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Pennsylvania
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April 10, 2024
Emissions Rules' Foes May Be Forced To Yield To Automakers
Potential challengers of vehicle emissions rules were shown they're not necessarily in the drivers' seat on the issue when the D.C. Circuit upheld California's authority to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards and run a zero-emission vehicles program while citing the auto industry's peace with the regulations.
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April 10, 2024
3rd Circ. Skeptical Of Challenge To NLRB Bonuses Ruling
A Third Circuit panel appeared skeptical Wednesday of a nursing home's challenge to a National Labor Relations Board decision finding it unlawfully altered bonus pay it issued during the pandemic without bargaining, as judges questioned the company's argument that the bonuses were allowable under an expired contract.
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April 10, 2024
3rd Circ. Revives Retaliation Suit Against Pa. House GOP
The Third Circuit breathed new life Wednesday into a former district office manager's lawsuit alleging she was fired by the Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus for reporting she had discovered mold in a state representative's office, finding she was acting outside her job duties when she spoke up.
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April 10, 2024
Honeywell Sues Insurer For $8.75M Performance Bond
A company that issued a $8.75 million performance bond is refusing to honor its deal with Honeywell International Inc. after a subcontractor declared bankruptcy and didn't finish its work at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania, Honeywell claims in a suit filed Tuesday in Pennsylvania federal court.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act
While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Post-Mallory, Calif. Personal Jurisdiction Unlikely To Expand
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway decision, affirming that registration to do business in Pennsylvania means consenting to be sued in that state's courts, could prompt other states to experiment with similar laws — but such efforts would likely fail in California, say Virginia Milstead and Raza Rasheed at Skadden.
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Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era
As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.
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Employer Defenses After High Court Religious Bias Decision
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Groff v. DeJoy — which raised the bar for proving that a worker’s religious accommodation presents an undue hardship — employers can enlist other defense strategies, including grounds that an employee's belief is nonsectarian, say Kevin Jackson and Jack FitzGerald at Foley & Lardner.
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Pa. Case Highlights Complexity Of Oil And Gas Leases
A Pennsylvania state court's recent decision in Douglas Equipment Inc. v. EQT Production Co. is a reminder that oil and gas leases are rather strange creatures — morphing from something akin to a traditional surface lease to a mineral property conveyance the moment oil and gas is produced, says Christopher Rogers at Frost Brown.
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The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.
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The 7 Most Notable FCRA Cases Of 2023 So Far
Both consumer reporting agencies and furnishers should take note of Fair Credit Reporting Act decisions by federal district and appellate courts so far this year, especially those concerning dispute processing and the distinction between legal and factual inaccuracies, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation
Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.
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Inflexible Remote Work Policies Can Put Employers In A Bind
As made clear in the recent decision by a Pennsylvania federal court in Oross v. Kutztown University, employers need to engage in individualized assessments of all requests for exemptions or accommodations to return-to-work policies to avoid potentially violating the Americans with Disabilities Act or Rehabilitation Act, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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What Circuit Split May Mean For FCA Kickback Liability
The recent circuit split on the meaning of the resulting-from provision in False Claims Act kickback cases could have significant ramifications for FCA liability, as it could affect the standard of causation that plaintiffs must meet to establish liability, say former federal prosecutors Li Yu, Ellen London and Gregg Shapiro.
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Perspectives
More States Should Join Effort To Close Legal Services Gap
Colorado is the most recent state to allow other types of legal providers, not just attorneys, to offer specific services in certain circumstances — and more states should rethink the century-old assumptions that shape our current regulatory rules, say Natalie Anne Knowlton and Janet Drobinske at the University of Denver.
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Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure
Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'
Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.
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Aviation Watch: Osprey Aircraft May Face Tort Claims
A recent U.S. Marine Corps Command report found that the cause of a 2022 Osprey crash was a problem known to the manufacturer and the military for over 10 years — and the aircraft may now be on its way to a day of reckoning in the tort liability arena, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
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Upcoming High Court ADA Cases May Signal Return To Basics
Recent cases, including Acheson Hotels v. Laufer, which will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in October, raise a fundamental question of whether Americans with Disabilities Act litigation has spiraled out of control without any real corresponding benefits to the intended beneficiaries: individuals with true disabilities, says Norman Dupont at Ring Bender.