Key Points: Effective April 1, 2025, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has amended Pa.R.C.P. 220.3, pertaining to voir dire of jurors....more
In a much anticipated decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has now defined parentage to include intent-based parentage in the landmark case Glover v Junior. Historically Pennsylvania recognizes parentage of a biological...more
In October 2024, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court adopted a series of amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct for legal services communications. The new rule changes, which went into effect on November 14, 2024, are...more
Not everything stamped “privileged” is safe from prying eyes. The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently ruled that interview notes compiled by a sorority’s leadership after a tragic incident were not shielded by...more
In Erie Insurance Exchange v. Hannah Baluch, ___ A.3d ___, 2025 WL 22562 (Pa. Super. Ct., Jan. 3, 2025), the Pennsylvania Superior Court addressed whether an insured with her own automobile insurance policy is entitled to...more
Did you fall for the clickbait headline? No, this post does not take a shot at Pennsylvania’s highest court. Instead, here we consider the court’s practice of ordering some cases “dismissed as improvidently granted” or...more
Let’s assume you inherited a 150 acre farm in Lycoming County that has been owned by your family since 1909. In 2020, you are approached by ABC Drilling about a new oil and gas lease for the farm. You retain counsel and...more
As of December 18, 2024, The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has approved new guardianship rules, effective immediately. These changes include revisions to procedural requirements, updates to forms and new rules for guardianship...more
Released yearly in December, the American Tort Reform (ATR) Foundation publishes its annual “Judicial Hellhole” rankings for the upcoming year. The Hellholes represent the worst of the worst jurisdictions to defend tort...more
On October 24, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a pivotal ruling regarding the public release of investigatory grand jury reports and the due process rights of individuals named in such reports but not charged with...more
Peer review litigation in Pennsylvania has been quiet since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down the Leadbitter decision in 2021....more
In the November 2024 In-Compliance Round-Up, we cover the following: William J. McGinley, Partner at Holtzman Vogel, to Serve as Next White House Counsel - Jessica Furst Johnson: Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey wants to...more
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently rendered its eagerly awaited decision in Ungarean v. CNA et al., declaring that losses resulting from Covid-related governmental closure orders were not covered by business interruption...more
N.W.M. through J.M. v. Langenbach, --- A.3d --- (Pa. 2024), 2024 WL 2788173 (Pa. May 31, 2024) - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a guardian ad litem (GAL), an attorney appointed to represent the legal interests and...more
Seeking to find some relief from business losses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses turned to their property insurers for coverage for their lost income. A clear national trend emerged among courts...more
On September 26, 2024, Pennsylvania joined the majority of jurisdictions nationwide in holding that commercial property insurance policies do not cover losses caused by the government shutdown orders issued in response to the...more
Dwyer v. Ameriprise Financial, No. 2 WAP 2023 (Pa. April 25, 2024) (Op. by Wecht, J.) (Brobson, J., Concurring and Dissenting) - Following a jury trial, the plaintiffs were awarded punitive damages against their life...more
Key Points: Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently evaluated the no felony conviction recovery rule. No felony conviction recovery rule bars medical malpractice and indemnification claims brought against murderer’s medical...more
On July 18, 2024, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that environmental groups were entitled to intervene in a case challenging the lawfulness of a greenhouse gas regulation because the state’s attorneys failed to raise...more
In a July 17, 2024 Opinion, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided in AUUE, Inc. v. Borough of Jefferson Hills Zoning Hearing Board, No. 28 WAP 2022, ___ A.3d ___ (Pa. 2024), that the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code...more
As reported in Public Citizen’s Consumer Law & Policy Blog, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently agreed to review Chilutti v. Uber Technologies, Inc., in which a divided panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court (and later...more
On August 20, 2024, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a ruling in Wolfe v. Reading Blue Mountain & Northern RR Co. The Court overturned the Commonwealth Court’s determination that a condemnation of private land by a...more
Pennsylvania Superior Court holds that trial court correctly entered nonsuit on plaintiff’s corporate negligence claim for failing to show actual or constructive knowledge....more
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in a case that may have far reaching implications for businesses facing consumer protection claims in the state....more
Across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pace-O-Matic’s (or “POM’s”) “skill-based” games have been creeping into bars, gas stations, restaurants, and other local establishments. These games resemble slot machines in their...more