Publications
Summary judgment was granted in favor of the insurer where the insured did not use the property as a residence.
The court found there was no genuine issue of material fact as to the insured's breach of contract claim where the policy unambiguously required that the property be used as the insured's residence.
Case Law Alert - 4th Qtr 2011
Delaware courts follow the District Court and Third Circuit in handling employment discrimination cases.
Several years ago, Delaware amended the Discrimination in Employment Act to allow for a right to sue in the Delaware state courts.
Case Law Alert - 4th Qtr 2011
Insurer and insured are permitted to include non-legal incidental expenses in an insurance agreement.
Non-legal costs incidental to the litigation of a contract claim are typically not recoverable as consequential damages.
Case Law Alert - 4th Qtr 2011
Dismissal of professional negligence claim was the appropriate sanction for spoliation of evidence.
The plaintiffs Peter and Judith Papadoplos filed a professional negligence claim against their former attorney and his firm after Attorney Ronca failed to timely file a civil claim against either the hospital or manufacturer of a medical device wh
Case Law Alert - 4th Qtr 2011
CEPA waiver provision bars pursuit of NJLAD claim premised upon same set of operative facts.
The plaintiff filed suit against his employer, the New Jersey state police, alleging he suffered an adverse employment action based upon his objection to the racist and sexist practices of the department.
Case Law Alert - 4th Qtr 2011
Pennsylvania Supreme Court redefines what constitutes sufficient notice of a work injury.
The claimant in this case, a 45-year employee who worked as an Air Force helmet inspector, left work complaining about intolerable pain in her hands but did not report her condition as work-related.
Case Law Alert, 4th Qtr 2011
A ban on using a cellular phone while operating a vehicle is pre-empted by state law.
A Lehigh County judge has thrown out the city's ordinance that banned using a cellular phone while operating a vehicle, saying it was pre-empted by state law. Allentown's Ordinance 14782 was passed and signed into law in March 2010.
Case Law Alert - 4th Qtr 2011
Prosecutor's office entitled to sovereign immunity.
The plaintiffs were arrested by five police officers who were later indicted (three of whom plead guilty) for committing criminal actions while on duty.
Case Law Alert - 4th Qtr 2011
Court rejects "mechanical approach" to application of immunity exceptions under PA Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act, holds that claim against county register for failure to require posting of bond by estate's administrator, gives rise to statutory ca
This case involved a claim by an estate against the County Register and which asserted a claim for losses arising out of the first administrator's handling of the estate. The Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, 20 Pa.C.S.
Case Law Alert - 3rd Qtr 2011
Acceptance of disability pension alone does not establish a presumption that the claimant voluntarily left the workforce so as to suspend benefits.
This claimant was not working and was receiving workers' compensation benefits when he obtained a service-connected disability pension from the employer.