LANDOWNERS LIABILITY-BUSINESS INVITEE-HARASSMENT OF PATRON-McDONALD’S

August 15th, 2022 by Rieders Travis in Miscellaneous, Uncategorized

Massaro v. McDonald’s, 2022 Pa. Super. LEXIS 320 (August 2, 2022) (Pellegrini, J.)  Thomas Henry Massaro (Massaro) appeals an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (trial court) dismissing his claims with prejudice for lack of legal sufficiency. It was alleged by Massaro, a senior citizen, that he was continuously harassed and assaulted by a deranged third-party while mentoring a student in a McDonald's restaurant. His repeated requests for help from the restaurant's staff had gone unheeded for about an hour. The above-captioned Appellees (collectively referred to here as "McDonald's") filed a preliminary objection in the nature of a demurrer, arguing that they could not be held liable for Massaro's injuries as a matter of law because he had remained in the restaurant beyond the point where it was reasonable for him to do so. The trial court sustained McDonald's preliminary objection on what appear to be two not entirely consistent grounds. The trial court first determined that McDonald's did not owe Massaro a duty of care because he had assumed the risk of a known danger in the restaurant. Next, the trial court found that, as a…

CIVIL RIGHTS-BIVENS ACTION-BORDER PATROL AGENTS

June 15th, 2022 by Rieders Travis in Civil Rights, Uncategorized

CIVIL RIGHTS-BIVENS ACTION-BORDER PATROL AGENTS  Egbert v. Boule, 2022 U.S. LEXIS 2829 (June 8, 2022) (Thomas, J.)  In Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U. S. 388, 91 S. Ct. 1999, 29 L. Ed. 2d 619 (1971), this Court authorized a damages action against federal officials for alleged violations of the Fourth Amendment. Over the past 42 years, however, we have declined 11 times to imply a similar cause of action for other alleged constitutional violations. See Chappell v. Wallace, 462 U. S. 296, 103 S. Ct. 2362, 76 L. Ed. 2d 586 (1983); Bush v. Lucas, 462 U. S. 367, 103 S. Ct. 2404, 76 L. Ed. 2d 648 (1983); United States v. Stanley, 483 U. S. 669, 107 S. Ct. 3054, 97 L. Ed. 2d 550 (1987); Schweiker v. Chilicky, 487 U. S. 412, 108 S. Ct. 2460, 101 L. Ed. 2d 370 (1988); FDIC v. Meyer, 510 U. S. 471, 114 S. Ct. 996, 127 L. Ed. 2d 308 (1994); Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko, 534 U. S. 61, 122 S. Ct. 515, 151 L. Ed. 2d 456 (2001); Wilkie v. Robbins, 551 U. S.…

PROCEDURE-DISCOVERY-BAD FAITH

May 16th, 2022 by Rieders Travis in Procedure, Uncategorized

Butler v. Scranton Manufacturing Company, Pa. No. 18 CV 5167 (C.P. Lackawanna January 28, 2022) (Nealon, J.)  A Dunmore Borough refuse collector, who was riding a garbage truck on its rear "riding step" that allegedly snapped and detached from the truck while moving and caused him to suffer serious head injuries, commenced this products liability action against the manufacturers and distributors of the garbage truck and riding step.  A defendant-manufacturer subpoenaed several borough employees for depositions, and pursuant to Pa.R.Civ.P. 234.1(b)(2), also demanded the production of eleven categories of documents.  Contending that the borough manager acted in bad faith by failing to produce the requested records at his deposition, the manufacturer has filed a motion to compel a second deposition of the borough manager and to impose monetary sanctions upon the borough under Pa.R.Civ.P. 234.5(b).  It also seeks to depose the borough counsel president who happens to be a member of the law firm that represents plaintiff in this matter. The record submitted by the parties reflects that (a) the borough council president contacted plaintiff’s father shortly after this incident to advise him of his son’s injury, and (b) certain…

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE-MCARE ACT-COLLATERAL SOURCE RULE

April 29th, 2022 by Rieders Travis in Uncategorized

Reed v. Sossong, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66064 (W.D. Pa. April 8, 2022) (Haines, U.S. D.J.)  Plaintiffs assert that as a direct and proximate result of the Defendants' conduct, Daniel Reed "was forced to expend large sums of monies for doctors, hospitals, and other items necessary for proper care and treatment". Defendants move for partial summary judgment to preclude Plaintiffs from recovering damages in the form of a recoverable lien for past medical expenses paid by a private insurer, Highmark Delaware. Defendants contend that Plaintiffs have failed to show that the plan in question was a self-funded plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which would exempt the plan from the requirements of the Pennsylvania Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act ("MCARE"). Instead, Defendants argue that because the plan was insured, the provisions of the MCARE Act apply, precluding as a matter of law the recovery of damages for past medical expenses to the extent those expenses were covered by the insurer. In response, Plaintiffs argue that the plan in question is an HMO, which is exempt from the provisions of the MCARE Act. Alternatively, Plaintiffs…

INSURANCE-FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LAW-UNDERINSURANCE-OTHER INSURANCE CLAUSE-STACKING

April 29th, 2022 by Rieders Travis in Uncategorized

Meyers v. Travelers Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63752 (E.D. Pa. April 6, 2022) (Beetlestone, J.) In April 2018, Plaintiff Ellen M. Meyers suffered extensive injuries in a car accident in Chester County, Pennsylvania, for which she filed a number of insurance claims. The present action arises out of her dispute with Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company ("Travelers") concerning the amount of underinsured motorist benefits she may recover under a car insurance policy issued by Travelers. The Parties filed dueling motions for summary judgment. Meyers seeks a declaratory judgment that certain language in the insurance policy violates Pennsylvania's Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law, 75 Pa. C.S. §§ 1701 et seq. (the "MVFRL"), and public policy. Travelers seeks a declaratory judgment that its policy is valid, enforceable, and not against public policy. For the reasons that follow, Travelers' Motion for Summary Judgment will be granted and Meyers' Motion for Summary Judgment will be denied. On April 29, 2018, Meyers was driving her Ford Flex in Phoenixville Borough, Chester County, when her car was struck by another vehicle at the intersection of Church Street and Gay Street. Meyers suffered extensive…

Uncategorized

July 23rd, 2019 by Rieders Travis in Uncategorized

CIVIL RIGHTS-JOB DISCRIMINATION-RACE Castleberry v. Sti Group, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 12611 (3rd Cir. July 14, 2017) Ambro, C.J.  Castleberry and Brown brought suit asserting that their termination was racially motivated, citing to various examples of discrimination such as remarks made at the workplace and unfair work treatment.  The District Court dismissed their complaint.  Because Plaintiffs state plausible claims of employment discrimination, we reverse and remand. Castleberry and Brown were hired by STI Group in March 2010 as general laborers and supervised by managers from both STI Group and Chesapeake. Shortly after being assigned to a particular worksite, the only other African-American male on the crew was fired. Plaintiffs allege that, when they arrived at work on several occasions, someone had anonymously written “don't be black on the right of way” on the sign-in sheets. They also assert that although they have significant experience working on pipelines (and more so than their non-African-American coworkers), they were only permitted to clean around the pipelines rather than work on them. They claim that, when working on a fence-removal project, a supervisor told Castleberry and his coworkers that if they had “nigger-rigged” the…