News & Of Interest

WCM Obtains Summary Judgment Prior To Discovery Pursuant To The Homeowner’s Exemption of NYC’s Sidewalk Law

Wade Clark Mulcahy successfully obtained pre-discovery summary judgment dismissing the Plaintiff’s complaint and the City of New York’s crossclaims against Gloria and Debra Lewis, arguing the insured were shielded from liability pursuant to the Homeowner’s Exemption of New York City Administrative Code §7-210. The action against our clients and the City of New York arises out...Read More

Employment Liability Insurance Policies Unlikely to Cover Workplace Tort Claims Brought by Non-Employee Plaintiffs

In Penn Psych Center Inc. v. US Liability Ins. Co., a Pennsylvania state court addressed, for the first time, whether employment practices liability (EPL) insurance policies generally cover the costs of tort litigation brought against an employer and their employees by third-parties with no employment relationship to the insured. The underlying action involved a suit against Penn Psychiatric...Read More

NY District Court Breaks with Other States on COVID-19 Insurance Coverage but Leaves Door Open

New York courts have been stricter on businesses seeking insurance coverage for pandemic related damages, however, there are still possibilities of coverage even if the policy includes contamination or loss of use exclusions, as exemplified in Thor Equities, LLC v. Factory Mutual Insurance Company. Plaintiff, Thor Equities LLC (“Thor”), a commercial landlord, rents hundreds of properties...Read More

PA Supreme Court Finds that a Corporation’s Owners Can Be Liable for Conduct of Sister Corporation

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently confronted a novel question: can a sister corporation’s owners be held personally liable for the actions of the corporation’s sister company? In Mortimer v. McCool, the plaintiff suffered severe and permanent injuries in a car collision after she had been struck by a drunk driver. She sued the restaurant that served the driver that struck her....Read More

Plaintiff’s Slip and Fall on Wet Floor Goes to Jury as Summary Judgment is Denied (NY)

In Lopez v. 1355 Morris Ave, LLC (1st Dept. 2021), the First Department upheld a trial court’s decision to deny defendants’ motion for summary judgment. In some premises liability cases, a defendant can occasionally avoid liability if it shows that it warned the bystander of a dangerous condition, or that the bystander had knowledge of the dangerous condition prior to the accident. Here,...Read More

High Stress Job? No Damages (NY)

In New York, the plaintiff in Mehmeti v Miller commenced an action to recover damages for personal injuries he sustained to his head and left arm as a result of a motor accident. Following a jury trial on the issue of damages, the jury found that the plaintiff had suffered a permanent consequential limitation of use of a body function, organ, or member and awarded the plaintiff $50,000 for 4...Read More

Ice, Ice Baby (NJ)

In New Jersey, a plaintiff sought to recover after he slipped on ice, fell, and broke his hip. The night before the accident, it had been sleeting and raining, creating a hazardous condition. At the time of plaintiff’s fall, the conditions were still ongoing. Plaintiff’s expert stated that the defendant, a property manager, could have mitigated the dangerous and icy conditions had they...Read More

New Guidance on Statute of Limitations in PA

On July 21, 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Rice  v. Altoona-Johnston issued a pivotal decision concerning the applicable statute of limitations in Pennsylvania for claims stemming from alleged sexual abuse. By way of background, in 2016, Rice, after reviewing a PA Grand Jury Investigative report, which detailed findings that hundreds of children were victimized by over fifty...Read More