In a rare move, in Sackett v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided to re-consider its earlier ruling which held that each time an insured adds a new vehicle to an existing auto insurance policy, the insurance company must obtain from the insured a new waiver form which rejects stacked UM/UIM… Read more »
On October 11, 2007, in Ash v. Continental Insurance Company, No. 35 WAP 2005, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the statute of limitations governing all Bad Faith Claims brought pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.A. 8371 is two years. The Court based this decision on its determination that a bad faith claim is a statutorily created… Read more »
In Borough of Heidelberg v. W.C.A.B. (Selva), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld an injured EMT’s right to collect workers’ compensation benefits. The case is significant because the EMT was injured while working as a volunteer. The Court noted that it is the intention of the Workers’ Compensation Act that members of a volunteer fire department… Read more »
On May 22, 2007, the Pennsylvania Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a trial court’s granting of summary judgment to a forklift manufacturer in a products liability case. In Arnoldy v. Forklift L.P., the plaintiff was struck by a forklift while it was backing up. Plaintiff’s cause of action alleged defective design of the machine because… Read more »
The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has broad powers to create “exemptions” for practices that would otherwise violate federal age discrimination laws. The ruling is a rejection of a challenge to an EEOC regulation that approved the practice of allowing employers the ability to modify… Read more »
In Tannenbaum v. Nationwide Insurance Company, 919 A.2d. 267 (Pa.Super. 2007), the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that an insurer is not entitled to a credit for private disability benefits received by an insured against an award of underinsured (UIM) motorist benefits to the insured. The Court held that benefits derived from self-paid disability coverage do not duplicate… Read more »
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the First Amendment requires access to juror identities in most cases. However, juror addresses need not be disclosed. “Disclosing jurors’ names furthers the objective of a fair trial to the defendant and gives assurances of fairness to society as a whole,” Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy wrote in… Read more »
In a recent decision issued March 27, 2007, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a trial court decision which dismissed a medical malpractice suit based upon plaintiff’s failure to file the requisite certificate of merit. In Shon v. Karason, the Court held that the patient’s complaint did not set forth a claim of lack of… Read more »
In Urmann v. Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company, 905 A.2d 513 (Pa. Super. July 31, 2006), the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that the trial court did not commit an abuse of discretion when it approved a settlement in which the workers\’ compensation carrier was not fully compensated for it’s lien and most of the settlement was… Read more »
In the case of Cleary v PennDot, the Commonwealth Court ruled that it was proper to hold PennDot in contempt of Court for not following a Court Order. Mr. Cleary received several traffic citations which were eventually dismissed. In the meantime PennDot issued a notice of license suspension. Mr. Cleary appealed to the Court. After… Read more »
