The Legal Intelligencer Blog

Settlement Talks Begin in Duck-Boat Accident Trial

By Saranac Hale Spencer
Of the Legal Staff

Testimony stopped in order to hold a settlement discussion on the second day of the civil trial related to the double fatality on a duck-boat tour two years ago.

The company that owned the duck boat and the company that owned the tug boat pushing the barge that crushed it in the Delaware River both argue that the Limitation of Liability Act, passed by Congress in 1851, caps their total liability at $1.7 million.

According to that act, the owners of vessels are not liable for any loss over the value of the ship. Ride the Ducks International, the Missouri-based company that owned the duck boat, claims that its boat is worth $150,000, according to court papers. K-Sea Transportation, which owned the tug boat pushing the barge, valued its boat at $1.65 million, according to court papers.

After hearing testimony on Monday and the first half of Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Thomas O’Neill Jr. of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania suggested that the parties discuss a settlement because it is a bench trial with no jury to inconvenience with the wait, according to Robert Mongeluzzi of Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky in Philadelphia.

Mongeluzzi is representing the families of the Hungarian students who were killed in the 2010 accident. John Snyder of Rawle & Henderson in Philadelphia is representing Ride the Ducks and Thomas Canevari of Freehill Hogan & Mahar in New York is representing K-Sea Transportation.

U.S. District Judge John Padova is presiding over the settlement discussion.

 

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Tuesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer, which also includes this week’s edition of Pennsylvania Law Weekly. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

The Intellectual Property supplement is also inside today’s paper, so be sure to give that a read.

The top story in today’s Legal is a look at the new markets opening up for Pennsylvania firms in the wake of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s slide. Reporter Gina Passarella writes that the attorneys leaving Dewey have allowed area firms to open offices in Dubai, Los Angeles and potentially Moscow and Kazakhstan.

Also above the fold on Page 1, Gina Passarella writes that Kansas City, Mo.-based Shook Hardy & Bacon is finalizing plans to open a Philadelphia office with the hire of Dechert partner Sean Wajert to its litigation group.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Saranac Hale Spencer writes that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that a bankruptcy court must first grant leave before a trustee can be sued in another venue.

Also below the fold on Page 1, reporter Zack Needles writes that the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case in which it’s been asked to hear whether an insurer can be ordered to pay a medical provider’s attorney fees even if the employer properly employed the peer review process before denying coverage.

In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes about Thomas G. Wilkinson Jr.’s new role at the helm of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Youth and the law top the new president’s agenda.

Also on Page 3, Zack Needles writes that a class action has been filed over NHL Winter Classic tickets that the Flyers did not give to season ticketholders.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sibling publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

In an Eastern District column on Page 5, Peter F. Vaira writes that two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have raised troublesome plea bargain issues.

In a Law Office Technology column on Page 7, Morgan C. Smith writes about using iPads to make compelling presentations at trials.

Today’s lead story in PLW is the state Supreme Court justices asserting their control over the definition of the constitutional phrase “purely public charity,” as reporter Ben Present writes.

Below the fold on Page 1, Ben Present writes that the Supreme Court has dialed back the independent source doctrine.

On Page 3, Ben Present writes a preview of Supreme Court oral arguments set to open in Harrisburg today, in which the justices will hear the H&R Block class action case for the third time.

There’s much more inside this week’s PLW, including Samuel C. Stretton’s Ethics Forum, in which he writes that an increase in technological savvy should not overshadow the basic tenets of good lawyering; Matthew T. Mangino’s Criminal Pratice column, in which he writes that disparity again pervades federal sentencing; a ruling that a landlord must know of danger to incur liability for a dog biting a person; and Jonathan Hoffman’s Family Law commentary, in which he writes about securing your client’s future with insurance.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Thursday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

The top story this morning is Philadelphia personal injury firm Weinstein Schleifer & Kupersmith filing suit against its former partner Norman J. Weinstein in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. As reporter Zack Needles writes, the firm is alleging, among other things, that he used the firm’s money to fund his own side business and poached the firm’s clients and referral resources when he left for Galfand Berger.

Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Gina Passarella writes that Drinker Biddle & Reath is owed $877,000 in attorney fees by the city of Philadelphia for its work on a dispute with the Boy Scouts of America, according to an issue order Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The city had been in a lease dispute, trying to prevent the group from occupying a city-owned building rent free and continuing to openly ban gay men from membership.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina has ruled that an attorney for former priest Edward Avery, who is accused of sexually abusing a youth, can cross-examine the priest’s accuser on whether he was motivated to make up the allegations because he was expelled from his archdiocesan high school in ninth grade.

