On December 26, 2013, in Ferguson v. Morton, No. 465 EDA 2013, 2013 PA Super 329, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 4574, the Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed a Philadelphia trial court judge and reinstated a $575,000 verdict. Daniel J. Siegel and Molly Barker Gilligan, of the Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel, LLC,…
Read MoreToday, Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson issued his long-awaited decision concerning Pennsylvania's controversial legislation requiring voters to show identification before being able to vote. Specifically, Judge Simpson preliminarily enjoined the Commonwealth (and election officials) from requiring voters to show ID prior to being permitted to vote. The decision, in Applewhite…
Read MoreI have received two interesting points about cases in my newsletter. Marc Jacobs of Galfand Berger rightly notes that in MV Transportation v. WCAB, the Court indicated that an employer could file one utilization review petition for multiple physical therapists if the UR request names the doctor prescribing the physical therapy for…
Read MoreOur periodic newsletter, "A Summary of Recent Appellate Decisions from Pennsylvania and Other Jurisdictions," is now available, featuring summaries of important decisions from the Pennsylvania Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts, as well as the U.S. Supreme and other federal courts. The newsletter focuses on decisions relating to civil procedure, causes…
Read MoreThe Pennsylvania Supreme Court has affirmed in Commonwealth v. WCAB (Harvey), No. 14 EAP 2009 (April 29, 2010), that the use of actuarial data to calculate pension offsets for injured employees who also receive pension benefits from a defined benefit plan is permissible. Affirming the Commonwealth Court, Justice Saylor held…
Read MoreOn March 30, 2010, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to hear the employer's appeal in Philadelphia Gas Works v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Amodei), which means that the en banc (full court) decision of the Commonwealth Court has been affirmed and is the law of Pennsylvania. In Amodei, the Commonwealth…
Read MoreOur office represented the claimant, John Amodei, in Philadelphia Gas Works v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Amodei), No. 350 C.D. 2008 (Pa.Cmwlth., February 4, 2009), in which the Commonwealth Court ruled that, when an employer seeks an offset from workers' compensation benefits for pension benefits paid to a claimant,…
Read MoreWith the Super Bowl just moments away, it seems fitting that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court "punted" rather than decide an issue of importance to all attorneys who handle medical malpractice cases in the state. On January 28, 2009, just a few days before the big game, the Court issued its…
Read MoreI have authored a newsletter primarily summarizing Pennsylvania appellate court decisions for over two decades. Every once in a while I include cases from other states. The January 2009 newsletter includes a Georgia Supreme Court case. Why? The Georgia case, Moreland v. Austin, is important because it is one of the…
Read MoreAs the end of 2008 approaches, I harken back to prior years, when Justices were leaving the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (generally as the result of mandatory retirement). In each of those years, the Court would issue a flurry of decisions, presumably so that the departing Justice's vote would "count." Oddly,…
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