7/28/22
By: Patrick Cosgrove and Kayla Panek
Pennsylvania has long been an outlier amongst jurisdictions in holding that clients cannot sue their attorney for legal malpractice after voluntarily agreeing to a settlement. A recent concurring opinion by a Pennsylvania Supreme Court …
Superior Court Erodes Pennsylvania’s Fair Share Act
5/17/21
By: Erin Lamb
In 2011, Pennsylvania enacted the “Fair Share Act,” Senate Bill 1131. The bill substantially limited the applicability of joint and several liability in civil cases. There is no question that it was the goal of the legislature …
PA’s Prevailing Wage Law Shows Its Teeth
5/7/21
By: Joshua Ferguson and Courtney Mazzio
Pennsylvania’s Prevailing Wage Law was enacted in 1961 to protect construction workers from out-of-state competition, mandating those contractors pay the wages that “prevail” in each region on all government construction projects more than $25,000.
Violations of this state labor …
1/28/21
By: Sean Riley
In Del. River Joint Toll Bridge Comm’n v. Sec’y Pa. Dep’t of Labor & Indus., No. 20-1898, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 895, at *2 (3d Cir. Jan. 12, 2021) the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently …
Sudden Emergency Defense- Suddenly disappears in Pennsylvania?
1/7/21
By: Josh Ferguson
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently issued an opinion that appears to limit, if not eliminate, the sudden emergency defense in motor vehicle accident claims. Graham v. Check, No. 42 WAP 2019 (Pa. Dec. 22, 2020).
In that matter, …
Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Announce New "Safer at Home" Restrictions
11/18/20
By: Justin Boron
The City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced new measures this week aimed at curbing the spike in COVID cases in the region, but neither appear to be ready to initiate a broad-based shutdown like …
9/21/20
By: Ashley Hobson
On Monday, September 14th a federal judge in the Western District of Pennsylvania struck down the Governor’s restrictions on the size limitation of persons at gatherings and the mandatory closure of “non-life sustaining” businesses. The restrictions, …
Pennsylvania Opens Flood Gates to Unlimited Video Footage Discovery Requests
8/28/20
By: Erin Lamb
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to review a Superior Court opinion issued in the case of Marshall v. Brown’s IA, LLC, that found that Plaintiff was entitled to a new trial in a case where the trial …
Massachusetts Enacts Legislation Authorizing Virtual Notarization During COVID-19 State of Emergency
4/30/20
On April 27, 2020, Governor Baker signed into law An Act Providing for Virtual Notarization to Address Challenges Related to COVID-19 (the “Virtual Notarization Act” or the “Act”). In doing so, Massachusetts joins a number of other …
4/2/20
By: Sean Riley
Governor Tom Wolf has issued an executive order closing all businesses in Pennsylvania that are not deemed to be “life-sustaining.” Residential and non-residential building construction, as well as utility subsystem, road and bridge construction are all specifically …
PA Supreme Court Elevates State Pay Standards Above the FLSA on Fluctuating Work Week
2/12/20
By: Justin Boron
Going forward, Pennsylvania employers should be wary of relying on federal rules for their pay policies.
As a general principle, courts and regulators interpret Pennsylvania’s wage and hour laws consistently with the Fair Labor Standards Act. But …
Pennsylvania Taking Steps to Help the Small Contractor
11/21/19
By: Josh Ferguson
There are currently two bills in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives intended to limit the ability of property owners, managers and general contractors from pushing their liability onto the sub-contractors.
Pennsylvania State Representatives introduced House Bill 1887, …