So, summer has come to a close and now the real work of litigation kicks into high gear. Anything that was put off for summer reasons, whether good or bad, is now on the front burner. A lot of work was put off till after Labor Day and now we are going to be in the middle of a lot …
Patience Young Grasshopper: Cases Take a While to Resolve
I like to know the ending of things before they get going. In Kung Fu, the old master is always reminding the student to be patient above all things along the path of life. I am not patient. I have been waiting for tomatoes in my garden to turn red for a month now and am tired of waiting. Nevertheless, …
HEAVEN CAN WAIT: WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DIE WITHOUT A WILL AND YOU HAVE A CASE ONGOING?
First, it is fairly routine for regular practitioners to pursue claims for dead clients. Lots of things go into dealing with the deceased client who was a plaintiff or had a claim. So, what happens? First, for ethics reasons, I have to notify the other side that the client died. You cannot negotiate saying the client is damn sure coming …
BELIEVE ME, YOU DON’T WANT TO HAVE A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE
Successful medical malpractice cases are ones where people die following routine surgery or where their cancer spreads and will kill the patient because it was not caught sooner or where people are permanently blinded by accident or where patients simply are so poorly managed in a nursing home that they are dropped repeatedly suffering fractured hips, internal bleeding etc. Like …
I HAVE NEVER SUED SOMEONE BEFORE
When I hear that from a new client or caller, that is generally a positive thing. It means that the person is hurt enough and pissed off enough to go find a lawyer to get some justice for themselves? About 80% of my clients have never filed a personal injury lawsuit before. Whether they actually have a case worth pursuing …
DEPOSITIONS
Depositions are really the best way to get information in a civil case. There are interrogatories and other written responses that begin to tell me about a case, but they need to be explained by a live person. Further, most of my cases are not document dependent. Below is a link to a routine deposition I took in a motorcycle …
HOW WILL YOU KNOW A PERSONAL INJURY CASE WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT IT?
Inevitably, a weird fact pattern means that you probably have a good personal injury case. I don’t know why, but it’s true. So, here are a series of weird ones from recent cases. A Tree Falls In Frankford: Frankford, as you may know, is a tough part of Philly with homes and yards chock a block on top …
Sovereign immunity: You Need Permission to Sue the Government
An age-old concept from olde England. Suing the City of Philadelphia: I get a lot of calls from people wanting to sue the City of Philadelphia or other municipalities. For various reasons, good and bad, there are limits on when you can sue the City. First, you must fall into one of the …
VENUE AND WHERE YOU FILE YOUR CASE MATTERS
I went to Cornell Law School and in first year civil procedure there was a lot of discussion of the impropriety of forum shopping from the academic perspective. Fast forward a few decades and forum or venue shopping is a major component of my decision-making on cases. Our judicial administrators all keep track of how many cases are filed, how …
Who Ya Gonna Call?
So, you are laboring away working on a deal for a client whose company is growing rapidly. Aunt Irene calls you because you are the only lawyer in the family. She was just in an accident in Philadelphia over the weekend. What do you do? Should you handle the case yourself? No. Like every other area of the law, personal …
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