Appellate Courts News
Appellate Courts
Court strikes $2.5M verdict for fired helicopter pilot, balancing when at-will employees can sue
PITTSBURGH - A helicopter pilot has lost the $2.5 million verdict he scored in Allegheny County, as a state appeals court has found as an at-will employee, he could not pursue a wrongful termination claim.
Appellate Courts
Pa. Supreme Court finds COVID-19 business interruption losses don't qualify for insurance coverage
HARRISBURG – The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania unanimously ruled that a dental practice which suffered business interruption losses during the COVID-19 pandemic was not entitled to receive coverage from its insurer for those losses, the first time the state’s high court made such a finding.
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Appellate Courts
Pa. Supreme Court dismisses articles of impeachment against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner
HARRISBURG – A recent 3-1 ruling from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania dismissed articles of impeachment brought against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, due to the process being improperly taken up during two different legislative sessions.
Appellate Courts
Court: 26 years in solitary for death row inmate was cruel and unusual
PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled in favor of a death row inmate who alleged that his being kept in solitary confinement, despite facing severe mental health issues, constituted cruel and unusual punishment – and has remanded his case to a lower federal court for further consideration.
Appellate Courts
Pa. Supreme Court ruling cuts vote lead in 117th District House race from five to four
HARRISBURG – A recent 5-2 ruling from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania may bring the Republican Party primary election to a seat in the State House of Representatives for the Commonwealth’s 117th District one step closer to a resolution, as the Court found one voter’s provisional ballot to be invalid and another voter’s to be valid.
Appellate Courts
TikTok to face suit after 10-year-old dies doing 'Blackout Challenge'
PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has reinstated a Chester woman’s wrongful death lawsuit against social media app TikTok, filed after her 10-year-old daughter died in December 2021 due to attempting a “Blackout Challenge” and which had been previously dismissed by a lower court federal judge.
Appellate Courts
Jewish family in fight with Abington neighbors can post anti-hate signs
HARRISBURG – The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has reversed a trial court injunction which initially prevented a Jewish family from erecting lawn signs in their backyard, signs which protested hostile and anti-Semitic behavior they experienced from their neighbors.
Appellate Courts
Pa. Superior Court says Dragonetti Act dispute between gaming entities was rightly dismissed
HARRISBURG – A state appellate court has concurred with a Dauphin County judge’s ruling that preliminary objections brought by two gaming organizations against a group of consultants for that industry were not in error, and the consultants’ action to bring charges under the Dragonetti Act was rightly dismissed.
Appellate Courts
Circuit split: Third says Roundup weedkiller doesn't need Pa. cancer warning
PHILADELPHIA – A federal appellate court’s concurrence with the makers of weedkiller Roundup, in opining that federal law preempts Pennsylvania law requiring Monsanto include a cancer warning on its label, sets up a possible review by the Supreme Court to resolve a circuit split.
Appellate Courts
Court rules against hospital patient who fell off toilet; Defendants said injuries were pre-existing
HARRISBURG – The Superior Court of Pennsylvania has upheld a Bradford County court’s ruling to grant summary judgment dismissal to a hospital faced with litigation after a patient fell from a bedside toilet and allegedly suffered serious injuries.
Appellate Courts
Wife protected from testifying as to alleged sexual abuse of minor by late husband
HARRISBURG – A majority complement of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania has reversed a Montgomery County court’s decision to compel a wife’s deposition testimony regarding conversations with her now-deceased husband, rejecting her assertion of the spousal confidential communications privilege.
Appellate Courts
Death of neglected, abused 12-year-old boy isn't Lebanon County's fault
PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed dismissal of a wrongful death lawsuit brought against Lebanon County, the murderers of a 12-year-old boy and other entities the plaintiff believed did not do enough to prevent the death of her son.
Appellate Courts
Court vacates appointment of indefinite guardian ad litem to incapacitated woman
HARRISBURG – The Superior Court of Pennsylvania has vacated a ruling from the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Orphans’ Court, and in so doing, also vacated the guardian ad litem (GAL) appointment for an incapacitated elderly woman subject to that “unauthorized” arrangement for more than three years.
Appellate Courts
Sierra Club, others allowed to intervene in greenhouse gas lawsuit
HARRISBURG – In reversing an earlier ruling from the Commonwealth Court, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is permitting environmental nonprofit groups to intervene in litigation over the state’s membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a program to reduce carbon emissions and one tenet of which would place a tax on coal and gas-fired power plants.
Appellate Courts
Third Circuit vacates summary judgment ruling in pregnancy discrimination suit versus Pa. Board of Probation and Parole
PHILADELPHIA – A federal appeals court has issued a partial ruling and remanded a case where a woman working for the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole claimed she faced pregnancy discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.