Pennsylvania

  • June 24, 2024

    Justices Pass On Rutgers COVID-19 Vax Mandate Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review a split Third Circuit ruling that Rutgers University students cannot challenge the school's COVID-19 vaccine policy because, under the high court's 1905 precedent in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, there is no fundamental right to refuse vaccinations.

  • June 21, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Distressed Deals, Housing Hurdles, Infill

    Catch up on this week's key state developments from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including tips for guiding distressed office deals, the latest intel from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, and how one U.S. city has been a magnet for federal funding of brownfield projects.

  • June 21, 2024

    Estate Of Alzheimer's Patient Awarded $600K In NJ Death Case

    A New Jersey jury awarded $600,000 to the family of a psychiatric hospital patient with Alzheimer's who died after sustaining several fractures and a traumatic brain injury at the facility, a Philadelphia law firm announced Friday.

  • June 21, 2024

    Aramark Sued In Wash. For Alleged Pay Transparency Lapses

    Aramark has been accused of violating Washington state's pay transparency law by failing to give full pay ranges in job postings, according to a proposed class action the food services giant removed to Washington federal court on Thursday.

  • June 21, 2024

    Pa. Justices Will Weigh If 'Skill Games' Are Slot Machines

    The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will take up a case and decide whether the "Pennsylvania Skill Games" that combine a chance-based game mode with a secondary memory game fall under the state's definition of "slot machines," potentially affecting many storefronts and bars where the game machines have proliferated.

  • June 21, 2024

    Justices Strengthen Jury Trial Rights For Stiffer Sentences

    The constitutional rights to due process and trial by jury extend to a pivotal prong of a prominent sentencing enhancement for recidivism, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a Friday decision that casts doubt on many incarcerations and promises to reshape future trials.

  • June 20, 2024

    Worker Says Co. Inflated Deductions To Duck Prevailing Wage

    An electrical contracting firm overdeducted fringe benefits from the pay of employees who worked on publicly funded projects, dragging down their prevailing wages, a former electrician said in a proposed class action in Pennsylvania state court.

  • June 20, 2024

    Theravance, Mylan Say Chinese Co. Copied COPD Drug

    Theravance Biopharma and Mylan Specialty have sued a Chinese drugmaker, alleging it copied Yupelri, one of its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drugs, and infringed several patents in the process.

  • June 20, 2024

    Insurer Hit With Coverage Suit Over Ohio Grocery Shooting

    Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle Inc. is claiming that a security contractor's insurer, Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co., has refused to cover its defense costs in a lawsuit over a shooting at a Cleveland, Ohio, store, and was trying to get the grocer to drop its third-party claims against the contractor.

  • June 20, 2024

    PPG Sues Westlake In Delaware Over $707M Brazil Liability

    Pittsburgh global paint supplier PPG Industries Inc. has sued chemical supplier Westlake Corp. in Delaware's Court of Chancery, accusing Westlake of breaching a 2012 agreement to accept liabilities related to a cargo ship fire that happened off the coast of Brazil in 1998.

  • June 20, 2024

    Pa. Justices Rule 'Client Exception' Can't Save Med Mal Case

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a law firm violated state discovery rules by simultaneously representing a physician and a nondefendant witness, saying a law firm representing a defendant treating physician cannot obtain information from a non-party treating physician without written consent or through discovery.

  • June 20, 2024

    First Amendment Bars Models' Likeness Suit, Strip Clubs Say

    Three Philadelphia-area strip clubs facing a suit by Carmen Electra and other models over using their likeness without permission told a federal judge the plaintiffs' complaint is barred by the First Amendment because they are public figures "or limited purpose public figures."

  • June 20, 2024

    GOP Sens. Get Tough On 6th Circ. Nominee's History

    Republican senators hammered Sixth Circuit nominee Karla M. Campbell, of counsel at Stranch Jennings & Garvey PLLC, during a hearing on Thursday about her political donations, past advisory roles and the process by which she was nominated.

  • June 18, 2024

    Failure To Return Remains Violates Human Rights, Court Told

    A nonprofit tribal organization and a South Carolina tribe are backing a challenge to the U.S. Army that seeks to repatriate the remains of two Native American children from an Indian boarding school cemetery in Pennsylvania, arguing that failure to do so constitutes a continuing human rights violation.

  • June 18, 2024

    DuPont, Corteva Must Face Pension Benefits Class Action

    Chemical companies DuPont and Corteva can't escape a class action claiming they illegally stripped retirement benefits from hundreds of workers following a merger and subsequent spinoff, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, finding factual disputes that need to be sorted out at trial.

  • June 18, 2024

    2nd Pa. Jury Can't Agree On Uber Black Drivers' Status

    A second Pennsylvania federal jury was unable to determine whether Uber Black drivers are the company's employees or independent contractors, telling the trial judge on Tuesday that the eight members were hopelessly deadlocked.

  • June 18, 2024

    Home Builders Sued For Non-FHA-Compliant Apartments

    A group of home building and financing companies including the Toll Brothers were sued by Manhattan federal prosecutors Tuesday for allegedly violating the Fair Housing Act by building residential units that weren't accessible to people with physical disabilities.

  • June 18, 2024

    Split Pa. High Court Finds Rental Registry Suit Moot

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed out landlords' appeal of Pittsburgh's 2015 ordinance requiring them to list their rental units in a public registry, because it had been replaced by a newer, narrower law, but two justices said they should have ruled on the case anyway to settle whether other governments could pass similar measures.

