A litigator and legal scholar, Michael provides streamlined solutions to his casualty clients’ most complex litigation challenges. With a focus on product liability, premises liability, automobile and other personal injury claims, he provides counsel to manufacturers of consumer goods, regional and national retail chains, manufacturing facilities, restaurants/bars, commercial landowners, pharmacies and more. Michael has experience in all aspects of defense litigation, from initial claim investigation through discovery and trial. Michael has also assisted in the defense of class actions involving various subject matters, ranging from alleged product failures to data breach claims.
Michael prioritizes efficiency, achieving favorable outcomes, and ensuring the best possible results for his clients. By dissecting the key issues in litigation, he aims to avoid unnecessary complexities and legal disputes. He approaches every client matter strategically, by first assessing the case; identifying critical legal arguments; and creating a well-informed legal strategy.
An avid reader and life-long student, he keeps abreast of legal topics pertinent to his clients, so he can better understand the current legal landscape and how it may impact their cases. A prolific writer, he has published substantive articles in The Pennsylvania Lawyer, The Legal Intelligencer and Law360.
Michael’s scholarship and devotion to the law has not gone unnoticed. In 2023, he was selected to serve a five-year term on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Civil Jury Instruction Subcommittee, which drafts jury instructions used by trial judges throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Admitted to practice in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Michael is a member of the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and New Jersey State Bar Associations. He is additionally a member of the Defense Research Institute where he has served as an editor for its Product Liability Defenses, a State-by-State Compendium.
Prior to joining the firm, Michael served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Timothy G. Farrell of the Superior Court of New Jersey. In that capacity, Michael managed the judge's dockets, drafted opinions and orders, and served as a mediator in Small Claims and Special Civil Part cases.
Michael earned his juris doctor at Villanova Law School, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class, was a member of the Order of the Coif, and served as an Associate Editor of the Villanova Law Review. He earned his bachelor's degree in history from Villanova University, where he graduated first in his class with a 4.0 GPA.
Michael resides in South Jersey with his wife and twin boys.
Results
Received Precedential Decision from PA Superior Court in Venue Transfer Case
We secured a unanimous, precedential decision upholding a venue transfer from Philadelphia to Butler County under forum non conveniens, setting a new standard for defendants after a series of appellate reversals.
Car dealership dismissed from lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction.
We obtained dismissal of our client, a car dealership, from a suit pending in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on the basis of a lack of personal jurisdiction. The plaintiff, who had addresses in Pennsylvania and Florida, had purchased a used Range Rover that allegedly experienced ongoing maintenance issues. The plaintiff sought repairs from various car dealerships, including our client. When the repairs were unsuccessful, she brought claims for breach of warranty, breach of contract and unfair trade practices against each of them. Our client had serviced the vehicle once, in Florida, and had no meaningful connections with Pennsylvania. The court was not impressed with the plaintiff’s arguments regarding our client’s website (accessible everywhere, including Pennsylvania) and unspecified, unrelated sales and shipments to Pennsylvania. The court dismissed our client, alone among the defendants, for lack of personal jurisdiction.
Thought Leadership
Case Law Alerts
Pennsylvania Superior Court Affirms Summary Judgment on Failure-To-Warn Claim, Offers Helpful Illustration of “Deeding Presumption.”
