The PA Law 100

PALAW100 2012

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Most Requested Opinions Rank Case Name 14. (tie) Federal Insurance v. Sandusky PICS No. Court 12-1081 U.S. District Court—Middle Date Judge June 4, 2012 Kane Holding The court granted plaintiff's motion for judgment on the pleadings to the extent it sought a declaration that Pennsylvania public policy would not permit enforcement of the insurance policy issued to Second Mile providing for indemnification to Sandusky for civil liability for damage arising out of Sandusky's alleged molestation and sexual abuse of children. The court deferred the question of whether any obligations Federal owed to Sandusky to provide a legal defense to the civil claims or criminal prosecution were void as against public policy. 14. (tie) 14. (tie) Beard v. Johnson & Johnson 12-0628 Pa. Supreme March 22, 2012 Healey v. Wells Fargo 12-0620 C.P. Lackawanna March 20, 2012 Saylor A court conducting a risk-utility analysis of an allegedly defective product with more than one intended use should consider all of those uses, rather than just the one that allegedly resulted in harm. Nealon Borrowers who participated in a trial period plan (TPP) under the Home Affordable Modification Program and fulfilled their obligations under the TPP agreement with the lender may sue the lender for breach of contract and tortious conduct when they were not offered a permanent loan modification agreement following their successful completion of the trial program. Preliminary objections sustained in part and overruled in part. 14. (tie) Commonwealth v. Morales 12-0650 C.P. Franklin March 26, 2012 Walker The Drug-Free School Zones Act as applied to this case was unconstitutionally vague because it failed to provide actual or constructive notice of the existence of school zones; alternatively, the court found that defendant was entrapped by the confidential informant into selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school property. Motion to modify defendant's sentence denied. 14. (tie) Dailey-Console v. Barnwell 11-1115 C.P. Monroe May 18, 2011 Zulick The release pursuant to the settlement of this personal injury action was silent regarding the releasor's obligation to obtain clearance from Medicare, but this did not pose an obstacle to enforcement of the release. Plaintiffs' request for disbursement of settlement funds was granted. 14. (tie) 20. (tie) 20. (tie) 22. (tie) Touchette v. Weis Markets Heller v. Pa. League of Cities Wimberly v. Katruska 11-0713 C.P. Monroe 11-4354 Pa. Supreme 12-1060 C.P. Allegheny March 3, 2011 October 19, 2011 Worthington Plaintiff assumed the risk of her injury when she knowingly and voluntarily walked over the snow and ice. Defendant's motion for summary judgment should be affirmed. Orie Melvin A workers' compensation exclusion in an employer-sponsored insurance policy violated public policy and was, therefore, unenforceable. Summary judgment in favor of appellee reversed. May 23, 2012 Wettick Defendant had the burden of proving that payment of the agreed-upon settlement amount was conditioned upon defendant's receipt of a nonlien letter. A rule was issued to show cause why plaintiff's petition to enforce settlement should not be granted. Arcq v. Fields 11-4637 C.P. Franklin December 7, 2011 Herman The court denied defendants' motion to compel information about plaintiff from social networking websites because defendants failed to show any reasonable basis for believing that access to plaintiff's profiles would yield any information relevant to this case. Motion to compel denied. 22. (tie) 22. (tie) Vanwhy v. Foresman 12-0313 C.P. Northumberland Bennett v. A.T. Masterpiece Homes 12-0505 Pa. Superior February 3, 2012 March 6, 2012 Saylor Editing decisions made to the voluntarily produced video discussing injuries and damages sustained in an accident were protected by both attorney-client and work-product privileges and not subject to discovery by defendant. Gantman The evidence supported the jury's finding that appellant specifically assumed personal liability on the housing contracts and the trial court correctly instructed the jury that under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law catchall provision, "misleading conduct" could constitute a violation and properly doubled the damages award. Judgment entered in favor of appellees affirmed. 22. (tie) 22. (tie) Zauflik v. Pennsbury School District Executive Risk Indemnity v. Cigna 12-1016 C.P. Bucks May 2, 2012 Mellon Where plaintiff sustained catastrophic injuries when she was run over by a school bus, the court was constrained to find the Tort Claims Act constitutional, and applied the statutory limit on damages recoverable under the act and molded the jury's $14 million verdict to $500,000. 11-4539 C.P. Philadelphia November 15, 2011 Bernstein Judgment shall be entered in favor of an insurer on the issue of whether it was required to provide coverage for funds its insured expended to settle claims in the underlying class action suit where the insured failed to meet its burden of proving how it apportioned the settlement funds between covered and noncovered claims. Judgment for plaintiff. Source: Pennsylvania Instant Case Service Statistics, August 1, 2011 – July 31, 2012. Ranked by number of times requested. PaLaw 2012 | 15

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