brought forth in a toxic-tort action. In Allegheny Ludlum,  LLC. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, et al., the District Court granted the defendants’ motions for summary judgment after determining that the plaintiff’s claims were brought too late and...Read More

Incidental Business Connections Are Insufficient to Establish Venue (PA)

The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently tackled a civil procedure issue that frequently crosses the minds of defense counsel: improper venue. According to Pa. R.C.P 1006(e), improper venue must be raised in the defendants’ preliminary objections to plaintiff’s complaint or the objection will be waived. In Kanevsky v. Revolution Ice Rink LLC, the plaintiff slipped and fell while playing ice...Read More

Despite Error, Insurer Escapes Liability for UM/UIM Coverage

In Beach v. The Navigators Ins. Co., No. 1550 MDA 2019 (Pa. Super. Ct. Sept. 11, 2020), the plaintiffs sought UIM coverage under an automobile insurance policy issued to their employer. The dispute centered on the applicable limits of the UIM policy. The question as to the applicable UIM limit arose out of an error the insurer made when renewing the policy at issue. Beaches’ employer sought to...Read More

Disrupting New York’s Labor Law (NY)

Labor Law 240, often referred to as the Scaffold Law, was passed in 1885 to enforce various safety protocols to prevent slips and falls for construction workers working at heights. Court rulings interpreting the Scaffold Law imposed little responsibility on injured employees, making it difficult for employers to cite comparative negligence to avoid liability. The Scaffold law, which creates an...Read More

Keep on Stacking . . . PA Court Declines Insurer’s Request to Deny UIM Benefits (PA)

In Donegal Mutual Insurance Company v. Kevin Krautsack, et al, the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County held that “the household vehicle exclusion violates the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (“MVFRL”); therefore, these exclusions are unenforceable as a matter of law.” The case stems from an accident in which Kevin Krautsack was injured while riding his mother’s motorcycle....Read More

Outstanding Discovery Not Enough To Stop A Partial Summary Judgment Finding (NY)

In Mallory v. City of New York , et al., the Supreme Court, New York County, found that outstanding discovery is not a barrier to partial summary judgment. In Mallory, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit seeking damages for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. The plaintiff moved for partial summary judgment on liability, arguing that the defendants could not provide a non-negligent...Read More

WCM to Co-Host October 12 Product Recall Webinar

Total Recall: An In-Depth Look At Issues That Arise With Product Recall Policies Bill Johnstone and Matthew Hagan of Johnstone Partners, https://johnstone-partners.com/, and Bob Cosgrove and Colleen Hayes of Wade Clark Mulcahy, LLP, https://www.wcmlaw.com/, are pleased to invite you to a product recall webinar on Monday, October 12, 2020 at 11 a.m. EST. This webinar will take an in-depth look...Read More