Articles & Updates
Effective Hospital Policies Can Shield Nurses From Liability
Article by David Johnson, published on Law360 Posted on May 7, 2019 Nurses play a critical role in the provision of health care services. From...
Eastern District Court Grants Summary Judgment to Insured on Bad Faith Claim
Judge McHugh of The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently granted summary judgment in favor of an insured...
Pennsylvania’s New Cyber Security Landscape
Article by Taylor Wantz and Lyle Washowich, Esq. On November 21, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a landmark decision, holding that...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Grants Appeal in $21 Million Bad Faith Case
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has granted the petition for allowance of the appeal in Berg v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., Inc., 2019 WL 1417141 (Pa....
Injured Third Party Has No Standing to Argue No Coverage for Insured’s Defense Costs
The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania recently found that, while an injured third party has standing to defend...
Department of Labor Proposes New Law for Overtime Pay
On March 7, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) that would entitle an additional...
Conclusory Allegations of Bad Faith Are Insufficient to Meet Federal Pleading Standard
Several federal district courts in Pennsylvania recently held that a bad faith count in a complaint cannot survive a motion to dismiss where the...
Mass Tort Refresher: Plaintiffs Attorneys Trolling for the Risk-Adverse Defendant
Article by Kevin Alexandersen, published in the Legal Intelligencer Posted on January 24, 2019 It has become commonplace in many...
Court Finds No Duty to Defend Unlisted Driver, Even Though Complaint Alleges Facts Suggesting Driver is Insured
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment as to an...
District Court Finds Bad Faith Claim Against Claims Adjuster Fraudulently Joined
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently denied the insureds’ motion to remand their lawsuit for breach of...
It’s Not Always Black or White: How Hybrid Alternatives Are Changing ADR
Article by Joe Macerelli, published in the Legal Intelligencer Posted on January 10, 2019 The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process...
Arbitration-Related Discovery
Article by Jill Persico, Esq. Arbitration enforcement is key to transferring your case out of the Court System (and potentially a Plaintiff-friendly...
2018 Hospital Privilege Update
Article by Daniel Margonari, Esq. Once a lawsuit is brought against a hospital and the discovery process gets underway, hospitals have routinely...
Upcoming Amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23
Article by Lyle Washowich, Esq. and Courtney Brennan Amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 23, governing class actions, will become...
David R. Johnson Delivers Medical Malpractice Defense Verdict for Gastroenterologist and Practice
An Allegheny County jury delivered a defense verdict in a case involving the death of a 62-year old woman from colon cancer, whose estate claimed...
Burns White Attorney Obtains Defense Verdict for Physician-Client Medical Malpractice Trial
Burns White lawyer David R. Johnson successfully defended a medical malpractice case recently in which the plaintiffs were seeking in excess of $12...
Another Defense Verdict for Railroad Team, 5th in 5 Months
T.H. Lyda and Edwin Palmer received another defense verdict on behalf of a Fortune 100 railroad client after a two-week long jury trial in Erie...
Trump Administration May Have Triggered Process to Legalize Prescription Medical Marijuana
On October 10, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a notice for public comment on the impact of drug scheduling on the availability...
Proposed Changes to H-4 Visas Could Impact Families
Recently proposed changes to immigration policies will undoubtedly impact many individuals currently in the United States with H1-B and H-4 visas....
2018 New Year’s Resolution: Get a Divorce?
By Dorothy Wolbert It’s an exciting time of year! Everywhere you turn, people are buzzing about their New Year’s resolutions, and the positive...
How Will the New Tax Bill Affect Alimony and Child Support in Pennsylvania?
By Dorothy Wolbert With approval of the new tax bill, changes to the tax code could significantly affect parties going through a divorce or child...
Tips for Preparing Pennsylvania Employers for Medical Marijuana Act Implementation
Article by Laura Benson On April 17, 2016, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (the Act), making Pennsylvania the...
Avoiding Unjust Enrichment Claims Using Two Simple Words
Article by Kenneth Schott, III Ford Motor Company has proven once again that well-worded employment contracts can prevent unfavorable results in...
Constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s Grandparent Statute under question in D.P. and B.P. vs. G.J.P and A.P.
This article was published in the March 18, 2016 issue of the Allegheny County Bar Association Lawyers Journal. On September 8, 2015, Judge Smail,...
Evidence of employee misconduct acquired post-termination not a complete defense
Article by Laura Benson Suppose that during the discovery phase of a lawsuit against you by a former employee, you uncover evidence that this former...
Employers Should Use Caution When Considering Unlimited Vacation Policies
Article by Angela Cronk LinkedIn recently announced that it is implementing an “unlimited vacation” policy, causing a flurry of media...
Supreme Court rules for marriage equality of same-sex couples
In a historic ruling today, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Obergefell v. Hodges, determining that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to...
Existing Sex Discrimination Guidelines are About to Get a Makeover
Article by Laura Benson On January 28, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to rescind the current Sex...
Objective performance evaluations and progressive discipline help minimize exposure
Article by Douglas Hart The soaring number of charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and employment-related...
NLRB Holds That a Jimmy John’s Franchisee had Unfair Labor Practices, Protects Employees’ Free Speech
Article by Laura Benson On April 21, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that a franchisee of the Jimmy John’s sandwich chain...