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Pennsylvania
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April 10, 2024
'Let's Get Physical': Pa. Justices Tune In To COVID-19 Coverage
One of late singer Olivia Newton-John's greatest hits struck a chord with a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice Wednesday as he considered whether insurers should cover business losses stemming from government shutdown orders during the COVID-19 pandemic
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April 10, 2024
Talc Death Liability Should Have Been Even Split, Panel Finds
A Pennsylvania appeals court on Wednesday partially reversed a $400,000 verdict in a mesothelioma suit against American International Industries, with a panel finding the trial court should have split the verdict in even thirds, rather than putting 50% of it on AII.
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April 10, 2024
DA Says SEPTA Prosecutor Law Unfairly Singles Out Philly
An attorney for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told a Pennsylvania appellate court Wednesday that a law mandating a "special prosecutor" within the Attorney General's Office to handle crimes within the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority had unfairly and unconstitutionally singled out Philadelphia and his office.
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April 10, 2024
Chase, Zelle Can Arbitrate Stolen-Funds Reimbursement Case
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday granted Chase Bank and Zelle's request to arbitrate customer claims they acted negligently and violated consumer protection laws by refusing to refund stolen funds, with the judge saying that relevant virtual terms of service required by Chase are valid, and that Zelle may enforce the agreement as a third-party beneficiary.
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April 09, 2024
Philips, Feds Enter Consent Decree Over Sleep Apnea Devices
Philips Respironics can't make sleep apnea breathing machines until it hires an independent monitor, undergoes inspections and meets its obligations under a plan to remediate patients affected by a 2021 recall of such devices, the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday.
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April 09, 2024
What's In The Norfolk Southern $600M Derailment Deal
Last year's fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, reached a litigation milestone Tuesday with the disaster's first major settlement, a proposed $600 million deal with nearby residents and businesses, but the rail giant must still contend with a federal investigation and other lawsuits.
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April 09, 2024
Insurers Can Expect Scrutiny Over AI Use, Pa. Agency Says
Pennsylvania insurers can expect to receive scrutiny over their use of artificial intelligence tools, the state's insurance department said in guidance that urges companies to take measures to minimize discrimination, inaccuracies and potential harms to consumers.
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April 09, 2024
Equitrans Hit With $1.1M Pollution Penalties In Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection unveiled more than $1.1 million in civil penalties against Equitrans Midstream Partners LP on Tuesday for violations related to the company's uncontrolled gas release from its Rager Mountain natural gas storage field in Cambria County.
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April 09, 2024
Pa. Panel Won't Undo Town Election Due To Missed Deadline
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court said supporters of a candidate for the Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors missed their deadline to challenge Montgomery County's decision to count contested mail-in ballots, which had turned the incumbent's narrow win last November into a tie that his opponent won in the tiebreaker.
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April 09, 2024
Gun Shield Law Constitutional, Arms Co. Tells Pa. High Court
Springfield Armory Inc. has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to undo a ruling that it was not immune from product defect claims filed by the family of a boy who was shot by a friend thinking one of the company's guns was unloaded, arguing that Congress intended to prevent such lawsuits with the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
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April 09, 2024
Spirit Flies Away From Wiretap Suit Over Site User Tracking
Spirit Airlines has beaten, for now, a consolidated proposed class action alleging that it flouted privacy and wiretapping laws by gathering its website users' communications after a Pennsylvania federal judge said the plaintiffs haven't responded to Spirit's argument that its software doesn't gather personal information and accordingly suffered no injury and lack standing.
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April 09, 2024
Pittsburgh Schools Sue To Force Countywide Reassessment
The school district serving the city of Pittsburgh has filed a lawsuit in state court to compel Allegheny County to conduct a countywide reassessment of real estate values, arguing that taxation starting from a 12-year-old base level is putting homeowners in some neighborhoods at an unfair and unconstitutional disadvantage.
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April 09, 2024
'Education Lawyers' Challenge Isn't Over At TTAB, Firm Says
Jacobson & John LLP's claim that its use of the marketing phrase "The Education Lawyers" has gone unchallenged for five years blatantly misled a Pennsylvania federal court about the phrase's incontestability as a trademark, according to a rival firm's bid to keep its trademark challenge alive there.
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April 09, 2024
NJ Justices To Hear If Philly Archdiocese Subject To NJ Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court will determine whether the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is subject to Garden State courts in a lawsuit alleging a former priest sexually abused a teenager at the former priest's Jersey Shore house decades ago.
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April 09, 2024
16 States Seek To Defend EPA Particulate Matter Rule
A coalition of 16 states, New York City and Washington, D.C., has pushed to intervene before the D.C. Circuit in defense of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent final rule tightening federal standards for fine particulate matter pollution, as it faces challenges from industry groups and Republican-led states.
