Daniel E. Cummins

December 17, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

While the wheels of motor vehicles stopped in large part for a time in 2020 as Americans cooped up at home and waited (and still wait) for the pandemic to subside, the wheels of justice kept turning in the form of notable decisions and developments in Pennsylvania motor vehicle accident law over the past year.

By Daniel E. Cummins

19 minute read

December 10, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

While 2020 was a year in a pandemic and political upheaval, things were relatively calm in terms of any notable civil litigation decisions. The biggest news of the year was that courts were not conducting trials which gave judges more time to issue notable decisions

By Daniel E. Cummins

11 minute read

October 22, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

On a more local level, Justice David N. Wecht, of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, through a series of pointed and cogent dissenting opinions in which he parted ways from the majority, has established his mark as Pennsylvania's Great Dissenter.

By Daniel E. Cummins

13 minute read

September 10, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

Until recently the regular use exclusion, typically found in most automobile insurance policies had been routinely upheld, for decades, in every state and federal court decision as a valid exclusion under Pennsylvania's Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law [MVFRL].

By Daniel E. Cummins

12 minute read

August 06, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

The global coronavirus pandemic has lawyers across the nation turning to online virtual platforms to keep their cases moving forward. Completing depositions via platforms such as Google Meet or Zoom has quickly become the norm.

By Daniel E. Cummins

9 minute read

July 09, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

A recent trend in Pennsylvania civil litigation matters involves the inclusion of claims of recklessness by plaintiffs in all types of cases and regardless of the facts presented.

By Daniel E. Cummins

11 minute read

April 16, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

A defendant faced with criminal charges while the civil lawsuit is ongoing will usually file a motion with the civil court requesting that the civil case be stayed pending the resolution of the criminal case.

By Daniel E. Cummins

10 minute read

February 27, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

The hope of some affiliated with the mock trial competition was that the Supreme Court would act promptly on an easy decision with respect to the PBA's recommendation and that the court would allow for the requested change to the CLE and CJE rules to allow for such credits.

By Daniel E. Cummins

10 minute read

January 30, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

The past year was a banner year for the plaintiffs bar in terms of decisions from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court allowing for greater avenues of recovery.

By Daniel E. Cummins

13 minute read

January 02, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

A number of notable decisions were handed down over the past year by the various courts of Pennsylvania on general civil litigation issues not involving motor vehicle accident matters. Here is a sampling of decisions of note from 2019.

By Daniel E. Cummins

13 minute read