Lawsuits have been filed in New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, and Philadelphia. It's not clear which lawsuits were consolidated, but the one filed by former Eagles quarterback Jim McMahon will be one of the cases heard in Philadelphia, reports the Associated Press. The other lawsuits may also eventually be consolidated in Philadelphia.
]]> The lawsuits were brought against the NFL claiming that the league was negligent in protecting its players. It's claimed that the league knew about player complaints of headache, dizziness, and other symptoms of head injuries, but failed to take steps to protect them. As a result, an alarming number of retired players and deceased players exhibited signs of dementia, brain damage, and other serious injury.The NFL denies these claims and says that the lawsuits are barred by the league's collective bargaining agreement, reports the AP. Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody will hear the consolidated cases and will likely make pre-trial rulings on what evidence may be heard at trial and whether a class action may be certified.
Four of the NFL concussion lawsuits were consolidated in Philadelphia. It's a safe bet that some of the other cases will also be consolidated into this lawsuit.
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UPenn senior, Brian Goldman, says that he was the passenger in the cab and the victim of the unprompted beating, reports the Philadelphia Daily News. The attack happened at about 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night as the young man was headed to a date. He says he does not remember race being a motivation for the attack, but felt that it was more of a case of random violence.
]]> The 21-year-old said he did not come forward earlier as he was not aware that the taxi cab beating had become a news story. He was unhurt in the incident and he says that he saw the cab driver drive off after fending off the attackers.In his article, he describes the beating he took and also what he saw as he got punched — dozens of bystanders standing around watching and not helping. While this may seem morally reprehensible, the fact is that very few people would step into the middle of a mob beating.
Pennsylvania Good Samaritan laws encourage bystanders to help a victim by granting them general immunity for harm they may cause while rendering assistance, but the law does not require anyone to help nor does it punish anyone for walking away when they could easily save the victim.
Brian Goldman stepped forward as the taxi cab beating victim. Pennsylvania Good Samaritan law did not require anyone to help the college senior, and the bravery of his cab driver may have saved his life.
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It had been assumed that members of Bally’s would be able to continue using their current gyms or new LA Fitness gyms nearby. However, several members found that they were steered to gyms in faraway New York, prompting the Bally Total Fitness lawsuit.
]]> A South Jersey attorney has rounded up around 100 plaintiffs who had signed up for memberships with Bally and later discovered that they were not welcome at LA Fitness. The plaintiffs appear to be long-time members who had entered into lifetime deals with Bally, only to find that they would have to drive to another state to continue their membership. And when outraged customers asked for a refund, they were denied.When people enter a “lifetime deal,” they should always be wary that lifetime probably doesn’t really mean the entirety of your life. Instead, most companies may interpret “lifetime membership” as “so long as having you as a member is profitable for us.”
Telling customers that they are locked in for life may be fraud if the company has no intention of honoring this deal.
The Bally Total Fitness lawsuit accuses the closed-down gym of selling lifetime memberships that only lasted for the life of the company. This may be fraud and a class action lawsuit is in the works.
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Shaner is now demanding his money back in The Second Mile lawsuit.
]]> Shaner is a Pennsylvania businessman and former board member of The Second Mile. From 2005 to 2010, Shaner donated the money to the charity to aid the construction of the Center for Excellence. In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, that project has been stopped and the future of the charity itself is in doubt, reports Fox News.Yet The Second Mile is still holding onto Shaner’s money. After the scandal, the former board member says that he contacted Second Mile CEO David Woodle about getting his money back. Woodle allegedly said that he would do so as soon as he got approval from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. It’s unclear why Woodle needed the AG’s approval, but given the massive lawsuits that are likely to be brought against Sandusky, the state may have wanted to ensure that the charity was not funneling money out.
Since the initial contact with Woodle, Shaner says he hasn’t heard anything from the CEO.
It wasn’t reported on what grounds Shaner is suing the charity, but he could be suing for fraud or misappropriation of his money. Shaner had donated the money to The Second Mile for the purpose of benefiting a charity that helped young boys and for construction of a new building. But following the Jerry Sandusky scandal, both of these goals have been eliminated
Lance Shaner brought The Second Mile lawsuit seeking a refund of his donation. He gave the charity $250,000 for a purpose that may no longer exist.
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In the last decade, Paterno's age and failing health became very noticeable as he spent as much time in the coaching booth as he did on the sidelines. Yet Paterno was still given full control over the Penn State football program and was warmly embraced as the "benevolent dictator," reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.
]]> But as JoPa aged, and his capacities lessened, he was also known to become surly snarling, "It's nobody's business," to anyone asking a question he did not like, reports the Inquirer.Given Paterno's failing health and age, at what point should the university have asked itself whether he was only allowed to stay because the Trustees were, it should be argued, afraid to make the difficult decision to push him out.
Perhaps as a result, Paterno did not have all bases covered, and allowed his former assistant coach to have free access to campus facilities when he knew (or should have known) that Sandusky was allegedly a danger to young children.
