The term itself sounds alien – “interlocutory.” It refers to interim court decisions that usually aren’t appealable. Yet, the Pennsylvania Appeals Court Rules permit parties to appeal from some interlocutory rulings. The rub is when and how, two considerations lawyers may not think about or understand. Today, we won a…
Read MoreEven seasoned attorneys sometimes struggle with whether a communication is privileged or protected by the work product doctrine. Whatever the attorney decides can have significant implications in discovery and the trajectory of a case. In Cohen v. Ellwood Crankshaft and Machine Co., No. 11212 C.A. 2016 (Pa. Ct. Comm. Pl.…
Read MoreAccording to recent surveys, two-thirds of all American adults use Facebook, with the majority using it on a daily basis. Social media platforms are ever-growing and changing, with 78% of people under the age of 24 now using Snapchat, and 71% using Instagram. Using these platforms to make statements or…
Read MoreThe decision to file a lawsuit can be tricky. Generally, a person may only file a lawsuit within a limited time period, known as the statute of limitations. If you wait until the last minute, your claim might change from a lawsuit into a pumpkin on its way to the…
Read MoreIn a recent Opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has dramatically weakened the “mailbox rule,” which created a presumption that a letter was presumed to be received once the sender deposited it into a mailbox. It is about time that the courts examined this rule more…
Read MoreOn July 10, 2014, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court erased any doubt that it intended to bar all discovery of communications between counsel and experts by amending Pa.R.Civ.P. 4003.5 to prohibit such communications. The amendment, effective August 9, 2014, confirms the Supreme Court’s Opinion in Support of Affirmance in Barrick v.…
Read MoreIn the long-awaited decision in Barrick v. Holy Spirit Hospital, an evenly-divided Supreme Court today held that communication between counsel and an expert are privileged material pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 4003.3 and 4003.5. In so ruling, the three Justices supporting affirmance noted that "Rule 4003.3 balances the general rule of expansive discovery with…
Read MoreBy Order dated April 14, 2014, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court eliminated the requirement that briefs include parallel citations to the state court cites. From now on, you only need to cite to the National Reporter System. This means you only need to cite to A.2d or A.3d Reporters, and not…
Read MoreWant to know what the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled on any given day? Or what else is happening in the Pennsylvania courts? If you do, you may think that the best way to do so is to visit the Court's website every day. Guess what, that may not be the best…
Read MoreJury Instructions - Error in Judgment - In Passarello v. Grumbine, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that an "error in judgment" jury instruction should never be given to the jury in a medical malpractice action. "If a defendant desires an instruction that conveys the principle that an unfortunate result does…
Read More
