News & Of Interest

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

You’re Fired! Court Weighs Admissibility Of Termination Letter (NJ)

In Hassan v. Williams and ABF Freight, Inc., the plaintiff truck driver was injured when his tractor trailer was rear-ended by the tractor driven by defendant Roland Williams. Plaintiff brought suit alleging negligence and negligence per se for his injuries. Defendants argued that plaintiff merged onto the highway from the entrance at a slow speed cutting in front of defendant. Following...Read More

No Liability In NY For Barking Dog

In the recently decided Stack v. Manfredi the Bronx County Supreme Court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants who demonstrated that they had no knowledge of their dog’s vicious propensities. The decision resulted in a dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint, which arose from alleged personal injuries when she braced herself against the defendants’ door to prevent being bitten by their...Read More

Trap Down Leads To Store Owner’s Victory (NY)

In Vaughan v. Triumphant Church of Jesus Christ, 2021 NY Slip Op 02560 (2d Dept. 2021), a plaintiff fell down an open trap door in a deli and sued the owner of deli and the building owner. The building owner moved for summary judgment arguing that it did not control the premises and had no notice of the dangerous condition. “An out-of-possession landlord is not liable for injuries that...Read More

How Far Does The Duty To Provide A Safe Worksite Extend? (NY)

In Potenzo v. City of NY, the Appellate Division, First Department addressed whether the plaintiff was entitled to partial summary judgment against the defendants City of New York and Tishman Technologies on the Labor Law § 241(6) claim. Plaintiff brought this cause of action against the defendants for personal injuries sustained when he fell on ice while walking on a path between “the...Read More