In Hassan v. Williams, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued a must-read opinion because it touched on several evidentiary issues. The Appellate Division reviewed a defense-favorable verdict after a rear-end crash involving two commercial trucks. At the trial, the plaintiff sought to introduce testimony from the defendant’s deposition in which he said that rear-ending someone … Read more
The consolidated appeals in Spencer v. Johnson arose out of an auto accident in West Philadelphia. A labor union owned the car, and the union provided the car to one of its employees. That employee’s husband was driving when he struck a pedestrian, causing the injuries at issue in this case. The driver, his wife, … Read more
In Hangey v. Husqvarna Prof’l Products, Inc., the plaintiffs filed a complaint as a result of injuries sustained when Mr. Hangey was maimed when he fell off his lawnmower, and the lawnmower ran over his legs while the blades were still engaged. The trial court sustained the defendant’s preliminary objections to venue. In finding venue … Read more
In 2015, Mr. Virnelson fell to his death while working as an employee of Johnson Matthey Inc. (“JMI”) at JMI’s pharmaceutical plant in Conshohocken. Plaintiff Tonia Virnelson sued to recover for the death of her husband. The complaint alleged that JMI’s inadequate safety practices at the plant caused Virnelson’s death and that the pressure filter … Read more
In Haviland v. Lourdes Med. Ctr. of Burlington Co., the plaintiff filed a one-count complaint, alleging he was injured during a shoulder exam at Lourdes. The plaintiff claimed Lourdes was vicariously liable for a technician’s negligent acts as Lourdes’s “agent, servant and/or employee”. The trial court granted Lourdes’s motion to dismiss based on the plaintiff’s … Read more
The plaintiff in a motor-vehicle-accident case appealed from an order of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas that sustained the defendant’s preliminary objections because the venue should have been in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. In Matthews v. Erie Ins. Grp., the Superior Court agreed. The plaintiff sued because the defendant insurance company, … Read more
In Adams v. Rising Sun Med. Ctr., the Superior Court dealt with cross appeals from a wrongful death and survival jury trial. The administratrix of the decedent’s estate wanted to testify that she was present when the decedent told a doctor about her family’s medical history. According to the plaintiff, this evidence was admissible as … Read more
In Leight v. Univ. of Pittsburgh Physicians, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dealt with third-party liability under the Mental Health Procedure Act, 50 P.S. § 7101et seq., in the context of preliminary objections. The case arose when a mentally-ill man went into a hospital and shot several people, including the plaintiff. The plaintiff survived and filed … Read more
In Graham v. Check, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did its best to settle the question of what evidence must be presented at trial to merit a “sudden emergency” jury instruction. Here, the defendant was driving and struck the plaintiff, a pedestrian. The sudden emergency doctrine allows for an affirmative defense where an individual will not … Read more
In February 2013, the plaintiffs purchased a snow tubing season pass from the defendant mountain resort. The reverse side of the season pass contained a release agreement, which provided that the signatory both assumed all the risks of snow tubing and released the resort from liability. Plaintiff skimmed the release agreement and signed it. The … Read more