The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently addressed the burden of proof between an employer and a claimant regarding the claimant’s legal eligibility to work under Federal immigration law whenever the employer seeks to suspend workers’ compensation disability benefits in the case of Cruz v. W.C.A.B.(Kennett Square Specialties) . The court held that...
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C&W Journal
September 29, 2014
Supreme Court Weighs in on Employer’s Burden of Proof Regarding Immigration Status
September 28, 2014
Unilateral Suspension or Modification Upon a Return to Work
The unilateral Notification of Suspension or Modification was allowed in amendments to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act in 1996. It is a very valuable tool for Pennsylvania workers’...
September 28, 2014
A Warning Regarding the Application of the Cy Pres Doctrine
Lovate Health Sciences USA Inc. agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it made false and misleading statements in its labeling and advertising regarding the effectiveness of its...
September 28, 2014
Superior Court Sides With Insureds on Stacking Issue
The Superior Court’s June 6, 2014, decision in Bumbarger v. Peerless Indemnity Insurance Company, 93 A.3d 872 (Pa.Super. 2014)affirmed an order granting summary judgment thereby entitling an...
July 01, 2014
The Clock Does Not Stop Ticking: NJ Appellate Division Upholds...
In a recent decision from the New Jersey Appellate Division, the court determined that the Law Division does not have the authority to transfer the matter to the Workers’ Compensation Division. In...
July 01, 2014
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Reaffirms Statutory Employer Defense
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently reaffirmed the statutory employer defense, resulting in the invalidation of a $1.5 million jury verdict. In Patton v. Worthington Associates, Inc. , 2014 Pa...
July 01, 2014
Split Decision Results in Protection of Attorney-Expert Communications
On April 29, 2014, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in a split decision, handed down the much anticipated opinion of Barrick v. Holy Spirit Hospital , which addresses the discovery of...
May 28, 2014
Employers Now Subject to Civil Liability for Latent Occupational...
In a dramatic shift from precedent, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Tooey vs. AK Steel et all., No. 21 WAP 2011, 2013 WL 6150887 (Pa. Nov. 22, 2013), held that the Pennsylvania Workers...
May 28, 2014
Supreme Court Makes It More Difficult To Sue Companies in Any...
This past January, the United States Supreme Court issued a significant ruling that will limit where companies may be sued for claims that do not relate to business they conduct in a particular...
May 28, 2014
Contractual Liability Exclusion Trivialized by Texas Court
In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of Texas provided guidance for contractors, restricting insurers’ attempts to narrow coverage in general liability policies. Prior to the court’s ruling, a...
May 28, 2014
Innovator Liability Possible on the Rise
The plaintiff's bar continues to try novel theories to escape the effects of the United States Supreme Court decision of Pliva v. Mensing . In Mensing , the Supreme Court held that generic drug...
March 06, 2014
Compensable by a Foot; NJ Appellate Division Affirms WC Court’s...
How far can the NJ WC Courts stretch the so-called “premises rule” of compensability? Based upon a recent decision of the New Jersey Appellate Division, this rule can be pushed pretty far in favor...
March 06, 2014
Benevolent Gesture Professional Liability Act Signed Into Law
On October 22, 2013, Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Corbett signed into law the Benevolent Gesture Medical Professional Liability Act. This law allows health care providers to make benevolent...
March 06, 2014
Lack of Supreme Court Agreement Leads to Insurance Coverage for...
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently split down the middle, 3-3, in the appeal of Lipsky v. State Farm , leading to the affirmance of the Superior Court’s ruling that a claim for negligent...
March 06, 2014
UIM Carrier Entitled to Set Off Amounts Paid By All Tortfeasors
In AAA Mid-Atlantic Ins. Co. v. Ryan , decided on January 21, 2014, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether, under an insurance policy for UIM coverage, the amount of an...
February 19, 2014
Governmental Auditors are Not Subject to a Right-to-Know Request
January 30, 2014
Death Knell for Labor Market Surveys
Appeal to the Supreme Court from the Order and Opinion of the Commonwealth Court entered on June 30, 2010, reversing the Order of the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board entered on October 14, 2009...
January 30, 2014
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Set to Decide Critical Products...
As 2013 came to a close, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court set the landscape for product liability litigation for years to come. In Tincher v. Omegaflex (No. 17 MAP 2013), the Pennsylvania Supreme...
January 30, 2014
Attorney’s Fees—Potential for Larger Costs to Insured Under ADA
Attorney’s fees are an often overlooked, but significant part of any suit brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act of 1976, the ...
January 30, 2014
Updated AAA Appellate Arbitration Rules
While parties may have historically agreed to some form of an appellate arbitration process, the American Arbitration Association has recently standardized the process by creating the optional...
October 30, 2013
Understanding Contractors’ Real Exposure Potential Under a...
Shale drilling is a lucrative, but risky business for land and rights owners, drilling companies, and all other companies that share responsibility for on-site operations. When great risks are...