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April 09, 2024
California Can Set Own Emissions Standards, DC Circ. Says
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act waiver that allows California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles and run a zero-emission vehicles program, rejecting challenges filed by red states and industry groups.
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April 08, 2024
Feds Say Philly Clinics Billed For 'Impossible' No. Of Visits
The head psychiatrist at a group of Philadelphia mental health clinics allegedly billed Medicaid for enough "med check" patient visits that he would have exceeded the hours in a day if he had taken the state-mandated minimum of 15 minutes per patient, according to a federal False Claims Act suit filed Monday.
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April 08, 2024
Drexel Didn't Accommodate Exec's Disability, Suit Claims
Drexel University was accused Monday of discrimination by an administrator, who claimed its chief operating officer refused her request to meet one-on-one ahead of a group meeting with a subordinate and that the group meeting be held via telephone instead of video.
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April 08, 2024
GOP Candidates Jump Into NJ Ballot Design Fray
Four Republicans running for Congress in New Jersey filed a state lawsuit Monday seeking to compel the state's 21 county clerks to discard the "county line" ballot and use the "office block" ballot that a federal judge has mandated for Democrats in the June 4 primary.
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April 08, 2024
Insurer Fights 3rd Circ. Bid To Revive Crash Coverage Suit
An insurer has urged the Third Circuit to affirm that a Pennsylvania couple couldn't claim it had acted in bad faith by failing to immediately cover the husband's brain injuries from a crash with an underinsured motorist.
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April 08, 2024
Hotel Co. Comes Out On Top In Passover Fiasco Row
A bench trial over a "Passover celebration gone wrong" at a Pennsylvania hotel ended Friday largely in favor of the hotel operator, with $1,447.60 in contract damages for the caterer plaintiff offset by a $5,164.28 judgment in the hotel's favor for damages allegedly caused by guests who created plumbing issues.
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April 08, 2024
Taxi Hailing Cos. Settle Hidden Fees RICO Claims
Three taxi hailing companies have settled a proposed class action accusing them of conspiring to hit users who call for cabs using their tech products with hidden fees, according to a new order from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissing the suit.
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April 05, 2024
Target, Major Employers Raise New Drug Price-Fixing Claims
Target Corp., Lowe's Cos. Inc. and American Airlines Inc. are among major employers that lodged new price-fixing claims in Pennsylvania federal court against dozens of pharmaceutical companies, accusing them of orchestrating illegal agreements to allocate customers and markets and fix the prices of hundreds of generic drugs for more than a decade.
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April 05, 2024
PNC Must Face Customer's Suit, Judge Says After Fixing Error
A federal judge in Philadelphia reissued an opinion Friday requiring PNC Bank NA to face a customer's breach of contract suit after an earlier decision mischaracterized parties involved in an alleged check-forging scheme as PNC employees.
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April 05, 2024
DC Circ. Says Gov't Changing Its Defense In Chinese Visa Row
A D.C. Circuit judge said Friday the federal government seemed to be changing its tune late in its defense of a district court judge's dismissal of a suit filed by three Chinese investors who'd tried to move ahead in the queue for EB-5 visas reserved for investors in infrastructure projects.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.
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What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance
Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories
The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Tracking MDL Geography
In recent years, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has predominantly selected states east of the Mississippi River as venues for new MDLs — but with half of the proceedings it has created in recent months venued in Arizona and California, the panel is not neglecting the western part of the country, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.
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Pa. Ruling Shows Why Term Sheet Can Be Worth The Wait
A Pennsylvania bankruptcy court’s recent In re: Legarde ruling, holding that a settlement term sheet was enforceable, reminds litigants that it’s crucial to draft a written agreement before leaving mediation in order to resolve potential evidentiary issues and protect against buyer’s remorse, says Brian Shaw at Cozen O'Connor.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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An Overview Of Circuit Courts' Interlocutory Motion Standards
The Federal Arbitration Act allows litigants to file an immediate appeal from an order declining to enforce an arbitration agreement, but the circuit courts differ on the specific requirements for the underlying order as well as which motion must be filed, as demonstrated in several 2023 decisions, says Kristen Mueller at Mueller Law.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.
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Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary
The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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What Cos. Should Know About FTC's Proposed Junk Fee Rule
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a notice of proposed rulemaking targeting junk fees and how businesses may advertise prices to consumers — and since it would give the agency powers to seek monetary penalties against businesses that do not comply, companies should look to get ahead now, say Phyllis Marcus and Nicole Johnson at Hunton Andrews.
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
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Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.
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General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI
With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.
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Rite Aid's Reasons For Ch. 11 Go Beyond Opioid Suits
Despite opioid-related lawsuits being the perceived reason that pushed Rite Aid into bankruptcy, the company's recent Chapter 11 filing reveals its tenuous position in the pharmaceutical retail market, and only time will tell whether bankruptcy will right-size the company, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.
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Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information
As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.