Pennsylvania

  • April 26, 2024

    Pa. Regulators To Probe FirstEnergy's $503M Rate Hike Bid

    The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is opening an investigation into a FirstEnergy unit's proposed annual rate increase that would boost its revenue by over $503 million and raise consumer power bills in four districts by between 9.2% and 11.8%, according to a new order from the regulator.

  • April 25, 2024

    Ex-Philly Union Leader's 3rd Trial Ends In Deadlock

    A Pennsylvania federal jury on Thursday night was unable to reach a verdict in the government's case alleging former Philadelphia labor leader John Dougherty threatened a Live! Casino construction contractor with "financial ruin" if he didn't pay his electrician nephew for work he didn't perform, marking a mistrial for the previously twice-convicted union figurehead and his relative.

  • April 25, 2024

    3rd Circ. Lets Mallinckrodt Off Sanofi's Royalty Hook

    A Third Circuit panel said Thursday that Mallinckrodt PLC's Chapter 11 bankruptcy could sever its obligation to pay Sanofi-Aventis US LLC royalties on sales of an autoimmune disease drug, finding that Sanofi's contract to sell Mallinckrodt the rights to the drug created a claim ripe to be extinguished.

  • April 25, 2024

    Philips Gets $506M Economic Loss Deal OK'd In CPAP MDL

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday gave final approval to a $506.3 million settlement to end economic loss claims in multidistrict litigation over Philips' recalled CPAP breathing machines, including $94.4 million for the plaintiffs' attorneys.

  • April 25, 2024

    Dems Press DEA To Move Quickly On Rescheduling Marijuana

    A coalition of Democratic U.S. senators and House members are urging the U.S. Department of Justice to complete swiftly its review of marijuana's legal status and remove the drug from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

  • April 25, 2024

    DOD Unblocks Cohen Seglias From Emails Following Lawsuit

    Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC on Thursday dropped its lawsuit against the Defense Information Systems Agency after the agency acknowledged it mistakenly flagged the firm for malware and blocked it from government emails, the firm's attorney told Law360.

  • April 25, 2024

    EEOC Urges 3rd Circ. To Revive Fired Worker's Reprisal Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Third Circuit to reinstate a former manager's lawsuit accusing a glass company of firing him because he refused to fire his plant's only two Black workers, saying a jury should hear the dispute.

  • April 25, 2024

    Emotional Damages Not Covered In OD Suit, Pa. Justices Rule

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has reversed a lower court's ruling that a Nationwide unit had a duty to defend two homeowners in a suit over a man's fatal overdose under their roof, holding Thursday that underlying emotional distress damages don't fall within the policy's definition of bodily injury.

  • April 25, 2024

    Pa. Justices OK Teacher 'Character' Test For Suspended Atty

    The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling that an ex-attorney's disciplinary records can be used by the state Department of Education when evaluating whether that attorney has the "good moral character" to get a teaching license.

  • April 25, 2024

    3 Things Attys Should Know About Pa.'s $48B Spending Plan

    Several areas of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed $48 billion budget for 2024-2025 could result in more work for the legal industry, including more opportunities for crafting economic development deals, getting a recreational cannabis industry off the ground, and speeding up environmental permit applications, experts tell Law360.

  • April 24, 2024

    Motley Rice, Morgan & Morgan Among Ozempic MDL Leaders

    The Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over alleged risks associated with Ozempic and similar drugs has appointed lawyers from Motley Rice LLC, Morgan & Morgan PA and six other firms to leadership roles, according to an order issued Tuesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Pa. Court Revives Malpractice Suit Over Hip Implant Surgeries

    The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Pinnacle Hospitals, an orthopedic surgeon and a physician-owned clinic can't escape a malpractice suit over two hip replacements that left a woman with one leg shorter than the other, a Pennsylvania Superior Court panel has ruled, saying a jury must decide when the clock started on her claims.

  • April 24, 2024

    3 Takeaways On How AI Is Forcing Publicity Rights To Evolve

    As digital replicas of someone's voice, image or likeness become easier to create with the help of artificial intelligence, this new era of deepfakes is shining a spotlight on the nation's patchwork of right-of-publicity laws and raising questions over when Congress may act to pass a national framework.  

  • April 24, 2024

    DOL Says Firm 'Repeatedly' Misclassified Highway Workers

    The U.S. Department of Labor recently determined that a subcontractor "repeatedly misclassified" employees who worked on 25 federal highway construction projects in Pennsylvania, according to a notice filed in Pennsylvania federal court Wednesday in a lawsuit against three construction firms.

  • April 24, 2024

    UPMC Affiliate Can't Avoid False Claims Suit Over NIH Grant

    A research foundation affiliated with a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospital can't duck a former employee's claims that the foundation mishandled grant money and fired her for raising concerns, though UPMC itself is off the hook, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Borrower Asks Full 4th Circ. To Hear Debt Canceling Case

    A student loan borrower has asked the full Fourth Circuit to rehear his claims that a Pennsylvania loan servicer thwarted forgiveness of his federal student loans, arguing that the circuit court had overlooked parts of the loan servicing agreement that provided important context to his argument.

