We succeeded in striking a $4.1 million default judgment entered in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by a plaintiff who alleged defective residential construction. We convinced the court that Pennsylvania Prothonotaries and Clerks of Court lack authority to accept a praecipe to enter a default judgment in a specified amount unless the amount is approved by a judge or is a sum certain, meaning that the amount is ascertainable from a confessed judgment or a contract that specifies the amount due.

We achieved summary judgment on behalf of an art store chain in a racial discrimination suit over a caricature drawing of a Black woman and her infant son. She, her father and her father’s girlfriend, all visitors of HersheyPark, sued the owner of the kiosk for race discrimination, retaliation and interference under 42 U.S.C. Section 1981, alleging that they were drawn with exaggerated and offensive features rooted in harmful racial stereotypes. The kiosk owner argued that while the caricatures might have been poorly drawn, they were not drawn in any manner intended to be offensive.

We were granted summary judgment on behalf of a national truck manufacturer in an asbestos case where the plaintiff claimed his mesothelioma diagnosis was the result of his work on his employer’s trucks. The plaintiff claimed he developed mesothelioma as a result of his alleged exposure to asbestos while working on the trucks and products manufactured by the other defendants. The plaintiff had worked and resided the majority of his life in Mississippi; therefore, Mississippi law was applicable.

We received a defense verdict in a nursing home malpractice matter involving the development and progression of pressure injuries the decedent experienced during her time in a nursing home. As a result of these injuries, the plaintiff claimed damages, including but not limited to pain, suffering and death. We successfully cited the resident’s significant comorbidities and the noncompliance with pressure reduction measures and nutritional support. 

We received a defense verdict for our client, a general surgeon, who performed carpal tunnel surgery on the plaintiff’s left hand. Following surgery, the plaintiff continued to complain of tingling, numbness and weakness in his hand. He went on to have two additional surgeries, performed by two different surgeons. During the third surgery, the surgeon found a median nerve injury. The plaintiff claimed that this nerve injury was caused by the defendant cutting the median nerve during his initial operation.

We won summary judgment on behalf of a company that provided software for the overall design of roof trusses in a design defect case. The plaintiff owned the apartment complex being built and hired Turnbull Wahlert to construct the building. 84 Lumber was subcontracted by Turnbull to build and install the roof trusses. 84 Lumber contracted with our client to use its software for the design of the roof trusses and to provide truss connect plate hangers.

We won a motion dismissing all claims with prejudice against our clients in a case involving a major remediation project for environmental violations. We filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint based on its failure to provide an affidavit of merit within the prescribed time, and because the agreed upon liability waiver clause precludes litigation against the individual defendants. We argued that public policy recognizes limitation of liability clauses when they are reasonable and when they incentivize the licensed professional to perform.

We received a unanimous decision from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. This decision both limits the use of offensive collateral estoppel in disciplinary matters and establishes that the standard of proof for disciplinary matters in Pennsylvania is clear and convincing evidence. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel had sought to utilize non-mutual offensive collateral estoppel to preclude the respondent from disputing fact determinations by a bankruptcy judge when she sanctioned the respondent and his client.

We obtained full dismissal in a medical billings claim against our insurance carrier client in a New York No-Fault/PIP Action. The plaintiff, a major medical provider, filed suit in Kings County Civil Court in the total amount of $22,610.79, claiming our client owed it for the claimant’s unpaid medical billing. The claimant had been involved in a motor vehicle accident and sought payment for medical treatment.

We received a defense verdict at the Montgomery County Arbitration Center where the three-attorney panel found in favor of our clients, a pediatric primary care office and a pediatric nurse. We represented the pediatric practice and the nurse against claims from the plaintiff who claimed her median nerve was injured by a venipuncture procedure performed by the nurse. The case was originally filed in the Court of Common Pleas; however, after discovery revealed a weak damages claim—we found many TikTok videos helpful to our defense—it was dropped to the arbitration level.