On May 18, 2017, Judge Conaboy from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania held that the minimum requirement of greater than $75,000 to satisfy diversity jurisdiction was met in an Uninsured Motorist (UM) bad faith claim, even where the policy limits were below this threshold. Koerner v. GEICO Cas. Co., […]
Case Bulletin – US Supreme Court Issues Ruling on Jurisdictional Limits
On June 19, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court restricted the jurisdictional reach of state long-arm statutes when it struck down a decision by the California Supreme Court allowing out-of-state residents to join a class action lawsuit against Bristol-Meyer Squib filed in California. Previously, the California high court ruled in favor of permitting approximately 600 non-Californians […]
Case Bulletin – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Clarifies the Duty of Informed Consent
On June 20, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court addressed a trial court’s instructions to the jury related to informed consent in Shinal v. Toms, M.D., 31 MAP 2016 (Pa. 2017), ultimately overruling prior Superior Court holdings. In doing so, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a physician may not delegate to others his or her […]
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals recently decided a case in which an insured, Robert Nelson, sought declaratory judgment from State Farm stating that he was entitled to coverage under his State Farm’s homeowner policy when his wife negligently shot him. The case went before the Circuit Court of Harrison County, and State Farm […]
On April 26, 2017, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (the “Court”) issued its decision in Ashraf, M.D. v. State Auto Property and Casualty Insurance Company, 2017 WL 1549582 (W. Va. 2017), holding: (1) that a Vacancy provision in a fire insurance policy which provides that an insurer is allowed to reduce by […]
On April 11, 2017, the Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s admission of evidence of industry and safety standards in the first products liability case considering this issue after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Tincher v. Omega Flex, Inc., 104 A.3d 328 (Pa. 2014). In Renninger v. A&R Machine Shop, ___ A.3d […]
Case Bulletin – PA Superior Court Upholds Arbitration Clause
On March 30, 2017, Pennsylvania’s Superior Court addressed the issue of mandatory arbitration arising out of a contract in Fellerman v. Peco Energy Co., 2017 WL 1175434 (Pa. Super. 2017). In Fellerman, the plaintiffs retained the defendant to perform a home inspection as part of a real estate transaction. The plaintiffs signed a contract prepared […]
On January 27, 2017, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania held that references of fiduciary duties owed to an insured by an insurance company must be stricken from plaintiff’s Complaint alleging claims of bad faith. In Meyers v. Protective Insurance Company, the Plaintiff husband was injured in a hit-and-run vehicle […]
Zimmer Kunz PLLC is pleased to announce that Shareholder Joseph F. Butcher will serve as the President of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Federal Bar Association for 2017. Associate Aaron H. Weiss will serve as the chapter’s Younger Lawyer’s Chair. The Federal Bar Association and its Western Pennsylvania Chapter is the premier bar […]
On February 28, 2017, the Pennsylvania Superior Court in Dolby v. Ziegler Tire and Supply Company, et al. affirmed the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County’s entry of a compulsory non-suit in favor of the defendants. Plaintiffs alleged that a coal truck accident occurred as a result of an allegedly defective retreaded truck tire […]
Case Bulletin – Supreme Court of West Virginia Issues Ruling on Assignment of Claims Against Insurer
On March 1, 2017, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (the “Court”) issued its decision in Penn-American Insurance Co. v. Osborne, 2017 WL 878716 (W. Va. 2017), holding: (1) a consent judgment was not binding on an insurer that was not a party to the original suit; and (2) a pre-trial assignment of […]
On March 1, 2017, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held in a matter of first impression that a plaintiff who elects to limit damages to $25,000 pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1311.1 may still recover attorney’s fees in excess of that limit. Grimm v. Universal Med. Servs., Inc., ___ A.3d ___, 2017 Pa. Super. 53 (Mar. 1, 2017). […]
Case Bulletin – Fourth Circuit Rules that Expert’s Testimony is Unreliable and Inadmissible
In Nease v. Ford Motor Company (4th Cir., February 1, 2017) 2017 WL 437665, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that Plaintiff’s expert’s testimony was unreliable and inadmissible. Plaintiff, Howard Nease, commenced a product liability action against Ford Motor Company alleging that Mr. Nease suffered injuries in an accident caused […]
Case Bulletin – PA Superior Court Addresses Minor Deviations to UIM Waiver Form
On December 14, 2016, the Pennsylvania Superior Court (the “Court”) issued its decision in Petty v. Federated Mutual Insurance Co., 2016 WL 7234016 (Pa. Super. 2016), holding: (1) the deviations from the statutory form for waiving underinsured motorist (“UIM”) coverage and the actual form used by the insurer were inconsequential niggles that had no impact […]
Case Bulletin – Third Circuit Reviews the Daubert Standard For Experts in Employment Law
On Tuesday, January 10, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a ruling in Karlo v. Pittsburgh Glass Works, LLC, where it discussed statistical expert opinions and interpreted the standard under Daubert for utilizing these experts’ opinions. In Karlo, the defendant was a manufacturer of automotive glass. When the […]
Case Bulletin – Pennsylvania Superior Court Applies Tincher in Recent Products Liability Case
In an opinion announced on January 13, 2017 in High v. Pennsy Supply, Inc. (No. 411 MDA 2016), a strict products liability case, the Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant concrete supplier. The Superior Court held that the […]
In Farrell v. Regola, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently held that issues involving documents allegedly covered by attorney-client privilege were immediately appealable as a collateral order; communications made to clinical social workers were protected by the psychiatrist/psychologist privilege; and handwritten notes taken during civil deposition; and a prior criminal trial were protected by attorney client […]
© All rights reserved - Zimmer Kunz PLLC 2024