  • April 24, 2024

    Sanction Bank Workers Who Hid IP Grab, Branding Firm Says

    An architectural and marketing firm has asked a Philadelphia federal judge for sanctions against two of its former employees who jumped ship for Republic Bank, saying that texts between the ex-employees show the "nadir of bad faith" about evidence destruction in their trade secrets misappropriation suit.

  • April 24, 2024

    3rd Circ. Won't Let Keystone Coal Escape Black Lung Payout

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday denied Keystone Coal Mining Corp.'s request to revoke benefits awarded to a miner with pneumoconiosis under the Black Lung Benefits Act, rejecting its argument that the administrative law judge hearing the case did not properly consider all the evidence.

  • April 24, 2024

    Toy Developer, Chinese Co. Settle Robot Source Code Suit

    A Pittsburgh-based robot toy designer has settled and dismissed its dispute with a Chinese competitor over the alleged copying of the source code for a toy design acquired from a predecessor, according to federal court filings Tuesday.

  • April 23, 2024

    Ex-Auditor, County Prosecutor Win Pennsylvania AG Primary

    The race for Pennsylvania's next attorney general will pit an academic who was the state's fiscal watchdog against a Navy veteran serving as a county's top prosecutor, early primary election results showed Tuesday evening. 

  • April 23, 2024

    AGs Urged To Probe Anti-Abortion Centers' Privacy Claims

    A watchdog group on Tuesday pressed the attorneys general from Idaho, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington to investigate certain "crisis pregnancy centers" that are allegedly misrepresenting their compliance with federal health privacy law, arguing that the organizations are exploiting consumers' misconception that the statute broadly protects their medical data. 

  • April 23, 2024

    Meta Secures Partial Trim Of Video Technology Patent Suit

    A federal judge has narrowed a suit accusing Meta Platforms Inc. of infringing patents related to video technology, throwing out one of VideoLabs' patents but letting the patent owner keep moving forward with another.

  • April 23, 2024

    US Gun Cos. Tell Justices Mexico Is Circumventing Law With Suit

    A group of American firearm makers is asking the Supreme Court to throw out a suit from the government of Mexico alleging they have aided and abetted cartels, saying the First Circuit broke with the high court's precedent by allowing the case to proceed.

  • April 23, 2024

    Juvenile Facility Abuse Suits Will Move To State Court

    A trio of plaintiffs who were denied class certification for their civil rights claims against Abraxas Youth and Family Services have agreed to withdraw their federal suit against the juvenile facility operator with an eye toward refiling their remaining claims in state court.

  • April 23, 2024

    Blue States Leap To Defend EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule

    California and 21 other blue states, along with a smattering of cities and the District of Columbia, have told the D.C. Circuit that they want to help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defend its rule requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans from legal attack by red states.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Rite Aid's Reasons For Ch. 11 Go Beyond Opioid Suits

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    Despite opioid-related lawsuits being the perceived reason that pushed Rite Aid into bankruptcy, the company's recent Chapter 11 filing reveals its tenuous position in the pharmaceutical retail market, and only time will tell whether bankruptcy will right-size the company, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Employers Should Review Training Repayment Tactics

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    State and federal examination of employee training repayment agreements has intensified, and with the potential for this tool to soon be severely limited, employers should review their options, including pivoting to other retention strategies, says Aaron Vance at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Opinion

    Courts Shouldn't Credit Allegations From Short-Seller Reports

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    Securities class actions against public companies can extend for years and lead to significant settlements, so courts should not allow such cases with allegations wholly reliant on reports by short-sellers, who have an economic interest in seeing a company's stock price decline, to proceed past the motion to dismiss stage, says Richard Zelichov at DLA Piper.

  • Handling Religious Objections To Abortion-Related Job Duties

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    While health care and pharmacy employee religious exemption requests concerning abortion-related procedures or drugs are not new, recent cases demonstrate why employer accommodation considerations should factor in the Title VII standard set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 Groff v. DeJoy ruling, as well as applicable federal, state and local laws, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Growing Need For FLSA Private Settlement Rule Clarity

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    A Pennsylvania district court's recent ruling in Walker v. Marathon Petroleum echoes an interesting and growing trend of jurists questioning the need for — and legality of — judicial approval of private Fair Labor Standards Act settlements, which provides more options for parties to efficiently resolve their claims, says Rachael Coe at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

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    Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

  • Compliance Primer: Foreign Investment In US Real Property

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    The rise in foreign investment in U.S. real property, especially agricultural land, has led to increased national security concerns, meaning it’s important to understand reporting requirements under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act and state-level statutes, and to monitor legislative proposals that could create more stringent reporting and review processes, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

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    Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

  • Series

    Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.

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