PHILADELPHIA – Plaintiff counsel for a man injured in a SEPTA bus collision with another vehicle has exited the litigation, citing a breakdown in communication with his client.
Salvatore LaRussa Jr. filed a motion to withdraw appearance on Jan. 13, explaining the relationship with clients William and Donna Bostic had broken down. The suit has been on deferred status since Sept. 6, 2013, when the insurance company representing defendants Phoenix Tran, Inc. and Alix Jean-Louis was liquidated.
On June 4, the plaintiffs filed a separate suit for uninsured motorist benefits in order to toll the statute of limitations associated with the original incident.
Three months later, on Sept. 10, William Bostic came to the Law Offices of Stephen W. Bruccoleri and released LaRussa from being his counsel and demanded his case file, which was provided to him. Meanwhile, nearly four months passed without word from the plaintiffs or any new counsel on their part. LaRussa’s motion said the matter remains deferred with no court events for it currently scheduled, thus his withdrawal would not affect the plaintiffs’ interests.
On Monday, Judge Mark I. Bernstein granted LaRussa’s petition, and the plaintiffs have 60 days to seek new counsel.
On June 20, 2011, Bostic was a passenger on a SEPTA bus operated by defendant Renarld Drumgoole of New Castle, Del. and traveling west on JFK Boulevard near 17th Street in Philadelphia, when the bus collided with a vehicle owned by Phoenix Tran, Inc. and operated by Jean-Louis.
Bostic suffered strain and sprain of his cervical and thoracic vertebrae with myoligamentous injury and a herniated disc at his C3-C4 vertebrae, right shoulder girdle strain, tendinosis with slap tear and contusion of the lower-left extremity.
Bostic alleged negligence against Drumgoole for speeding and careless operation of the SEPTA bus, vicarious liability against SEPTA, negligence against Jean-Louis, negligent entrustment against Phoenix Tran, Inc. and loss of consortium from Donna Bostic against all defendants.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus interest, costs, attorney’s fees and other relief, plus liability for medical expenses, loss of earnings and other losses in excess of the plaintiffs’ first-party benefits under the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (PMVFRL), in this case.
The defendants are represented by Samuel E. Friedman of SEPTA’s Legal Department, in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 130503923
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com