Superior Court Follows Eichelman and not Gallagher
In Erie Insurance Exchange v. Mione, 2021 Pa. Super. 91 (2021), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania declined to follow Gallagher v. GEICO and upheld the validity of a household exclusion, in a limited circumstance. This decision was entered before...
Long Anticipated Donovan Decision
On August 17, 2021, the long-awaited decision in Donovan v. State Farm was entered by the Supreme Court. The Majority Opinion by Chief Justice Baer will have long-standing effects on the Pennsylvania insurance industry. The facts were...
Third Circuit Applies Gallagher and Affirms Household Exclusion to be Invalid
In National General Insurance Company v. Sheldon, No. 20-3222 (3rd. Cir. July 14, 2021) [Not Precedential], the Third Circuit determined the household exclusion in the insurance carrier's policy was invalid and applied Gallagher v. GEICO, 201 A.3d...
Summary Judgment Granted in Premises Liability Case
In Cappollella v. R & R Construction and Frank Fratarcangelli, et. al., the Monroe County Court (J. Williamson) granted Summary Judgment to each of three defendants in a premises liability case. The Motions were filed by two tenants and the...
Regular Use Exclusion Upheld Yet Again
In the case of Shepherd v. Talotta, No. 2:20-CV-01046-CFK (USDC EDPA, April 22, 2021), Judge Kenney of the Eastern District Court upheld a regular use exclusion to underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) and rejected the Plaintiff's public policy and...
Third Circuit Reaffirms Section 1734 Writing Requirements
In the case of Gibson v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., No. 20-1609 (3d Cir. Jan. 21, 2021), the Third Circuit of Pennsylvania reversed the lower court’s decision to mold the UIM limits of coverage finding that the Section 1734 of the PMVFRL...
Pennsylvania Superior Court Enforces Household Exclusion Despite Gallagher
In Erie Insurance Exchange v. King, the Superior Court recently applied a household exclusion in the policy, despite the Supreme Court's prior ruling in Gallagher v. GEICO that household exclusions should be eliminated or limited to their facts. In...
Sudden Emergency Doctrine Called Into Question
In the recent case of Graham v. Check, No. WAP 2019 ( Pa. Dec. 22, 2020) a 5-2 majority of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reinterpreted the when the sudden emergency "defense" can be applied in a pedestrian-vehicle accident. Prior to Graham, the...
Transient Daughter Held To Be Resident Of Father’s Home
In a fact specific analysis, a Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge ruled in Erie Insurance Exchange v. Montesano, No. 2016-13318 (C.P. Montg. Co. Sept. 1, 2020 Rogers, J.), that Christiana Montesano, an adult daughter who lived periodically in...
The Regular Use Exclusion Survives But Remains Under Fire
In Conti v. Erie Insurance Exchange, (Schuylkill County 09/25/20), Judge Russell upheld a “regular use” exclusion in the Erie policy. The plaintiff was operating a police vehicle during his employment as a police officer. He was responding to an...
Western District Upholds Gallagher With Two Different Carriers
The Federal Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania recently held that National General’s household vehicle exclusion was invalid even when two different insurance carriers’ underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) policies were involved. ...
Courts Differ on Similar Claims for Punitive Damages
In Wilson v. Matas, No. 10067 of 2020, C.A. (C.P. Lawrence Co. June 3, 2020, Moto, P.J.), the Court sustained Preliminary Objections to strike claims for punitive damages. After a rear-end motor vehicle accident, Defendant admitted to the police...