July 23, 2012 — Earlier this month, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania upheld a summary judgment entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County in favor of a large, national insurance company client. Founding Member David B. White and Associate Dean Falavolito successfully argued against an alleged breach of policy and a violation of the Consumer Protection Law, as well as a petition for certification of a class action. The case, which took nearly three years to conclude, was heard before the Superior Court of Pennsylvania in March.
In the putative class action, the lead plaintiff claimed that he, and all other Pennsylvania residents who purchased uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage “stacking” on a single vehicle policy were not actually given the benefits of “stacking.” The plaintiff based his theory on the 2008 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in Generette v. Dongeal Mutual Insurance Co. Burns White successfully argued that based on the Supreme Court decision, the defendant did not alter the terms of the insurance policy, and that the plaintiff and all other Pennsylvania residents continue to receive the benefits of “stacking,” even when they only have a single vehicle policy.