Source: https://www.psmn.com/blog/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 16:18:42+00:00

Document:
On behalf of Houston Harbaugh, P.C. posted in Employee Benefits on Monday, April 9, 2018.
The law governing Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (QSEHRAs) requires that a written notice of the availability of the QSEHRA be provided to each eligible employee at least 90 days before the beginning of each year. While special rules for 2017 and 2018 allowed for later deadlines (since QSEHRAs were new and the rules were still being developed), no special deadline is available for a QSEHRA providing benefits in 2019. Therefore, an employer providing a QSEHRA for 2019 must provide the written notice no later than October 3, 2018.
On behalf of Houston Harbaugh, P.C. posted in Business Litigation on Wednesday, December 20, 2017.
Approximately two years ago, I commented on the Superior Court opinion in Gongloff Contracting, L.L.C. v. L. Robert Kimball & Assoc., No. 785 WDA 2014 (Pa. Super. 2015), which expanded the reach of Pennsylvania's negligent misrepresentation law from applying only to claims by contractors against design professionals to also encompassing claims by subcontractors against design professionals. Recently, the Superior Court has further expanded this cause of action beyond claims against only design professionals. In Fulton Bank, N.A. v. Sandquist, No. 2306 EDA 2016 (Pa. Super. 2017), the Superior Court has now recognized a cause of action for potential liability against accountants and their firms under a theory of negligent misrepresentation for providing professional information that is designed to be relied upon by a third party.
On behalf of Houston Harbaugh, P.C. posted in Products Liability on Friday, October 27, 2017.
Strict product liability generally focuses on the product itself, not the negligent conduct of the defendant, and as a result, defendants often are precluded from relying on certain negligence concepts in defending strict liability actions. A plaintiff's comparative fault or contributory negligence, for example, generally may not be used to excuse a product's defects or reduce a defendant's fault. A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania makes clear, however, that evidence of a plaintiff's negligent conduct may be admissible in a strict product liability case under limited circumstances. Dodson v. Beijing Capital Tire Co., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158484, at *8-13 (M.D. Pa. Sep. 27, 2017). Because such evidence can be powerful in defending these types of actions, it is important to understand when and why it may be admissible.
In the recent case of Kurach v. Truck Ins. Exchange (C.P. Philadelphia 2017), a Pennsylvania Court held that under Pennsylvania law, insurance companies are required to include general contractor overhead and profits in actual cash value payments for losses where repairs would be reasonably likely to require a general contractor.
In this case, the homeowners sustained water damage to their homes. Both homeowners had purchased a higher cost insurance policy that provided that in the event of damage, they would receive "replacement cost", a higher amount than the lesser insurance product which only provides for "actual cash value". The policy provided a two step process whereby the homeowner would receive "actual cash value" upon getting an estimate for the repairs, and then upon completion of repairs would receive the difference between "actual cash value" and "replacement costs". The policy defined "actual cash value" as replacement cost less depreciation. The insurance carrier agreed that repairs would require the involvement of a general contractor. However, the homeowners never actually went to step two of the policy to complete the repairs, and therefore never sought "replacement cost". Rather they asserted that they were entitled to an "actual cash value" which included contractor overhead and profit, even though, by not completing the work, no such overhear or profit were ever incurred.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently affirmed an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County entering a judgment against American Honda Motor Co., Inc. ("Honda") on a jury verdict of $55,325,714 in a personal injury action. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. v. Martinez, 2017 Pa. Super. LEXIS 271 (Pa. Super. Apr. 19, 2017). Plaintiff in Martinez suffered severe injuries in an automobile accident allegedly as a result of (i) a defectively designed seatbelt and (ii) a failure to warn with respect to the subject car's inability to protect passengers in certain types of accidents. In addition to providing a helpful analysis of design-defect claims after Tincher v. Omega Flex, 104 A.3d 328 (Pa. 2014), the Martinez decision provides guidance as to how Pennsylvania courts analyze causation in a failure-to-warn claim.
The element of causation in a failure-to-warn claim requires plaintiff to prove that had an adequate warning been given, plaintiff would have followed it. See, e.g., Dolby v. Ziegler Tire & Supply Co., 2017 Pa. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 791 (Pa. Super. Feb. 28, 2017). In Martinez, Honda argued on appeal that the trial court erred by instructing jurors that they must presume plaintiff would have followed an adequate warning. The Superior Court affirmed the instruction, noting that the trial court did not apply the presumption "in a vacuum." Critically, plaintiff presented testimony at trial, over Honda's objection, that had there been a warning about the car's inability to protect him in a rollover, he would not have purchased the car. Moreover, Honda did not rebut plaintiff's testimony on this issue. The Superior Court held that in the absence of rebuttal evidence, the heeding instruction was appropriate.

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