In a recent decision The Fourth Department reversed a Supreme Court Order, holding that Industrial Code provision 12 NYCRR § 23-4.2(k) is not sufficiently specific to support a Labor Law § 241(6) cause of action. We note, Labor Law § 241(6) claims are required to be...
Unraveling the Mysteries of the Statute of Limitations in UM/UIM Claims
Before 2017, the question of when the statute of limitations accrued for uninsured motorist (“UM”) and underinsured motorist (“UIM”) claims was relatively straightforward: UM/UIM claims accrued when either the insured sustained bodily injury in an accident and knew of...
Pennsylvania Superior Court Rejects Availability of Attorneys’ Fees in First Party Medical Benefits Cases Involving Peer Reviews
In a recent decision in Turnpaugh Chiropractic Health & Wellness Ctr., P.C. v. Erie Ins. Exch., 2023 PA Super 99 (June 8, 2023), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania considered, among other things, whether the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Laws...
Federal Court Refuses to Strike Regular Use Exclusion in Liability Policies
As was the case in Gallagher v. GEICO Indem. Co., 201. A.3d 131 (Pa. 2019), the Pennsylvania Superior Court’s decision in Rush v. Erie Insurance Exchange, 265 A.3d 794 (Pa. Super. 2021) has spawned legal uncertainty and questions about the application of the decision....
If it’s Broken, Fix it: Expanding the Scope of Contractor’s Liability to Third Persons for All Defects, Patent or Latent
Recently, in Brown v. City of Oil City, 294 A.3d 413 (2023), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania was asked to determine whether Section 385 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts imposes liability on a contractor to a third party whenever the contractor creates a...
ChatGPT in the Legal World: Friend or Foe?
On November 30, 2022, OpenAI released an artificial intelligence chatbot called ChatGPT, which quickly sparked controversy throughout the legal industry concerning its capabilities in the legal arena. Some panicked that ChatGPT may eventually replace the need for...
Third Circuit Rejects Statutory Bad Faith Claim Stemming from Denial in Unsettled Area of the Law
In a recent decision in Slupski v. Nationwide Insurance Company, 2023 WL 3477828 (3d Cir. May 16, 2023)(not for publication), the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, considered the question of whether an insured’s claim that his insurer had no...
Navigating the New Waters of Joint and Several Liability
Prior to 2011, Pennsylvania common law recognized the concept of “joint and several liability,” which held that all codefendants are jointly and severally liable for the entirety of the verdict regardless of what percentage of liability a fact finder allocated to...
Hot Potato: The Requirement to Add (or Remove) a Vehicle
On April 19, 2023, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court clarified the need for UM/UIM stacking waivers after the removal of a vehicle in Franks v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, No. 42 MAP 2022. In Franks, the claimants originally owned two vehicles on...