Pennsylvania

  • October 03, 2024

    12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

    One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.

  • October 03, 2024

    Sens. Question If Payouts Taint Execs' Push For US Steel Deal

    Two U.S. senators wrote to U.S. Steel's president and CEO on Wednesday seeking guarantees that a $72 million "golden parachute" deal wasn't driving the executive's willingness to support a $14.1 billion merger with Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel.

  • October 03, 2024

    Western Pa. DA Accused Of Abusing Power To Attack Rivals

    A former district attorney and the chief detective for Greene County, Pennsylvania, have been accused by the state attorney general of abusing their office by investigating political rivals, circumventing county officials' guidelines and attempting to create their own SWAT team.

  • October 02, 2024

    CFPB's $5M Student Loan Deal Gets OK Over PIMCO Objections

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has finalized a proposed $5 million settlement of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau case that alleged pandemic-era servicing failures involving securitized student loans, overruling objections that money manager PIMCO raised on behalf of loan investors.

  • October 02, 2024

    Penn State Must Pay Trustee's Atty Fees During Internal Probe

    Penn State University must pay one of its trustees' legal fees stemming from an internal investigation, a Pennsylvania county judge has ruled, rejecting the school's argument that it was not obligated to advance him the expenses before the probe concluded.

  • October 02, 2024

    U.S. Steel Must Face Testing Suit Over Long-Gone Zinc Plant

    U.S. Steel can't escape a lawsuit from neighbors of a long-closed zinc refinery outside Pittsburgh seeking to make the company pay for long-term environmental testing, a Pennsylvania appellate panel ruled Tuesday, reasoning that the plaintiffs properly invoked a state law governing the cleanup of hazardous pollution.

  • October 02, 2024

    Pa. County Accused Of Failing To Thwart Alleged Harasser

    Delaware County, Pennsylvania, has been hit with a lawsuit claiming its officials ignored its emergency services director's sexual harassment of a female employee, in keeping with the county's alleged history of failing to protect women from the director's inappropriate behavior.

  • October 02, 2024

    14 States, DC Urge 11th Circ. To Uphold Train Crew Size Rule

    A coalition of 14 states and the District of Columbia urged the Eleventh Circuit to reject the railroad industry's attempt to vacate the U.S. Department of Transportation's final rule requiring all trains to be operated with at least two people, saying doing so would make rail operations less safe nationally.

  • October 02, 2024

    Sikorsky Must Face Chopper Crash Suit In US, Pa. Judge Says

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday ordered a lawsuit against Sikorsky Aircraft by the estates of Canadian military personnel who died in a helicopter crash to remain in the U.S., finding the allegedly defective copter was designed, developed and upgraded here and litigating it in Pennsylvania would expedite resolution.

  • October 02, 2024

    ExecuPharm Agrees To Pay Ransomware Victims $10K Each

    U.S. pharmaceutical giant ExecuPharm will pay victims of a data breach up to $10,000 in reimbursements, compensation for lost time, three years of credit monitoring, and $675,000 in attorney fees after a Pennsylvania federal judge gave his final approval to a class action settlement.

  • October 01, 2024

    Jefferson Health Can't Ditch Suit Over Meta Data Sharing

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has refused to toss a proposed class action accusing Jefferson Health of unlawfully sharing patients' confidential health information with Meta Platforms Inc., finding that the plaintiffs had cured prior deficiencies to adequately support their wiretap and privacy claims.

  • October 01, 2024

    DOJ Says It Is Constitutional To Disarm Pot Patients

    The U.S. Department of Justice told a Pennsylvania federal judge Tuesday that a federal policy barring medical marijuana patients from lawfully possessing firearms is constitutional, and it urged the court to dismiss a legal challenge to the statute.

  • October 01, 2024

    TikTok Petitions 3rd Circ. To Review Section 230 Ruling

    TikTok asked for another crack in the Third Circuit on Tuesday, requesting an en banc rehearing of the appeals court's decision holding that its "For You Page" algorithm doesn't enjoy Section 230 immunity and reviving a suit accusing the app of recommending a "blackout challenge" that led to a 10-year-old's death.

  • October 01, 2024

    Ill. Judge Won't Crack Jury's $18M Egg Price-Fixing Verdict

    An Illinois federal judge said Monday that he wouldn't disturb a jury's since-trebled $17.7 million award to Kraft and three others that claimed two of the nation's largest egg producers and two industry groups conspired to raise prices, saying the jury heard enough to support their claims.

  • October 01, 2024

    Pennsylvania Gas Leaseholders Get Royalties Suit Certified

    Hundreds of Pennsylvania landowners with natural gas leases have been certified by a federal judge as a class in their lawsuit against Range Resources, which they say took more money out of their royalty payments than their contracts permitted.

  • October 01, 2024

    Client's Late Arrival, Bankruptcy Complicate Age Bias Suit

    The co-owner for a bankrupt Pittsburgh hotel almost lost his lawyer Tuesday, arriving late and introducing himself to the attorney for the first time in person at a hearing on the attorney's motion to withdraw from defending him against an ex-employee's age bias claim.

  • October 01, 2024

    Buchanan Ingersoll, McNees Wallace Duck Athlete's Bias Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge threw out a former student athlete's abuse of process claims against Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC and McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC over their representation of an athletic association in an unsuccessful challenge over his eligibility to play postseason high school sports.