In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Saranac Hale Spencer writes that a woman is entitled to her late ex-husband’s retirement plan, but his estate is equally entitled to enforce the waiver she signed giving up her right to collect the benefits once they have been distributed, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

Also on Page 3, an Eastern District judge has allowed the majority of indirect purchaser claims in the multidistrict class action litigation over alleged price-fixing for eggs and egg products to proceed.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

A Legal Marketing column on Page 5 covers how firms can be more attractive to company clients.

As it is Thursday, this week’s Young Lawyer column is on Page 7, as the YL Editorial Board writes that law firms should invest in and gain from younger lawyers.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Wednesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

Today’s top story is the next chapter in the Jerry Sandusky case, as reporter Ben Present writes that state prosecutors may have to turn over psychological records of several individuals accusing the former Penn State assistant football coach of sexual abuse, according to criminal defense attorneys. Following an order Tuesday from the judge presiding over the case, the state has one week to provide a reason why the records of the alleged victims are privileged under state law. That privilege is waived for any such records the prosecution already has in its possession, according to lawyers.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that a Philadelphia jury has awarded $4.6 million in compensatory damages to a man who feel 40 feet while painting a utility pole. The award to plaintiff Vincent P. Nertavich Jr. was reduced by the jury’s finding that he was 49 percent negligent.

In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Saranac Hale Spencer writes that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the FAA pre-empts a Pennsylvania ban on class action waivers in arbitration cases. A three-judge panel in Quilloin v. Tenet Healthsystem reversed a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruling, holding that a class action waiver does not render an arbitration agreement a nurse signed with the hospital unconscionable.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

As it is Wednesday, this week’s GC Mid-Atlantic column is on Page 5, as Hayes Hunt and Jonathan R. Cavalier write about the 2nd Circuit granting a stay of a challenge to the SEC’s settlement policy.

In a column on Page 7, Joel Feldman writes about showing compassion while also sticking to responsibility when working with bereaved clients.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Thursday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

The top story this morning is reporter Zack Needles’ look into two recent resignations in the state Department of Environmental Protection, which lawyers say is not uncommon after a change in the gubernatorial administration. Reports by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette regarding the July resignation of longtime regional counsel Diana Stares and the November resignation of her successor, William Darr, indicated that Stares was forced out and Darr’s hiring was a political move that wasn’t properly vetted. But attorneys familiar with the inner workings of the agency told The Legal they were skeptical of allegations that there were nefarious motives behind the moves.

Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Gina Passarella writes about the struggles faced by Rutgers School of Law-Camden, which suffered a 15-spot drop in the most recent U.S. News & World Report law school rankings. The school is still dealing with the fallout from the proposed merger with Rowan University.

Below the fold on Page 1, The Legal’s newest reporter, Saranac Hale Spencer, writes about an Eastern District of Pennsylvania case in which a judge ruled that allegations that a former chief technology officer sabotaged a planned merger by sending secure information to potential suitors did not bring into play the protections of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Ben Present writes that a state Superior Court panel has ruled that a lawsuit brought against Parx Casino belongs outside Philadelphia, despite the plaintiff’s wishes.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

On the Paralegals Page on Page 5, Christine M. Flynn writes about TIPS – Trial Issues and Practical Solutions – for paralegals, including formulating a plan, confirming witnesses and checking supplies.

As it is Thursday, this week’s Young Lawyer column is on Page 7, as Michael J. Joyce writes about appreciating the momentum created by smaller victories. The little wins can often turn into bigger wins down the road, Joyce writes.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Tuesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer, which also includes this week’s edition of Pennsylvania Law Weekly. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

The top story in today’s Legal is U.S. District Court Judge C. Darnell Jones II of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania looking at the Defense of Marriage Act’s validity in a Cozen O’Connor benefits disputes. As Gina Passarella writes, the dispute is between the parents of a deceased Cozen O’Connor partner and her wife. Both sides provided briefs on the constitutionality of DOMA but de-emphasized it, instead focusing on the terms of Cozen O’Connor’s benefits plan.

Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that prosecutors in the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex-abuse case want to present expert testimony on the process sexual abusers of children use to “‘groom’” their victims.

