Defense Strategies, Appeals, Discovery

Appeals Court Reverses Punitive Damages Award, Finds Late Trial Amendment to Add Recklessness Prejudiced Defense

Marshall Dennehey on 7/31/2025

Bernavage by and through Vanston v. Green Ridge Healthcare Group, LLC, WL 14279152025, (Pa. Super. May 19, 2025) - This case concerned an elderly woman’s slip and fall on a shower floor while being assisted by staff in an...more

A Lil’ Too Late - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Refuses to Compel Arbitration After Company Litigates Case for 7...

Miller Canfield on 3/29/2024

When has a party waived its contractual right to arbitrate? Until recently, most federal Courts of Appeal—including the Sixth Circuit— held that a party who participates in litigation (e.g., by serving and responding to...more

California Court of Appeal Confirms Trial Courts’ Inherent Power to Strike or Limit Unmanageable PAGA Lawsuits

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 9/23/2021

On September 9, 2021, a California Court of Appeal issued its ruling in Wesson v. Staples the Office Superstore, LLC, delivering a welcome victory to employers battling representative actions under the Private Attorneys...more

Md. High Court to Defendants: Don’t Show Up Empty Handed When Using the “Empty Chair” Defense

Miles & Stockbridge P.C. on 12/4/2020

The “empty chair” defense, where the defendant denies responsibility for the plaintiff’s injuries and blames a person absent from trial (i.e. the “empty chair”), can be extremely effective in tort actions. The Court of...more

Losing Twice at Trial: Denying Requests for Admission Can Come Back to Bite You

Weintraub Tobin on 7/10/2019

Litigation tends to be expensive, increasingly so due to the burdens of discovery. (You can thank the advent of emails, text messages, and other forms of communication now documenting conversations that used to take place by...more

Court of Special Appeals Affirms Admission of Plaintiff’s Medical Records into Evidence to Support Opinions of Defense Expert

Miles & Stockbridge P.C. on 7/14/2017

A recent holding of the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland is of significance to companies defending personal injury lawsuits—particularly those where the nature or extent of a plaintiff’s alleged injuries is in dispute. In...more