News

November 30, 2020 – Thomas, Thomas & Hafer, LLP is pleased to announce that Douglas J. Keil has joined its Pittsburgh office and will be supporting the firm’s General Liability Practice Group. Tom McGinnis, a member of the firm’s Management Committee, commented that, “Doug brings with him a well-developed skill set and experience that will make… read more

SIGNIFICANT CASE SUMMARIES FEDERAL CASE SUMMARY Johnson v. City of Philadelphia United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 975 F.3d 394 Decided: September 22, 2020 Summary judgment was proper where Plaintiff was unable to show that the City acted with deliberate indifference. Summary judgment was also proper as Plaintiff failed to show that… read more

CLIENT ADVISORIES MARYLAND CLIENT ADVISORIES Maryland adopts Daubert factors when considering admissibility of expert testimony In its last opinion of the 2019 term, Maryland’s Court of Appeals, in a 4-3 decision, overruled its prior case law on expert testimony and formally adopted the Daubert reliability factors for all expert testimony. See Rochkind v. Stevenson, No…. read more

SIGNIFICANT CASE SUMMARIES PENNSYLVANIA CASE SUMMARIES Maas v. UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside Pennsylvania Supreme Court No. 7 WAP 2019 Decided: July 21, 2020 In determining the extent to which mental health professionals must warn third parties against whom a patient makes threats of serious bodily injury, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court holds that neighbors are considered identifiable… read more

CLIENT ADVISORY MARYLAND CLIENT ADVISORY Effective October 1, 2020, HB 108 increases a condominium unit owners’ deductible from $5,000 to $10,000 when the cause of damage originates in a specific unit. Recent amendments to the Real Property code will double the responsibility of individual unit owners when the cause of damage to the condominium originates… read more