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Tort Talk
Tort talk is written by insurance defense attorney Daniel E. Cummins of the Scranton, Pennsylvania law firm of Foley, Cognetti, Comerford, Cimini & Cummins and is designed to provided updates on cases and trends in Pennsylvania civil litigation law.
615 articles
Interesting Discovery Decision out of Clinton County in Case Involving Death of a Minor
From Tort Talk, 3 month ago, Read 1 times. Similar articles
Judge J. Michael Williamson of the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas recently issued an interesting discovery decision in the medical malpractice case of Gentile v. Timko, et al., No. 215 - 2010 Civil (C.P. Clinton Co. Sept. 30, 2011 Williamson, J.).
After thorough analysis, including a review of the discovery of prior mental health records case of Gormley v. Edgar, Judge Williamson decided that the parents' mental health treatment records and employment records were...
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Detailed Opinion out of Lackawanna County on Defamation, Fraud, Res Judicata, and Collateral Estoppel Issues
From Tort Talk, 3 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
For those of you who deal with the torts of defamation and fraud, and for those of you who are facing a res judicata or collateral estoppel issue, I have come across a recent Opinion by Judge Terrence R. Nealon of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas outlining the current status of the law on these causes of action in the case of Davis v. PPL Sustainable Energy Fund, 10 - CV - 706 (C.P. Lacka. Co. Oct. 13, 2011 Nealon, J.)
This case involved a former board member of a...
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Two Major UM/UIM Decisions Handed Down by Pennsylvania Supreme Court
From Tort Talk, 3 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down two important decisions on major UM/UIM issues both of which opinions where written by Justice Orie Melvin.
The issues involved in the separate cases included (1) whether those eligible for workers' compensation benefits may also collect underinsured motorist benefits, and (2) whether underinsured motorist coverage on a police officer's personal vehicle can be extended to a police vehicle when the cop's law enforcement agency does...
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Judge Terrence Nealon of Lackawanna County Addresses Various Issues in Water Damage/Property Loss Insurance Matter
From Tort Talk, 3 month ago, Read 2 times. Similar articles
Tort Talkers who do water damage/property loss insurance litigation might be interested in reading a recent Opinion by Judge Terrence R. Nealon in the case of Church of the Forgotten Souls v. NGM Insurance Company, No. 10 - Civil - 7078 (C.P. Lacka. Co. Oct. 6, 2011 Nealon, J.).
In this case, Judge Nealon denied an insured's Preliminary Objections to the insurer's counterclaim/third party complaint alleging fraudulent misrepresentations by the insured, applicability of...
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Post-Koken UIM - Bad Faith Decision Out of Western District Federal Court
From Tort Talk, 3 month ago, Read 1 times. Similar articles
I was recently advised of a post-Koken severance vs. consolidation bad faith post-Koken case out of the Federal District Court for the Western District Court of Pennsylvania.
In Craker v. State Farm, No. 2011 ? Civil ? 0225 (W.D.Pa. Sept. 29, 2011 Lancaster, C.J.), Chief Judge Gary L. Lancaster addressed State Farm's Motion to Sever and Stay the bad faith portion of the post-Koken claim presented and allow the UIM portion of the claim to proceed.
In this matter, the Plaintiff...
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Eastern District Federal Court Rules that Delay Damages are Recoverable Under UIM Policy
From Tort Talk, 3 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
I have previously reported on how the courts have grappled with the issue of how to handle delay damages in post-Koken cases.
Almost a year ago, in December of 2010, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled (1) that delay damages should be calculated based upon the jury's full verdict, as opposed to the molded downward amount after the application of credits due to the UIM carrier, and (2) that a Plaintiff could recover delay damages against a UIM carrier, even if the addition of the delay...
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Superior Court Finds Bystander Emotional Distress Claim to be Covered Under Auto Policy Definition of "Bodily Injury"
From Tort Talk, 4 month ago, Read 1 times. Similar articles
According to an August 27, 2011 article in The Legal Intelligencer by reporter, Gina Passarella, the Pennsylvania Superior Court recently ruled in a memorandum opinion that a bystander negligent infliction of emotional distress claim fell under the automobile insurance policy definition of a ?bodily injury' even though there was no physical injury sustained by the injured party.
In the case of Lipsky v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, PICS Case No. 11-4128 (Pa. Super....
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Judge Burke of Luzerne County Dismisses Cross-Claim by UIM Defendant Against Tortfeasor Defendant in Post-Koken Case
From Tort Talk, 4 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
Judge Thomas F. Burke, Jr. of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas recently sustained a tortfeasor defendant's preliminary objections (filed by me) and dismissed a cross-claim for contribution and/or indemnification filed by the underinsured motorist (UIM) carrier defendant against the tortfeasor defendant in the post-Koken case of Emery v. Culver and Nationwide, No. 6764 ? CIVIL ? 2010 (C.P. Luz. Co. Sept. 28, 2011 Burke, J.).
Regular readers of Tort Talk may recall that I previously...
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U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal of Former Luzerne County Judge Ann Lokuta
From Tort Talk, 4 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
Here's a link to an article in today's Times Leader out of Wilkes-Barre, PA regarding the United States Supreme Court issuing an Order denying certiorari on the appeal of former Luzerne County Judge Ann Lokuta on the issues surrounding her removal from the bench:
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Lokuta-petition-denied-by-US-Supreme-Court.html
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Nationwide and Harleysville Insurance Companies to Merge
From Tort Talk, 4 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and Harleysville Insurance announced on Thursday, September 29th that they have agreed to a merger.
Nationwide Mutual will acquire the Harleysville Group for $760 million. Harleysville Mutual policyholders will become policyholders and members of Nationwide Mutual.
Here's a link to an online article in the insurance journal on the topic:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2011/09/29/217906.htm
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