  • October 01, 2024

    DOJ Joins Employee Antitrust Suit Against UPMC

    The U.S. Department of Justice is backing a proposed class action from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center workers who say the hospital used noncompetes and blacklists to suppress wages, telling a Pennsylvania federal judge that UPMC's motion to dismiss the suit sets an "insurmountable" pre-discovery bar for plaintiffs.

  • September 30, 2024

    FTC's Amazon Monopolization Suit Partly Tossed, For Now

    A Washington federal judge on Monday agreed to trim the Federal Trade Commission's landmark monopolization case against Amazon and split the trial into two parts, although the order itself remains sealed, according to an entry on the case docket.

  • September 30, 2024

    Pa. Hospital Hit With $24M Verdict For Spinal Surgery Patient

    A Pennsylvania hospital has been hit with a nearly $24 million verdict in favor of a spinal stenosis patient who alleged he was partially paralyzed when a surgeon mistakenly drove a screw into his spinal cord, marking what the plaintiff's counsel flagged as the largest medical malpractice award on record in York County.

  • September 30, 2024

    Pa. Bankruptcy Court OKs $53M Sale Of Nursing Homes

    A federal bankruptcy judge approved the proposed sale of nine western Pennsylvania nursing homes to affiliates of Kadima Healthcare Group for $53 million Monday, as part of Chapter 11 proceedings for more than a dozen facilities operating under the umbrella of Comprehensive Healthcare Management Systems.

  • September 30, 2024

    Irish Jockey's EB-1 Visa Suit Won't Cross Finish Line

    An Irish jockey can't sue federal officials for denying his application for U.S. citizenship because his application process was still open, even if only so he can try to explain why it shouldn't be closed, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Monday.

  • September 30, 2024

    Philly Atty Suspended For Claiming To Rep Slain Boy's Father

    A Philadelphia attorney has agreed to a year-and-a-half suspension of his law license for falsely claiming to represent the father of a boy who was killed by city police and trying to get him declared incompetent, acknowledging that his actions broke Pennsylvania's attorney conduct rules, according to state ethics board filing. 

  • September 30, 2024

    J&J Exec Accused Of File Heist Wants Pause Amid DOJ Case

    A former competitive strategy director for Johnson & Johnson accused of stealing confidential files as he left the company to work for Pfizer asked a New Jersey federal court to pause the suit after learning he is under criminal investigation.

  • September 27, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Loving Or Leaving The Law Office

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including takeaways from a new survey of BigLaw firms that have either renovated their office or relocated entirely.

Expert Analysis

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

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    Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Perspectives

    Justices' Repeat Offender Ruling Eases Prosecutorial Hurdle

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Brown v. U.S., clarifying which drug law applies to sentencing a repeat offender in a federal firearms case, allows courts to rely on outdated drug schedules to impose increased sentences, thus removing a significant hurdle for prosecutors, says attorney Molly Parmer.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

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    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

  • CFPB's Expanding Scope Evident In Coding Bootcamp Fine

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent penalty against a for-profit coding bootcamp that misrepresented its tuition financing plans is a sign that the bureau is seeking to wield its supervisory and enforcement powers in more industries that offer consumer financing, say Jason McElroy and Brandon Sherman at Saul Ewing.

  • Key Insurance Considerations After $725M Benzene Verdict

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    The recent massive benzene verdict in Gill v. Exxon Mobil will certainly trigger insurance questions — and likely a new wave of benzene suits — so potential defendants should study Radiator Specialty v. Arrowood Indemnity, the only state high court decision regarding benzene claim coverage, says Jonathan Hardin at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.

  • 3rd Circ.'s Geico Ruling May Encourage Healthcare Arbitration

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    The Third Circuit's recent decision in Geico v. Mount Prospect, finding that claims under New Jersey's Insurance Fraud Prevention Act can be arbitrated, strengthens arbitration as a viable alternative to litigation, even though it is not necessarily always a more favorable forum, say Khaled Klele and Jessica Osterlof at McCarter & English.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

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    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • Is The State Lottery The New Online Casino?

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    The traditional lines of demarcation between smartphone lottery games and online casino games are eroding since the difference is largely indistinguishable to the casual gambler — begging the question of how legal treatment may differ between state lotteries and the private-sector casino industry, says Michael Peacock at Holland & Knight.

  • What The FTC Report On AG Collabs Means For Cos.

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    The Federal Trade Commission's April report on working with state attorneys general shows collaboration can increase efficiency and consistency in how statutes are interpreted and enforced, which can minimize the likelihood of requests for inconsistent injunctive relief that can create operational problems for businesses, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • When Oral Settlements Reached In Mediation Are Enforceable

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    A recent decision by the New Jersey Appellate Division illustrates the difficulties that may arise in trying to enforce an oral settlement agreement reached in mediation, but adherence to certain practices can improve the likelihood that such an agreement will be binding, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Cell Therapy Cos. Must Beware Limits Of Patent Safe Harbors

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    Though developers of gene and cell therapy products commonly assume that a legal safe harbor protects them from patent infringement suits, recent case law shows that not all preapproval uses of patented technology are necessarily protected, say Natasha Daughtrey and Joshua Weinger at Goodwin.

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