Volume 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith Litigation •
Authors: Lauren M. Burnette
By Lauren M. Burnette, Esq.*
Key Points:
Maryland's Court of Special Appeals holds that a release which includes language releasing the tortfeasor and "all other persons, firms or corporations" does not release the injured party's UM insurance..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania •
Authors: Thomas A. Brophy
By Thomas A. Brophy, Esquire - President & CEO
Marshall Dennehey is blessed to have so many men and women who have given of themselves; providing their time, money and effort in support of others in need. Over the history of our firm, countless..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Architectural, Engineering and Construction Defect Litigation •
Authors: Jake Sulzer
By Jacob J. Sulzer, Esq.*
Key Points:
Home builders may now be liable to subsequent purchasers, beyond the original buyer, for latent defects.
No contract required between builder and home buyer to support breach of implied warranty of..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Jacksonville, Florida •
Practice Areas: Employment Law •
Authors: John Viggiani
By John Viggiani, Esq.*
Key Points:
Cell phone technology can increase employee productivity and enhances customer service.
Employers must protect themselves from liability related to cell phone use by employees while driving, through..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Moosic, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Automobile Liability •
Authors: Leo A. Bohanski
By Leo A. Bohanski, Esq.*
Key Points:
Delay damages on UM dispute are calculated on the molded-down verdict rather than the full verdict.
Recovery of delay damages is limited to the amount of the “legally recoverable” molded verdict as..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Cherry Hill, New Jersey •
Practice Areas: Professional Liability •
Authors: John L. Slimm
By John L. Slimm, Esq.*
Key Points:
Litigation privilege limited by New Jersey court.
Litigation privilege does not apply to a client's malpractice claims against his/her attorney where it is claimed that the attorney's representation did..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Cleveland, Ohio •
Practice Areas: Amusements, Sports and Recreation Liability •
Authors: Samuel G. Casolari Jr.
By Samuel G. Casolari Jr., Esq.*
Key Points:
The Ohio Supreme Court reinforces primary assumption of risk doctrine.
The Ohio Supreme Court finds that a collision between skiers is an inherent risk of the act of skiing.
The Ohio Supreme..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Casualty Department
Allison Domday (Harrisburg, PA) obtained a defense verdict at a jury trial where our client admitted responsibility for the motor vehicle accident. In November 2006, our client ran a stop sign and collided into the driver's side..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Real Estate E&O Liability •
Authors: Jay S. Rothman
By Jay S. Rothman, Esq.*
Whether the transaction involves the purchase or sale of a private residence, the subdivision and construction of a residential community, the granting of mineral rights, the acquisition of a commercial shopping center or..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Moosic, Pennsylvania •
Authors: Robin B. Snyder
By Robin B. Snyder, Esq.*
In 1992, Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin opened its office in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with two lawyers. On November 2, 2012, the Scranton office celebrated its twentieth anniversary and now has 23 lawyers, 5..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Practice Areas: Appellate Advocacy and Post-Trial Practice
In a case in which Carol VanderWoude (Philadelphia, PA) and John Hare (Philadelphia, PA) acted as amicus curiae counsel for The Pennsylvania Defense Institute, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed the Superior Court and refused to expand the..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Jack Slimm (Cherry Hill, NJ) served as moderator and a featured speaker twice in the month of December for the New Jersey Law Journal Continuing Legal Education Series on Legal Malpractice. The seminars were presented in both North and South Jersey..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Professional Liability •
Authors: Nicole M. Ehrhart
By Nicole M. Ehrhart, Esq.*
Key Points:
Superior Court expands damages in legal malpractice actions in assumpsit.
Potential damages now may include actual losses sustained.
Albeit in a non-precedential decision, the Superior Court, in..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Securities and Investment Professional Liability •
Authors: Denis C. Dice
By Denis C. Dice, Esq.*
Key Points:
FINRA defines customers as those who have an account or purchase securities through the broker-dealer.
New guidance may allow broker-dealers to litigate certain selling away claims in court.
In the first..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Offices: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Workers' Compensation •
Authors: Raphael M. Duran, Andrea C. Rock
By Raphael Duran, Esq. and Andrea Cicero Rock, Esq.*
Key Points:
Social media can be utilized in workers’ compensation matters.
Common Pleas Court decision in Largant v. Reed permits access to social media passwords and information in..., Defense Digest, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2013
Volume 18, No. 4, December 2012
Authors: Thomas C. DeLorenzo
By Thomas C. DeLorenzo, Esq.*
Shareholder and Member of Board of Directors
The 50th Anniversary of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin
As readers of Defense Digest know, this year, the firm is celebrating its 50th anniversary. In this year..., Defense Digest, Vol. 18, No. 4, December 2012
Offices: Jacksonville, Florida •
Practice Areas: Health Care Liability •
Authors: James P. Hanratty
Key Points:
Neuropsychological testing can be a sword or a shield in the defense of traumatic brain injury cases.
Early reliance on expert witnesses can guide discovery and open doors to valuable information.
In the past several..., Defense Digest, Vol. 18, No. 4, December 2012
Offices: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Workers' Compensation •
Authors: Michele R. Punturi
Key Points:
Get your credits against workers' compensation.
Be sure to use Bureau Form LIBC 756 early and often.
The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, the Regulations and the governing case law guide the legal community on..., Defense Digest, Vol. 18, No. 4, December 2012
Offices: Wilmington, Delaware •
Practice Areas: Employment Law •
Authors: Keri Lynn Morris
Key Points:
Under the Delaware Whistleblowers' Protection Act, the constructive discharge doctrine can provide a basis for a claim.
To support such a claim, a plaintiff must show that intolerable working conditions result from a..., Defense Digest, Vol. 18, No. 4, December 2012
Offices: Cherry Hill, New Jersey •
Practice Areas: Workers' Compensation •
Authors: Jammie N. Jackson
Key Points:
Two distinct legal tests determine whether a petitioner is eligible for compensation as an employee or ineligible as an independent contractor: (1) the "control test" and (2) the "relative nature of the work test."..., Defense Digest, Vol. 18, No. 4, December 2012
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