Pennsylvania Superior Court clarifies standard for upholding exculpatory clauses
1/14/22
By: Sean Phelan In the recent case of Keystone Specialty Services Co. v. Ebaugh, No. 1289 WDA 2020 (Pa. Super. Nov. 22, 2021 Olson, J., Nichols, J., and Collins, J.) (Op. by Collins, J.), the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the entry of summary judgment in favor of landlord Defendants in a breach of contract and…
Purdue Pharma has potential to upend common channeling-and-release practice in bankruptcy courts
1/4/22
By: Travis Knobbe For the most part, the nuances of bankruptcy law go unnoticed by our colleagues who do not frequent the bankruptcy courts. Some issues we deal with, however, have broad application to the practice of law generally. Consider, for example, how a coverage attorney analyzing various claims filed against the manufacturer of an…
11/4/21
By: Edward Solensky Jr. In Jeter v. Sam’s Club, 2021 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 919 (App. Div. May 17, 2021), the New Jersey Appellate Division rejected a plaintiff’s argument that the trial court erred in ruling that the mode of operation doctrine did not apply to the facts of her case. Specifically, plaintiff contended defendant’s knowledge that…
Proposed amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702
11/2/21
By: Jacob E. Daly The federal judiciary’s Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules has proposed two significant amendments to Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which governs the admissibility of expert testimony. These amendments would change Rule 702 as follows (additions are underlined; deletions are lined through): A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge,…
5/17/21
By: Kevin Kenneally and William Gildea The United States District Court, District of Massachusetts (Hillman, J.), recently held that Plaintiffs must affirmatively plead and prove that there is a safer alternative product design in order to maintain defect claims against the product manufacturer. Ducat v. Ethicon, Inc., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72793 (D. Mass., April…
Wrongful Death Versus Survival In California
12/11/18
By: Matthew Jones There are many differences between a wrongful death action and a survival action. A wrongful death action may be filed by the personal representative of the decedent’s estate or the decedent’s surviving spouse/children. A survival action may be filed by the estate’s personal representative or the decedent’s successor-in-interest. The determination of whether…
Protecting In-House Correspondence from Disclosure: The Troublesome “CC”
11/28/18
By: Jake Carroll Commercial disputes present complex issues of causation—what caused the accident, who is responsible, what is impacting company revenue. But before the dispute even arises, in-house attorneys are frequently copied on correspondence with team members and employees evaluating and offering opinions on causation, performance, and potential costs. Then, when the dispute or accident…
Who’s Liable for Letting the Dogs Out?
10/23/18
By: Wes Jackson “Cry ‘Havoc!,’ and let slip the dogs of war.” William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar act 3, sc. 1. Havoc indeed—in a case argued before the Georgia Supreme Court on October 10, two pit bulls slipped out of a tenant’s backyard gate with a broken latch and then mauled a woman walking her…
YMCA Owes No Duty To Provide Or Use AEDs When Renting Field To Private Soccer Club
10/17/18
By: Carlos Martinez-Garcia California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal recently affirmed the trial Court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the YMCA, disposing of a wrongful death lawsuit involving a patron who died of a heart attack on their property. The appellate court agreed YMCA had no statutory or common law duty to provide…
Insuring Against Rule 68 Offers of Settlement
6/28/18
By: Matt Grattan One tool defense lawyers in Georgia frequently use to induce settlements is an offer of settlement under O.C.G.A. 9-11-68. Rule 68 allows either party to a tort action to serve a written offer to settle the claim, so long as the offer is made within a certain time and satisfies several other…
Shortening the Statutory Limitations Period in a Residential Lease
5/23/18
By: Jake Daly Every state has statutes or rules governing the time within which various types of claims must be filed. In Georgia, the general rule is that a personal injury claim must be brought within 2 years of the date the injury occurred. Is this an immutable rule, or can it be changed by…
A House of Cards: Stacking Inferences to Prove Liability
5/10/18
By: Melissa Santalone A Florida appellate court recently reaffirmed Florida’s state law prohibition against stacking inferences in personal injury cases with a reversal of a $1.5 million verdict in a slip-and-fall case against Publix. In Publix Super Markets, Inc. v. Bellaiche, 2018 Fla. App. LEXIS 4233 (March 28, 2018), the Third District Court of Appeal…