PHILADELPHIA – A pair of plaintiffs lawyers are looking to leave a premises liability lawsuit centered on a collision between a Southeastern Public Transportation Authority (SEPTA) bus and a City of Philadelphia fire rescue vehicle.
Louis B. Himmelstein and Timothy J. Alles of Louis B. Himmelstein & Associates filed a motion to withdraw their appearance on Dec. 23, citing “irreconcilable differences” including communication and cooperation issues. The attorneys claimed no prejudice would be caused to any parties in the case via their withdrawal, and a scheduled Rule Returnable meeting set for Feb. 2 can be continued for 60 days, so plaintiff Steven Allen has the opportunity to seek new counsel.
A hearing in this matter took place Thursday in Court chambers, at Philadelphia City Hall.
On Sept. 13, 2012, Allen was a passenger on a SEPTA trolley traveling east on Girard Avenue in Philadelphia. The suit says when the trolley reached the intersection of 6th Street and Girard Avenue, a City fire rescue vehicle operated by Christine McKey collided with the trolley. This collision resulted in Allen being thrown violently in the trolley and sustaining a number of injuries, the lawsuit says.
The plaintiff is seeking individually, jointly and severally, damages in excess of $50,000 from the defendants in this case, for operating their respective vehicles unsafely, negligently and carelessly and violating various motor vehicle codes.
The defendants are represented by Meryl S. Naythons of SEPTA’s Legal Department and J. Brian Durkin and Anthony J. Agati of the City of Philadelphia’s Legal Department.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 140601024
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com