Eastern District of Pennsylvania Finds that School District Immunity does not Extend to Teacher’s Alleged Intentional Torts
8/19/19
By: Erin Lamb
An Eastern District of Pennsylvania judge ruled that the Philadelphia School District is immune from a lawsuit wherein a special education student was allegedly choked by his special education teacher. However, District Judge Gerald Pappert also ruled …
United States Supreme Court to Decide Whether Georgia Law can be Copyrighted
7/15/19
By: Jason Kamp
The United States Supreme Court recently agreed to decide whether the annotations contained in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA.) can be copyrighted by the state of Georgia, granting certiorari in State of Georgia, et al. …
PG&E Reaches $1 Billion Settlement Following California Wildfires
6/28/19
By: Jenny Jin
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. recently reached a $1 billion settlement with 14 California local government agencies for the significant losses stemming from the 2015, 2017, and 2018 Northern California wildfires. The civil settlement was reached in …
Third Circuit Rules Against the City of Williamsport in Lawsuit Filed Against Insurance Companies Based on Law Enforcement Policy Coverage
6/14/19
By: Michelle Yee
In 2015, there was major news coverage that a former Williamsport police officer pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and several other charges. This case stems from a fatal automobile accident that occurred between James David Robinson and …
California Court Rules That Payroll Companies Are Not Liable For Employer’s Wage And Hour Violations
4/25/19
By: Michael Shepherd
The California Supreme Court recently provided clarity to payroll companies in Goonewardene v. ADP, LLC (2019) 6 Cal.5th 817. In Goonewardene, Plaintiff alleged claims of negligence and negligent misrepresentation against a payroll company based on wages …
Georgia Court of Appeals Provides Guideline for Drafting Enforceable Exculpatory Clauses in Georgia
4/23/19
By: Bart Gary and Jake Carroll
Exculpatory clauses are terms in a contract that shift the risk of loss to the other party or a third-party, or attempt to limit one’s obligations under a contract. A typical exculpatory clause is …
The Power Of Animations Outside The Movie Theater
3/15/19
By: Matthew Jones
The use of animations in the courtroom is becoming more and more popular given the ruling in the case People v. Duenas (2012) 55 Cal.4th 1. The Duenas court equated animations to demonstrative evidence, specifically stating “a …
Serving That Whiskey Might Be Risky – Liability Of Social Hosts In DUI Accidents
2/15/19
By: Stacey Bavafa
Under California Civil Code Section 1714, social hosts and other third parties may be held to be partially liable in the event of a drunk driving accident depending on the circumstances that led up to the accident. …
Waiving the Right to Remove State Court Actions
2/13/19
By: Justine Baakman
Boilerplate Demands for Relief in Pennsylvania Complaint Alone Sufficient to Support an Amount in Controversy Exceeding $75,000
The Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania recently held that one may waive the right to removal to federal court even …
A Series of Particular Events: Foreseeability and the First Circuit
2/6/19
By: Thomas Hay
A three-judge panel on the First Circuit denied Omni Hotel’s petition for review of their decision to overturn a lower court ruling that awarded summary judgment to Omni and reinstated a negligence charge filed by a man …
Georgia Court of Appeals Concludes the Term “Affiliate” is Ambiguous
2/4/19
By: Jake Carroll
In Salinas v. Atlanta Gas Light Company,[1] the Georgia Court of Appeals’ recently examined whether Georgia Natural Gas (“GNG”) and Atlanta Gas Light Company (“AGLC”) were “affiliates.” Both AGLC and GNG were owned and controlled, …
PUNITIVE DAMAGES: How Much Is Too Much?
11/1/18
By: Rebecca Smith
On August 10, 2018, in the first Roundup cancer lawsuit to proceed to trial, a jury awarded Dewayne Johnson a total of $289 million dollars. On Monday, October 22, 2018, a San Francisco Superior Court Judge refused …