Publications
A private arbitration agreement in a medical malpractice action that failed to adopt the necessary statutory provisions of Chapter 766, Florida Statutes (2012), was found to be unenforceable.
The plaintiffs appealed an order issued in the Circuit Court of Orange County which compelled arbitration in a medical malpractice action pursuant to a private arbitration agreement that did not adopt the necessary statutory provisions of Chapter
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015
Failure to specifically identify the health care providers who allegedly breached the standard of care was not proper grounds to dismiss the plaintiff’s vicarious liability claims against the hospital.
The plaintiff was admitted to Lehigh Valley Hospital following a femoral artery bypass surgery. After approximately 20 days, she was transferred to Manor Care. While at Manor Care, she developed a right heel blister.
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015
The inscrutable wisdom of Solomon: Pennsylvania splits the baby by rejecting the Third Restatement of Torts (Products Liability), but overrules Azzarello.
A lightning strike caused a puncture in a natural gas line in a building and ignited the gas. The building’s owners sued the manufacturer of the pipe and won at trial on a strict product liability theory.
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015
Corporation chartered by sovereign Indian tribe is not entitled to sovereign immunity from ordinary civil action.
The Seneca Nation, a federally recognized sovereign tribe, chartered corporations under its own laws and were wholly owned by the Nation. The plaintiff entered into a contract with one such corporation to construct a golf course.
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015
Youth lacrosse body check not enough to impose tort liability.
The plaintiff, a 12-year-old lacrosse player, was in possession of the ball with 20 seconds left on the clock and his team up by one.
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015
Estate has standing to sue employer’s insurer, but suit is barred based on workers’ compensation exclusion and election of remedies.
The decedent was killed on the job, and his Estate entered into a workers’ compensation settlement with Zenith, the employer’s workers’ compensation and employer liability insurer.
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015
Third Circuit finds that docking plaintiff’s pay was not an adverse employment action to support a claim for retaliation.
Plaintiff asserted that he was provided with a verbal warning, a written warning and was docked 15 minutes of pay in retaliation for “not fitting into a traditional male role as [the] breadwinner” for his family.
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015
Third Circuit holds that plaintiff’s assertion that she failed to receive an FMLA notice created a question of fact on an FMLA interference claim.
Plaintiff asserted that her former employer failed to comply with the FMLA when it did not provide her with the notice of her rights under the FMLA.
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015
The court finds that plaintiff’s Section 1981 retaliation claim failed when he was unable to demonstrate an underlying race discrimination claim.
Plaintiff alleged that he complained that four swastikas were graffitied on the wall of a janitor’s closet at a client’s location and that his employment was terminated in retaliation for his complaint.
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015
The EEOC must make a good faith effort to conciliate a charge of discrimination as a prerequisite to filing suit. The scope of the EEOC’s effort is subject to judicial review.
Following the EEOC’s filing of an administrative charge and an allegation of a failed conciliation, the EEOC brought suit against FAPS, alleging that its pre-offer of employment medical inquiry was a per se violation of both Title V
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015