November 3, 2026
This products liability case involved an allegedly defective walk-behind lawnmower that had been manufactured by the defendant. The plaintiff had purchased the lawnmower as a floor model, which did not come with an owner’s manual. The lawnmower did feature a prominent on-product label, though, which warned users about mowing on sloped areas. The plaintiff failed to heed the warning, slipped while mowing a sloped portion of his backyard, and suffered a mangled left foot. Plaintiff advanced claims of failure-to-warn and design defect. The former claim was dismissed at summary judgment; the latter returned a defense verdict at trial. On appeal, the Superior Court upheld the result, but spent most of its opinion discussing the warnings claim. In Pennsylvania, a plaintiff enjoys the benefit of a “heeding presumption” – a rebuttable presumption that, if an adequate warning has been provided, the plaintiff would have read and heeded it. (Some cases have held that the heeding presumption only applies in workplace asbestos cases. McDonnell did not mention or apply that limitation.) The heeding presumption serves to help establish the “causation” element of a failure-to-warn claim, i.e. that a different warning would have prevented the incident. The heeding presumption is rebuttable, though, upon evidence to the contrary. In McDonnell, the defendants pointed to the plaintiff’s own deposition testimony that he did not feel the need to track down a copy of the owner’s manual, or even spend time reading the on-product label. That was sufficient, the Superior Court held, to rebut the heeding presumption, and require Plaintiff to present affirmative evidence that a different warning would have made a difference. Plaintiff did not do so, and the Court found there was no basis to conclude that Plaintiff would have treated an alternative warning any differently than the current warnings he had ignored. Because Plaintiff could not establish the causation element of his failure-to-warn claim, the Superior Court affirmed the entry of summary judgment on that issue. Helpfully, the Court also re-affirmed the corollary heeding presumption in favor of product sellers: “Where the given warnings are sufficient to make a product safe for its intended use, a plaintiff cannot recover for injuries sustained as a result of his failure to heed them, for manufacturers and sellers are also entitled to a presumption that consumers will heed it.” Ultimately, McDonnell is a good illustration of the shifting burdens that apply in a failure-to-warn claim.
Defense Digest
Featured Conversations... Key Takeaways from A.M. Best’s Webinar on the Misuse Defense in Product Liability Claims, Featuring Michael Salvati
June 30, 2026
Michael Salvati, shareholder in our Philadelphia office, was a panelist for the April A.M. Best webinar, “The Misuse Defense: Strategic Approaches to Defending Product Liability Claims for Insurers.” During the program, Michael and his fellow panelists offered practical, jurisdiction‑specific guidance on how misuse and failure‑to‑warn theories intersect in modern product liability litigation. Michael emphasized the unique challenges these claims present—particularly in states like Pennsylvania, where evidentiary rules diverge sharply from those applied in many other jurisdictions. Failure to Warn as the “Flip Side” of Misuse Salvati explained that failure‑to‑warn allegations often arise as a direct counter to a misuse defense. As he noted, “If our misuse defense is that the plaintiff didn't use a product properly or safely, then the failure to warn claim is that we didn't tell them how to use it properly.” He emphasized that these claims can stem from either the absence of warnings or criticisms of existing warnings, such as insufficient specificity or lack of clarity about risks. Pennsylvania’s Unique Evidentiary Landscape One of Salvati’s most notable points was the stark difference in how Pennsylvania treats evidence of compliance with industry standards. He highlighted that Pennsylvania is “one of the only states…where that evidence is not admissible” in strict liability cases. Manufacturers cannot rely on compliance with ANSI, UL, ISO, or even federal safety standards to defend the product against a strict liability claim—because the focus is solely on the product itself, not the manufacturer’s conduct. Salvati acknowledged the challenge this creates for defense counsel and clients who expect such compliance to carry weight. Understanding the Three Defect Theories Salvati also walked through the three primary defect theories recognized in many jurisdictions: - Design defect – a flaw in the product’s intended design - Manufacturing defect – a deviation affecting a specific unit - Failure to warn – inadequate instructions or warnings He noted that warnings claims are increasingly significant and sometimes stand alone when design or manufacturing theories are weak. As he put it, plaintiffs often default to warnings claims because “the default position seems to be, ‘If I got hurt, there must be something wrong.’” Warranties and State‑by‑State Variations Salvati addressed how breach‑of‑warranty claims fit into the broader framework, explaining that implied warranties—such as merchantability—often overlap with strict liability in Pennsylvania. He emphasized the importance of understanding local nuances, as warranty law and admissibility rules vary widely across states. Looking Ahead: The Growing Importance of Warnings In his closing remarks, Salvati stressed that warnings should never be treated as an afterthought in product liability defense. He observed that warnings‑only claims are becoming more common and urged manufacturers and insurers to continually evaluate the clarity and completeness of their instructions and warnings. His takeaway: “We should always be talking about what are the instructions that come with our products…to bolster a misuse defense.” Listen to the complete webinar here: https://www3.ambest.com/conferences/events/eventregister.aspx?event_id=WEB1074.
