Cliff Rieders

July 19, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

Preventable medical errors are routinely covered up by health care professionals who do not always put the truth in the medical records or address poor medical care in the context of peer review. In Pennsylvania, as in most states, peer review cannot be disclosed even in litigation.

By Cliff Rieders

8 minute read

May 31, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

In Jesner v. Arab Bank, 2018 U.S. LEXIS 2631 (April 24, 2018), Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court on most of the issues, ruled that the Alien Tort Statute would not aid victims of terrorism in a case against a bank that allowed for laundered money for terrorist organizations.

By Cliff Rieders

7 minute read

April 26, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

This case presents an issue of first impression among the circuit courts: how courts should apply that express pre-emption provision to state law tort claims challenging the design and manufacture of a medical device comprised of multiple components, some of which are from "Class III" medical devices subject to federal requirements.

By Cliff Rieders

7 minute read

March 01, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

In the latest public school massacre 17 people—students and teachers—were killed when a former student, armed with an AR-15 rifle opened fire at a high school on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14.

By Cliff Rieders

7 minute read

February 01, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

Some nursing homes are taking the position that they do not have to comply with the “patient rate” under HIPAA, and in fact are exempt from it. The position of the nursing homes is incorrect. They have to comply with HIPAA and the rates set forth for providing patients their medical records.

By Cliff Rieders

8 minute read

December 27, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

We are told that President Donald Trump is ready to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The threats from around the world, including from the U.S. left, are pouring in faster than a burst dam.

By Cliff Rieders

8 minute read

December 07, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner is an Israeli lawyer who argues that there is no such thing as the lone wolf terrorist. The lone wolf depends upon substantial financial resources of the terrorist groups which recruit them, encourage their murderous ways, and teach them the craft necessary to take down Western society.

By Cliff Rieders

6 minute read

September 14, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

Most lawyers in Pennsylvania, regardless of whether they regularly practice employment law, are undoubtedly aware that under Pennsylvania law, "as a general rule, employees are at-will, absent a contract, and may be terminated at any time, for any reason or for no reason," as in Stumpp v. Stroudsburg Municipal Authority, 540 Pa. 391, 396 (1995). The practitioner should also be aware that among the few exceptions to the "at-will" employment doctrine are the statutory protections for employees afforded by Pennsylvania's Whistleblower Law, 43 P.S. Section 1421.

By Cliff Rieders

9 minute read

July 07, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

There has been a strong movement for many years by politicians of all stripes and organizations affiliated with politicians to eliminate election of appellate judges. Keep elections of your local judges, the politicos say, but let someone else select judges for Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme courts.

By Cliff Rieders

6 minute read

June 08, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

To the practitioner who spends most of his time litigating in the state courts, removal to federal court may by an infrequent event, and the receipt of a notice of removal might cause some unease because of unfamiliarity with the mechanics and underlying law. Whether the practitioner is seeking to remove a case to federal court, or attempting to have it remanded, the obvious place to start, of course, is the statute governing removal, which is found at 28 U.S. C. Section 1441.

By Cliff Rieders

12 minute read