Law360, New York ( October 6, 2014, 10:18 AM EDT) -- Pennsylvania federal and state courts are split on whether the economic loss and "gist of the action" doctrines apply in claims brought under Pennsylvania's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. Because the Third Circuit predicted that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court would apply the economic loss doctrine in UTPCPL cases, federal courts are bound to and do follow that Third Circuit predictive ruling. By contrast, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that the economic loss and "gist of the action" doctrines do not apply to UTPCPL claims, so Pennsylvania state courts diverge from the rule followed by their federal counterparts. A case currently pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Grimes v. Enterprise Leasing Inc., No. 488 MAL 2013, could provide the platform for the court to resolve this split, although neither doctrine was included in the issues to be addressed on appeal....