Below the fold on Page 1, Gina Passarella writes about the ongoing dispute between Elliott Greenleaf and a former partner. The firm has amended its complaint against the ex-partner and his new firm, Stevens & Lee, for his alleged remote access to the firm’s files. It now includes the theft of more files via portable drives and the misappropriation of escrow funds.

In more Regional News on Page 3, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that a federal judge has ruled that a French firm must comply with federal discovery rules.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sibling publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

In a Litigation column on Page 5, Howard J. Bashman writes a guide to delays on appeal, wondering if there is an appellate traffic jam ahead.

In a Real Estate column on Page 7, Martin J. Doyle and Ross E. Bruch write about the number of different ways a recent state Superior Court case on judgment liens can be instructive.

Today’s lead story in PLW is the state Supreme Court hearing oral arguments last week in a case that deals with a last-minute jury substitution. As reporter Zack Needles writes, a principal juror in Bruckshaw v. Frankford Hospital, a medical malpractice trial in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, was inexplicably replaced with no notice to the attorneys or the judge.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Ben Present writes that the state Supreme Court also heard oral arguments last week about whether a Bucks County School District’s board of directors had effectively forced out the school’s tax collectors by lowering their pay rates.

On Page 3, Ben Present writes about a workers’ compensation case for which the state Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week, in which a woman who belatedly applied for several jobs listed in a labor market survey had work “available” to her for the purpose of her employer’s request to modify workers’ compensation benefits.

There’s much more inside this week’s PLW, including Samuel C. Stretton’s Ethics Forum, in which he discusses the ethics of judges using social media; a commentary on Family Law by Andrew D. Taylor, in which he writes that the doctrine of paternity by estoppel is hanging on by a thread; a sex-abuse case in which a step-grandfather was determined to be a “perpetrator”; and the W-2 forms of public school employees are not public records, according to a Commonwealth Court ruling.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Tuesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer, which also includes this week’s edition of Pennsylvania Law Weekly. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

Today’s top story comes from PLW, as reporters Ben Present and Zack Needles write about questions looming over the Lackawanna County Family Court guardian ad litem program. A review of family court records by the reporters reveals that the court contracted one person to act as guardian ad litem an average of 88 cases per year between 2009 and 2011. This came after there were no such appointments in 2007 or 2008. There will be more on this story in subsequent issues of The Legal and PLW, so stay tuned.

Below the fold on Page 1, Ben Present writes that a trial court may not refuse to award contractual interest to a prevailing party if the agreement provides for a specific amount. The state Supreme Court reversed a split panel of the Superior Court in TruServ Corp. v. Morgan’s Tool and Supply Co.

On Page 3, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes in an allocatur story that the state Supreme Court is going to consider if health care providers or their records-producing proxies must disclose their actual and reasonable costs of producing charts and records.

There’s much more inside this week’s PLW, including Samuel C. Stretton’s Ethics Forum, in which he discusses a county president judge interfering with a district judge’s constitutional rights; Brandon Swartz’s Personal Injury column on diagnostic testing and bone scans; a $2.6 million medical malpractice verdict heading back to trial court after a second appeal; and Shelly Pagac and Jennifer Russell’s commentary on Employment Law and English-only rules in the workplace.

The lead story in today’s Legal is a look at profit margins and how they relate to a firm’s fiscal health. As reporter Gina Passarella writes, the profitability of firms has become an increasingly important issue. Of the 10 Pennsylvania-based firms that have reported financials so far this year, profit margins range from 22 percent to 44 percent.

Also above the fold on Page 1, Zack Needles writes that a federal judge has preliminarily approved the $17.75 million settlement of the “kids-for-cash” lawsuit. Robert K. Mericle, the builder of two juvenile detention centers who allegedly paid millions in “finder’s fees” to former Luzerne County Judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., agreed to the settlement in December in a civil suit brought by a class of juvenile plaintiffs.

Below the fold on Page 1, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that a Lehigh County judge has upheld a $23.1 million award in a medical malpractice case in which a woman had both of her legs and a finger amputated because of an infection that went septic and gangrenous.

In more Regional News on Page 3, Hank Grezlak has a From the Chief column in which he asks when men are going to put an end to the boys’ club and stop the misogyny that has become all too common.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sibling publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

On Page 5 today is Peter F. Vaira’s look at the Eastern District, as he writes about the use and misuse of depositions in a conversation with Dennis R. Suplee, an expert in depositions from Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis.

