In Hall v. Millersville University, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted summary judgment to the Acacia National Fraternity (“Acacia”) and Acacia Fraternity, Millersville (“Chapter 84”) in a survival and wrongful death action filed by the estate of a student (“Hall”)who was murdered by her boyfriend (“Orrostieta”) in her university dorm after attending a fraternity party together. The court found that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had “unequivocally held that a national fraternity is not liable under the social host doctrine for acts of its chapters.” The court also found that although the social host doctrine
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Monthly Archives September 2019
Commonwealth Court of PA Affirms Commissioner’s Holding that PLHIGA Act Provision Authorizing PLHIGA to Make Assessments Against Medicare Parts C and D Premiums is Preempted by Federal Law
In Pennsylvania Life & Health Ins. Guar. Ass’n v. Pennsylvania Ins., the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania addressed an appeal by the Pennsylvania Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association (PLHIGA) of the decision by the Insurance Commissioner (“Commissioner”) to sustain the appeals of nine member health insurers and reverse assessments imposed by PLHIGA on the health insurers’ Medicare Parts C and D premium accounts. During the initial agency adjudication, the Commissioner determined that the assessments, which PLHIGA imposed on all member insurers pursuant to its enabling act, were preempted by federal law. The Commonwealth Court agreed with the Commissioner’s order and
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New Jersey Appellate Division Reverses Grant of Summary Judgment to Allstate in Declaratory Judgment Action to Determine Liability Coverage Under an Auto Insurance Policy
In Allstate New Jersey Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Estate of Sean McBride, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court reversed the trial court’s decision that summary judgment be granted to Allstate in a case seeking a declaration that Allstate was not obligated to provide liability insurance coverage to the Estate of McBride for claims arising from a car accident. The trial court had determined that no genuine issues of material fact existed and held that no coverage was available for McBride under the Allstate policy. The Appellate Division disagreed and found that there were genuine issues of material
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Suffolk County Court of New York Grants Summary Judgment to Homeowners in Suit Brought by Injured Roofer for Labor Law Violations
In Smith v. Dressler, the Supreme Court for the State of New York in Suffolk County addressed a personal injury case where an injured plaintiff brought suit against homeowners after he was injured when he fell from a ladder while performing roofing and siding work. In his Complaint, he alleged common law negligence and violations of Labor Law §§ 200, 240 and 241. Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the single-family homeowner’s exemption applies as to the Labor Law claims because defendants did not supervise, direct or control plaintiff’s work and did not provide him with any
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