PHILADELPHIA – A premises liability lawsuit against a Haverford hotel is not only remaining in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, but a switch has been made in counsel for the defendant parties in the action.
Former defense Michael R. Harding filed a motion for preliminary objections on Feb. 17, desiring a transfer of Phoenixville residents Patricia and Kevin Concannon’s case to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, since the accident in question took place there and the defendants are based there.
On June 10, Judge John M. Younge overruled Harding’s venue objections.
Also, representation for the defense changed shortly thereafter, with Harding motioning to the Court to withdraw his appearance – so that colleague Thane CJ Trotman could enter his own appearance on behalf of the defendants.
Further proceedings in this matter are set for hearing in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in the spring of 2017.
On June 7, 2014, Patricia Concannon says she slipped on a ballroom dance floor at the Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel in Haverford, due to “accumulated water, moisture or liquid on the floor.” This condition was permitted to exist due to the negligence of the defendants, Concannon adds.
Concannon allegedly suffered a left humerus fracture, rotator cuff tear, labral tear and bicep rupture – all of which needed surgery to correct. The plaintiffs filed suit against the Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel, 480 North Gulph Road Associates and Wurzak Hotel Management Corporation, all based in Haverford.
The plaintiffs are each seeking compensatory damages in excess of the financial limit for compulsory arbitration, plus interest, costs and fees in this case, for negligence and loss of consortium (a charge filed by Concannon’s husband, Kevin Concannon).
The plaintiffs are represented by Maria C. Janoski of Goldberg & Muth, in West Chester.
The defendants are represented by Trotman of the Law Offices of J. Mark Pecci II, in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 151201425
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com