Publications
Luzerne County Court Denies Amendment to Add Punitive Damages for Post-Incident Conduct in Dog-Bite Case
The plaintiff sought the amend her complaint to add a claim of negligence per se, to add a theory of joint and several liability against both defendants and, most notably, to include a claim for punitive damages for post-incident conduct by the de
Case Law Alerts, 4th Quarter, October 2025 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers.
First Department Rejects De Minimis Defense, Grants Summary Judgment for Worker’s Fall Under Labor Law 240(1)
The First Department has held that a fall from a height of 10 ½ to 20 inches is not a bar to summary judgment because the height differential is not, as a matter of law, de minimus.
Court Grants Summary Judgment to Grocery Store Where Plaintiff Failed to Show Cause of Fall or Notice of Hazard
The plaintiff alleged that she slipped and fell in the women’s restroom of the defendant’s grocery store. The plaintiff claimed she slipped on some unknown substance, which caused her to fall and strike the toilet.
Superior Court Affirms Defense Verdict, No Adverse Spoliation Inference Where Lost Video Did Not Capture Incident or Contain Relevant Evidence
The plaintiff tripped and fell on a floor mat near the beverage area in the defendant’s store.
Pa. Superior Court Reverses Summary Judgment, Finding Fact Issues on Store’s Duty to Anticipate Off-Premises Assault
The plaintiff was beaten and robbed a block away from the defendant’s store. Prior to the incident, the plaintiff and the assailant were both in the store.
Commonwealth Court Vacates Verdict, Holding Comparative Negligence Instruction Improper in Dog Attack Case
When the plaintiff, a volunteer at the dog shelter, arrived at the shelter, a dog on a leash jumped up. The plaintiff moved away and told an employee of the shelter to take the dog away.
Third Circuit Court of Appeals Holds a Product Liability Plaintiff Does Not Need an Expert to Survive Summary Judgment in Certain Cases
Product liability suits often involve complex machinery or detailed questions of product design and engineering. Thus, when defendants seek to preclude a plaintiff’s experts from testifying, they often try to kill two birds with one stone.
Queens Court Declines to Dismiss Subrogation Action, Finding Issues of Control Over Uber Driver
The Civil Court in Queens County, NY denied Uber’s motion to dismiss a subrogation action stemming from a motor vehicle accident.
Duty Owed to Substance Abuse and Suicidal Patients: New Court Ruling Lays Out a Duty Providers Have to a Patient Prior to Discharge Related to Treatments After Discharge
The Third District Court of Appeal reversed an order granting summary judgment in favor of an addiction treatment facility, holding the facility did not have a duty to prevent the decedent’s suicide after discharge, but it did have a duty to attem
Another Ohio District Court Rules that the Non-Economic Damages Cap on Catastrophic Medical Injuries Is Unconstitutional as Applied
Following the 8th District Court of Appeals’ ruling in Paganini v. Cataract Eye Center of Cleveland earlier this year, the 10th District has likewise ruled that the non-economic damages cap under R.C.