PHILADELPHIA – A Collingdale couple who were plaintiffs in a premises liability lawsuit returned a signed settlement agreement, and effectively ended their litigation in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
Per Judge Lisa M. Rau, plaintiffs Jennifer and Patrick Parker signed a final settlement release on Wednesday, thereby making a previously-filed motion to enforce that settlement moot. Terms of the settlement were confidential.
Defense counsel Michael J. Alivernini had filed a motion to enforce the settlement on Jan. 8, since there had allegedly been no response from plaintiff counsel regarding a settlement in Jennifer and Patrick Parker’s case, reached on July 8 last year.
Alivernini’s original motion explained after sending a copy of the settlement release to plaintiff counsel and a number of follow-up e-mails over the following five months, there had been no response to or return of the release. Besides compulsory return of the signed agreement from the plaintiffs within seven days, Alivernini also sought payment of counsel fees in the amount of $250.00 and motion filing costs in the amount of $57.68.
A hearing in this matter which had been set for Thursday at Philadelphia City Hall was canceled, per the signing of the release by the plaintiffs.
On Aug. 23, 2012, the suit says the defendants controlled the Sharon Hill property on Chester Pike, where an unlevel/broken sidewalk condition existed, and which created an unreasonable obstruction that impeded pedestrian traffic.
According to the lawsuit, Jennifer Parker coming into contact with this condition caused her to fall violently to the ground and strike various parts of her body. This fall resulted in Parker suffering the following injuries: full-body injuries, internal derangement of the left knee and other serious orthopedic injuries.
Further, Parker claimed to incur medical and rehabilitative expenses in excess of $21,000.
The Parkers brought suit against Sharon Hill Deli & Grocery, Hui Wu, Nen Di Wu and Chan Hau Dang, all of Sharon Hill, plus Lam & Huang Enterprises in Philadelphia.
The plaintiffs were each seeking damages individually, jointly and severally, in excess of $50,000, plus interest, costs and other relief in this case. Included in that request is Patrick Parker’s damages for loss of consortium.
The plaintiffs were represented by Louis B. Himmelstein and Timothy J. Alles of Louis B. Himmelstein & Associates, in Philadelphia.
The defendants were represented by Alivernini of The Chartwell Law Offices, also in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 140401346
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com