Timothy A Carroll

July 30, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

Who pays? In most civil cases, that is the ultimate question. But, in many cases involving an insured defendant, a jury's verdict does not fully answer the question. Often, the insurer defends under a reservation of rights because the plaintiff seeks both covered and uncovered damages.

By Anthony L. Miscioscia and Timothy A. Carroll

10 minute read

May 18, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

Commercial enterprises are not the only insurance policyholders facing obstacles to accessing coverage for COVID-19-related financial losses. Many individuals, too, face an uphill battle for coverage under their homeowners policies, as recent appeals court decisions demonstrate.

By Anthony L. Miscioscia and Timothy A. Carroll

9 minute read

January 31, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

In Tincher v. Omega Flex, 104 A.3d 328 (Pa. 2014), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court jettisoned Azzarello v. Black Brothers, 391 A.2d 1020 (Pa. 1978), leaving in its wake a "composite" theory of products liability. A plaintiff pursuing a products liability claim in Pennsylvania must now advance a theory premised on either various "risk-utility" factors, such as feasibility of an alternative design, or an ordinary consumer's expectations of a product's safety. Consistent with its tone of restraint throughout Tincher, the Supreme Court avoided endorsing a specific set of circumstances under which either theory should (or could) be applied in practice. In the roughly two years since Tincher was decided, however, courts have begun shaping this issue in the context of claims premised on the "consumer expectation" theory. The possibility of a jury's arbitrary deliberations about a complex product's safety has led some courts to impose a "common experience" ­limitation to application of the "consumer expectation" theory at trial: Unless it is proven before trial that a product is within a consumer's common experience, a plaintiff must instead prove her claim using the risk-utility theory. This emerging trend will have consequences for how parties prepare and try a products liability claim in Pennsylvania.

By Brian L. Calistri 
and Timothy A. Carroll

14 minute read