  • June 18, 2024

    4th Circ. Says Filmmaker Has Right To Sealed Court Docs

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday revived a documentary filmmaker's bid to access sealed documents from a False Claims Act suit against student loan providers, finding he has a First Amendment right to the material and the parties must prove if the seal is warranted.

  • June 18, 2024

    J&J Fights Law Firm's Bid To Nix Subpoenas In Talc Brawl

    Information about the Beasley Allen Law Firm's litigation funding and settlement communications is relevant and necessary to resolving long-running multidistrict litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder products and so should be turned over, the pharmaceutical giant has told a New Jersey federal court.

  • June 18, 2024

    Hamilton Lane Closes Its Largest-Ever Fund With $5.6B In Tow

    Private equity shop Hamilton Lane, advised by Ropes & Gray LLP, on Tuesday announced that it has clinched its sixth secondary fund with $5.6 billion in tow, marking the firm's largest fundraise ever, according to a statement Tuesday.

  • June 17, 2024

    Third Pa. Uber Trial Unlikely As Deadlock Again Looms

    With a second deadlocked jury appearing imminent in the Philadelphia UberBlack employment classification trial, a Pennsylvania federal judge on Monday told attorneys he was skeptical a third trial is on the way to resolve the case.

  • June 17, 2024

    HUD Freed From Pa. Pot Patients' Suit Over Housing Rebuff

    Unless the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development fulfills its threat to withhold a Pennsylvania county housing agency's funding for complying with a state court order to admit licensed medical marijuana patients, a lawsuit by the county agency and two potential tenants is premature, a federal judge ruled Monday.

  • June 17, 2024

    Zantac Suits Must Exit State Court, Conn. Judge Told

    A Connecticut state court judge must relinquish jurisdiction over two lawsuits claiming that generic versions of the heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer because state statutes do not subject entities with foreign business registrations to the auspices of Constitution State judges, a pharmaceutical industry attorney argued at a hearing Monday morning.

  • June 17, 2024

    Tesla Slaps Supplier With $1B EV Battery Trade Secrets Suit

    Tesla is accusing one of its suppliers of corporate espionage in a $1 billion California federal lawsuit, saying that Matthews International has even tried to claim it invented the stolen trade secrets for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries by incorporating the confidential information into patent filings.

Expert Analysis

  • Nursing Homes Must Prepare For Ownership Scrutiny

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    Due to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' designation of nursing home ownership changes as a high risk category, and increased transparency and notice obligations for changes in skilled nursing facility ownership set to take effect in Pennsylvania in October, owners should anticipate a heightened level of review and delays, say Mark Mattioli and Paula Sanders at Post & Schell.

  • In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development

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    As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Pointers For Tackling Antitrust Class Action Set-Aside Orders

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    As federal district courts have increasingly been willing to enter set-aside orders for the benefit of class counsel, varying rulings have made the propriety of such orders in antitrust class actions a thorny issue — so attorneys should time their filings strategically and explore opportunities for cost-sharing, say William Reiss and Laura Song at Robins Kaplan.

  • Perspectives

    A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial

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    Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.

  • Rebuttal

    Mallory Ruling Doesn't Undermine NC Sales Tax Holding

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    Contrary to the conclusion reached in a recent Law360 guest article, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Mallory ruling shouldn't be read as implicitly repudiating the North Carolina Supreme Court’s sales tax ruling in Quad Graphics v. North Carolina Department of Revenue — the U.S. Supreme Court could have rejected Quad by directly overturning it, says Jonathan Entin at Case Western Reserve.

  • How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness

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    Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory

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    Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Job Transfer Review Should Hold To Title VII Text

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis should hold that a job transfer can be an adverse employment action, and the analysis should be based on the straightforward language of Title VII rather than judicial activism, say Lynne Bernabei and Alan Kabat at Bernabei & Kabat.

  • 11th Circ. Ruling May Impede Insurers' Defense Cost Recoup

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent Continental Casualty v. Winder Laboratories ruling that insurers cannot obtain reimbursement of defense costs from their insureds where the policy itself does not require such reimbursement is likely to be cited as persuasive authority in Georgia and other states without clear precedent on the issue, say Christy Maple and Robert Whitney at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Immigration Program Pitfalls Exacerbate Physician Shortages

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    Eliminating shortcomings from U.S. immigration regulations and policies could help mitigate the national shortage of physicians by encouraging foreign physicians to work in medically underserved areas, but progress has been halted by partisan gridlock, say Alison Hitz and Dana Schwarz at Clark Hill.

  • Perspectives

    Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice

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    Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.

  • CRA Plays Role In DOJ Fight Against Redlining

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent consent order with ESSA Bank & Trust is a reminder that although the Community Reinvestment Act lacks a civil enforcement provision, financial institutions' CRA compliance efforts may have ramifications under various anti-discrimination statutes, say Collin Grier and Levi Swank at Goodwin.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: 55 Years Of The JPML

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    As the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation marks its 55th birthday, Alan Rothman at Sidley looks back at its history and finds that, while some features of MDL jurisprudence have changed over the decades, the most remarkable aspect of the panel's practice has been its consistency.

  • Why Justices' SuperValu Ruling Wasn't Quite A 'Seismic Shift'

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    Notwithstanding an early victory lap by the relators' bar, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. SuperValu Inc. was a win for both whistleblowers and sophisticated companies, but unfortunately left “subjective belief” to be interpreted by lower courts and future litigants, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

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