Defense Strategies, Appeals, Negligence

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

District Court of Appeals Tell Plaintiffs They ‘Can’t Have Their Cake and Eat It Too’

Marshall Dennehey on 3/28/2025

Key Points: In Mickler v. Triplett, 397 So.3d 188 (Fla. 5th DCA Nov. 15, 2024), the Court of Appeal thwarted a new strategy from the plaintiffs’ bar to remove the causation question from the hands of the jury....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

Product Manufacturer Wins Strategic Victory at the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 2/24/2020

Plaintiff sued a wood chipper manufacturer alleging products liability and failure to warn claims under both strict liability and negligence. The manufacturer filed timely, strategic motions resulting in dismissal of the...more

Skilled Lawyering Saves Defendant from Default Judgment in Products Liability Lawsuit

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 12/11/2019

In a products liability lawsuit against the manufacturer and seller, a plaintiff asserted claims of strict products liability, breach of warranty, negligence, gross negligence, and consumer fraud. One defendant filed a...more

Third Circuit Issues Precedential Ruling on Express Preemption for Hybrid Medical Devices

Cozen O'Connor on 3/21/2018

The Third Circuit has become the first U.S. Court of Appeals to address the application of the express preemption provision in the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 to hybrid medical devices. Hybrid medical devices are...more