In a Business of Law column on Page 7, Frank Michael D’Amore writes the second in a series about the top areas where law firms differ, including their willingness to embrace change.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Monday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

The top story this morning is reporter Ben Present’s preview of the state Supreme Court hearing oral arguments this week in Philadelphia. Among the cases to be heard during the two-day session beginning Tuesday are several important workers’ compensation cases and one relating to MySpace and its use for communication between a man under house arrest and gang members with whom he was instructed to avoid communication.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Zack Needles writes that a federal judge has ruled that the language in an underinsured motorist coverage waiver may not be altered. The judge ruled that the existence of a single additional word in an underinsured motorist coverage waiver violated the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law and rendered the waiver void in an Eastern District of Pennsylvania case involving defendant Travelers Indemnity Co. of America.

In more Regional News on Page 3, Dan McCormick writes about a legal clinic, La Comunidad Hispana, that is serving Chester County’s immigrant population.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

In an Antitrust Law column on Page 5, Carl W. Hittinger and Patrick Castaneda write that the FTC has preserved the status quo in the long-term care pharmacy market following Omnicare Inc.’s eight-month pursuit of acquiring PharMerica Corp.

In a book review on Page 7, John J. Soroko writes about Judge Harvey Bartle III’s “Mortals With Tremendous Responsibilities” and what it says about the Eastern District’s role in the development of U.S. jurisprudence.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Monday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

The top story this morning is plaintiffs lawyers who are suing Pfizer over alleged effects of the antidepressant Zoloft objecting to the drugmakers request to consolidate the cases into a federal multidistrict litigation. As reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes, the plaintiffs lawyers asked U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Curtis Joyner of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to deny Pfizer’s motion to stay nearly 50 Zoloft cases until a decision is made by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation if the Zoloft cases should be consolidated.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Gina Passarella writes that the firing of Paul Mansfield, the only assistant U.S. attorney to ever be fired from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, was not retaliation by the office, according to an opinion issued by U.S. District Court Judge Legrome D. Davis on Feb. 9. Mansfield had claimed that the firing was retaliation for his filing of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission actions after he was given different assignments following a return from medical leave.

In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Zack Needles writes that the state Superior Court has reinstated a professional negligence “straddle case” against a Carnegie, Pa.-based firm. A unanimous three-judge panel reversed Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Senior Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr.’s non pros ruling.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

In a Commentary on Page 5, Jules Epstein writes about the state of eyewitness evidence in 2012. Epstein writes that the state Supreme Court is set to hear a case in which the principal issue is whether the state will permit expert witness testimony in eyewitness cases.

On Page 7 is an Insight on Diversity column in which Michael Reilly writes that it’s important for diversity in the legal profession to truly be discussed among in-house and outside counsel.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Thursday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

The top story this morning is a federal judge recommending the release of convicted cop shooter William Barnes from state prison. Reporter Zack Needles writes that U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy R. Rice issued a report recommending that Barnes, who is 75, be released immediately. Barnes was found guilty of attempted murder after shooting Philadelphia Police Officer Walter Barclay in 1966 and served 16 years for the crime, then was re-incarcerated following Barclay’s death in 2007, despite being acquitted of the new murder charges brought against him.

Above the fold on Page 1, Michael A. Riccardi writes that an Eastern District of Pennsylvania judge has ruled that the use of decade-old district lines in this year’s election for seats in the state General Assembly is permissible as an emergency measure. Judge R. Barclay Surrick ruled that the public interest in the election requires that the state remain on track to hold its primary on April 24.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Gina Passarella writes that a federal judge in Philadelphia has tossed some cases in the multidistrict asbestos litigation. U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo C. Robreno of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania wrote in a footnote to his opinion in Conner v. Alfa Laval Inc. that the group of defendants couldn’t be held liable for the fact that their asbestos-free products were used in asbestos-containing products handled by the plaintiffs.

In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Jeff Mordock writes that a defamation lawsuit filed by a former Widener University School of Law professor against the school’s dean has been settled. Lawrence J. Connell had filed suit against Linda L. Ammons in April after he was placed on administrative leave for allegedly making offense statements regarding women and minorities in his criminal law class.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

As it is Thursday, this week’s Young Lawyer column is on Page 5, as Michael J. Newman writes about finding his comfort zone in the kitchen and the ways in which is newfound hobby of cooking has translated into making him a better lawyer.

In a Litigation column on Page 7, Shayna Slater writes that mandatory arbitration clauses are a sneaky secret of nursing homes that need to be examined closely when admitting a loved one into such a facility.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.