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Legislation
Lawsuit filed over signature verification on mailed ballots ahead of Presidential election
PHILADELPHIA – A lawsuit filed in federal court is looking to compel Pennsylvania election officials to change how voters’ signatures are verified on mail-in ballots, arguing that the votes of thousands of people may otherwise be invalidated in this year’s Presidential election.
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Legislation
Pa. election official accuses Trump campaign of perpetuating speculation of voter fraud
PITTSBURGH – Counsel for Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar say President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign “continues to propagate speculative predictions of widespread voter fraud and vote dilution” in its lawsuit over mail-in ballots.
Legislation
Class action from Pittsburgh trade group alleges benefit provider Insperity violated Securities and Exchange Act
NEW YORK – A class action lawsuit filed in a New York federal court accuses a benefit provider of not being transparent in reporting its financial condition, and thus violating the Securities and Exchange Act.
Legislation
ICE says records are exempt from FOIA disclosure to ACLU
PHILADELPHIA – In an answer to pertinent litigation, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department argues that it is not legally required to disclose civil immigration enforcement records to The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic.
Legislation
Pa. Supreme Court says Human Relations Act doesn't govern the statewide judiciary or its employees
HARRISBURG – The state judiciary and its employees are immune from application of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, according to a recent unanimous ruling from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Legislation
Judge rules against Libertarians in lawsuit over election signatures, so they appeal
ALLENTOWN – A new federal lawsuit from Pennsylvania’s Libertarian, Constitution and Green parties argues the state requirements for collecting in-person signatures to qualify for a general election ballot are unconstitutional in light of the coronavirus pandemic, but a federal judge has denied their request for a restraining order.
Legislation
Professional TCPA lawsuit-filer moves for dismissal of case against him
PHILADELPHIA – Litigation between a Pennsylvania man who has filed dozens of telephone consumer protection lawsuits is engaged in a supposed scheme to extort settlements from corporate defendants, says one of the companies he has targeted.
Legislation
Pa. groups call for protection from coronavirus lawsuits for health care, reopened businesses
HARRISBURG – Leaders of multiple entities representing legal reform, business and health care interests statewide are pushing for the provision of safe harbor professional liability protections from the state to individuals and businesses responding to the coronavirus pandemic, in order for the state economy to quicken its recovery once the state re-opens.
Legislation
Health care providers get relief from coronavirus lawsuits as Wolf signs order
HARRISBURG – Following the example of more than a dozen other states, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order on Wednesday granting civil immunity from liability to health care providers taking good faith actions in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
Legislation
'Battle for the soul': SCOTUS hears nuns' case against Pennsylvania over Obama's contraception mandate
WASHINGTON – A battle between religious objectors and the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey over mandates to provide contraception-inclusive health care coverage has once again reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where oral arguments took place for more than 90 minutes by telephone on Wednesday.
Legislation
Blind man loses lawsuit over snack food website, continuing struggle for plaintiffs in Third Circuit
PHILADELPHIA – A visually impaired man who sued Herr Foods for allegedly not making its website accessible for himself and other blind individuals has lost his case on the grounds that the website is not “a place of public accommodation.”
Legislation
Judge dismisses human trafficking allegations against Marriott
PHILADELPHIA – Citing the expiration of the relevant three-year statute of limitations, a federal judge recently dismissed a sexual abuse survivor’s human trafficking allegations against the Marriott International hotel chain under Pennsylvania state law.
Legislation
Tobacco lawyer fighting insurers over coronavirus claims; Industry says pandemics are 'uninsurable'
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – A plaintiffs lawyer who took part in the tobacco litigation of the 1990s is now at the forefront of the next great litigation wave, leading a group representing restaurant employees affected by the coronavirus quarantine as insurers claim rewriting policies to cover pandemics will wreck the industry.
Legislation
Business owners shut down by coronavirus, Gov. Wolf are looking to U.S. Supreme Court for help
HARRISBURG – An attorney for plaintiffs who recently lost their challenge of Gov. Tom Wolf’s executive order which mandated “non-life sustaining” businesses shut down during the coronavirus quarantine, says the state Supreme Court erred in its decision-making and further legal action to the U.S. Supreme Court is in the works.
Legislation
Push continues for immunity from coronavirus lawsuits for health care industry; Gov. Wolf urged to 'stand up'
PHILADELPHIA – Despite the recent stall of a proposal to extend legal immunity to health care providers and their staff providing critical care in response to the coronavirus, trade organizations continue to support such a move for Pennsylvania.
Legislation
Coronavirus roundup: States pass lawsuit-protection measures as Pennsylvania resists
ATLANTA – As the nation continues to persevere through the coronavirus pandemic, more states are continuing to pass legal immunity protections for health care providers and in the ones which have yet do to so, a groundswell of support for such action is building.
Legislation
Pennsylvania leaders haven't protected health care providers from coronavirus lawsuits
HARRISBURG – As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Pennsylvania lawmakers are being called out by a civil justice reform group for not following the example of other states and providing legal immunity for those responding to the crisis.
Legislation
Kentucky governor vetoes bill on ALI's controversial Restatement; Override possible amid coronavirus concerns
FRANKFORT, Ky. – Legislation clarifying that the American Law Institute’s controversial insurance liability Restatement does not constitute law or public policy if it conflicts with established federal, state or case law overwhelmingly passed in Kentucky but was vetoed Tuesday by Gov. Andy Beshear.
Legislation
Two more states pass measures targeting controversial Restatement issued by American Law Institute
PHILADELPHIA – Legislation stating the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law of Liability Insurance does not constitute law or public policy if it conflicts with established federal, state or case law recently passed in the states of Utah and Kentucky.
Legislation
American Law Institute 'at a crossroads' as it works on newest Restatement, member says
PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia-based American Law Institute continues its work on a Restatement meant to give legal clarity to the arena of consumer contracts - a project that has been put on the back-burner and serves as a "litmus test" as to how the influential group will be perceived, a member says.