News from February 2013
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital named in retaliatory discharge complaint
A former employee of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has filed a federal complaint
Judge overrules in part, sustains in part preliminary objections by lawyer being sued by former clients
A Philadelphia judge has overruled in part and sustained in part preliminary objections
Phila. judge: insurer need not defend and indemnify construction company in workplace injury case
A state judge has ruled that an insurance company has no duty to defend or indemnify a
West Penn Power Co. drops appeal of $109 million wrongful death verdict, largest such award in state history
A western Pennsylvania power company has decided not to appeal a $109 million jury
Fired Bucks County Court of Common Pleas staffer sues over lost job
A fired court worker in suburban Philadelphia has filed a federal lawsuit against her former employer over allegations that her job was terminated for retaliatory reasons due to the fact that the plaintiff had previously taken a leave of absence due to her medical conditions.
Lackawanna County's guardian ad litem pleads not guilty in tax evasion case
Lackawanna County’s suspended guardian ad litem, Danielle M. Ross Pietralczyk, pleaded not guilty late last week to federal tax evasion charges, court records and media reports show.
Maryland couple files Zoloft wrongful death claim in U.S. District Court in Phila.
A Maryland couple who claims their daughter died soon after birth as a result of injuries
Pa. courts took in $469 million in 2012, AOPC announces
Figures released by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts this week show that
Phila. attorney Stephen Sheller donates $1.5 million to Temple's law school for establishment of social justice center
A Philadelphia law school has received a hefty monetary gift from a local plaintiffs’
Hand, finger laceration from novelty Coke glass leads to personal injury claim
A Bucks County man alleges in a newly filed personal injury claim that he sustained a severe laceration to his left hand and index finger as a result of being cut by a novelty glass he had obtained at an area fast food restaurant.
Parties in Voter ID case agree to stipulation asking for extension of preliminary injunction
Both sides in the debate over the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s new Voter ID law
Federal judge preliminarily approves proposed class settlement in Imprelis MDL, includes up to $6.5M in lawyers' fees
The federal judge presiding over the Imprelis Herbicide Marketing, Sales Practices and
Judge dismisses former med student's ADA suit
A federal judge in Philadelphia has granted summary judgment to the National Board of Medical Examiners in a case in which the group was being sued by a medical school student who claimed she was discriminated against when the board failed to accommodate her visual impairment when she sat for a medical school test.
Pa. Superior Court panel affirms sentence for convicted aide to jailed ex-state Rep. Veon
A three-judge panel of the state Superior Court has affirmed the sentence handed down
Pittsburgh and plaintiffs arrested during '09 G-20 Summit settle for $400k, brings suits to a close
The City of Pittsburgh has agreed to settle the remaining claims in a handful of civil rights suits that arose out of the mass arrest of demonstrators and others during the 2009 Group of 20 Summit that was held in western Pennsylvania.
Judge sides with DRPA officers, orders binding arbitration in bridge agency labor dispute
A federal judge has sided with the union representing Delaware River Port Authority police officers, denying the DRPA’s motion for summary judgment, and granting the union’s request to enter into binding arbitration in a labor dispute between the bridge agency and its first responders.
Glaxo lawyers move to transfer Paxil mass tort claim from Phila. to federal court
Lawyers representing pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline have filed a notice of removal at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania seeking to transfer a Paxil mass tort claim that was originally filed at Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court to the federal courthouse in Center City.
Pa. House passes bill to keep Penn State fine money in-state, Gov.'s signature expected
A bill by a state lawmaker designed to keep within the commonwealth the fine money
Defense lawyers seek to transfer suit alleging injuries from deformity-causing thalidomide from state to federal court
Attorneys representing a handful of defendants named in a thalidomide products liability
Lackawanna County's guardian ad litem charged by feds with income tax evasion
An investigating grand jury has indicted Lackawanna County’s guardian ad litem with two counts of tax evasion and two counts of filing false federal income tax returns, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced this week.