The Pennsylvania Superior Court held that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s orders that closed the courts due to COVID-19 did not suspend the plaintiffs’ right to collect delay damages. Here, in a personal injury case, a jury awarded the plaintiffs more than $2 million in damages. On appeal, the defendants claimed they should not owe delay damages for the time the courts were closed because of the 2020 judicial emergency. The Court disagreed and awarded the delay damages. In a second COVID-related issue, the trial started as the pandemic began, and a juror had contact with someone who tested positive. The proceedings broke for the day. When they resumed, a defense witness refused to return to court because of health concerns. The Superior Court agreed with the trial court’s ruling that denied the defendants’ motions for a mistrial based on the witness’s lack of cooperation. In typical Superior Court fashion, the Court found the argument waived because the defense lawyers did not properly preserve the issue.