Joe Paterno dies and sadly, a part of his legacy may be the culpability he bears for allowing the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse. But JoePa was aging and in frail health, and the trustees at the university allowed him to remain at his position. Does the university then bear some legal responsibility for being afraid to make the unpopular decision, and allowing a football program to go unchecked as the greatest sports scandal of the past decade unfolded.
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Police are still investigating the incident and it’s unclear who is responsible, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.
]]> The accident occurred at the intersection of Haddonfield-Berlin Road and Morris Drive shortly before noon. The dump truck driver was reportedly traveling northwest on Haddonfield-Berlin, and swerved to avoid a vehicle that had pulled out of Morris in an attempt to turn left onto Haddonfield-Berlin, reports the Inquirer. Authorities do not yet know which driver had the right-of-way.The truck driver was not injured, and he also was not identified. The dump truck is operated by MJF Materials of Berlin.
If it is determined that the dump truck was traveling too fast, or overreacted to the third vehicle, the driver of the truck (and his employer) may be liable in a wrongful death lawsuit. To prove such a claim, the family of the victim would have to prove that the truck driver was careless or negligent in his driving.
A dump truck filled with sand probably weighs several tons and needs much more time to react to sudden changes in traffic. A car pulling into the road should not normally cause a truck to topple, especially on the residential road where the accident occurred.
A woman was killed in a fatal Cherry dump truck accident. Authorities now have to figure out why this accident occurred.
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The NFL concussion lawsuit was perhaps the biggest single suit and added to the ever-growing list of lawsuits against the league. Now, just one week later, another lawsuit has been filed against the league, and this one includes even more former Philadelphia Eagles.
]]> The latest lawsuit is expected to be filed in a Philadelphia federal court this week, reports My Fox Philadelphia. Some of the former Eagles suing the league include Kevin Turner, Steve Everitt, Britt Hager, and Joe Panos.Similar to the other NFL concussion lawsuits, this lawsuit claims that "the NFL actively deceived players, resulting in the players' belief that concussions did not present serious, life-altering risks," reports My Fox.
Another high-profile former Eagle, Jim McMahon, was among a group of players who filed the first class action lawsuit against the NFL this summer. In December, former Eagles running back Dorsey Levens brought another lawsuit.
Dealing with an ever growing number of lawsuits and plaintiffs, the NFL is seeking to consolidate all of the lawsuits into one case in Philadelphia.
To consolidate the cases, the NFL will generally have to show that all of the actions involve common questions of law or fact. As all of these cases involve former players who were injured in a relatively similar manner while playing the same game, the NFL probably shouldn't have too hard a time convincing a judge to combine the cases.
The most recent NFL concussion lawsuit involves several former Eagles. These lawsuits are quickly becoming Philadelphia-centric and by the end of the month, we should learn whether all of the cases will be consolidated here as well.
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If a civil Philadelphia Archdiocese sex abuse lawsuit is ever brought, this may be damning evidence that the archdiocese was negligent or careless in keeping children away from potential predators.
]]> Prosecutors say that the Philadelphia Archdiocese waited until just last month to tell law enforcement officials that some of its priests were caught with the child porn, "despite knowing years ago about their deviant and possibly illegal activities," reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.It is not clear if the priests remained in active ministry while the archdiocese kept this information secret, prosecutors say. Based on the report, it appears that the priests only possessed the porn, and did not actually film it or involve children under their care.
The archdiocese is now dealing with criminal charges of failing, or delaying, to report the child pornography. In addition, if it is revealed that a child was abused by a priest in the time between the discovery of the abuse and the reporting of the abuse, the archdiocese could be sued for a huge sum in a Philadelphia Archdiocese sex abuse lawsuit.
The archdiocese is expected to take some reasonable steps to keep the children under its care safe from predators. This doesn't mean that the archdiocese is strictly liable for all harm, but when it becomes aware of an obvious danger (like a priest caught with child porn), and fails to take steps to remove the danger (like removing the priest from active ministry), the archdiocese could be exposed to civil liability as well as criminal liability.
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In a surprising turn, the now 20-year-old former student has withdrawn her lawsuit after reportedly having some differences with her attorney.
]]> Earlier this week, Mary Elizabeth Bogan, the attorney for Robbins, asked a federal judge to let her back out of representing Robbins, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. The lawyer cited "irreconcilable differences" with Robbins apparently over whether she was going to be paid or not.Bogan says that she had agreed with Robbins and her family that she would be paid a cut of whatever they recovered against the Lower Merion school district. However, Robbins countered that her lawyer had agreed to work for free, reports the Inquirer.
It has been suggested that the misunderstanding may have been due to the bad press that Robbins and her family received after filing their lawsuit (they were painted as gold diggers), and so the the family changed their stance and said they were never after any money and wanted their attorney to work pro bono too.
Regardless of the reason for the misunderstanding, Bogan asked to be let out and Robbins asked a judge to dismiss her lawsuit. The judge agreed to dismiss the case.
Paige Robbins and Mary Elizabeth Bogan should have had a better understanding over the fee schedule. When choosing a lawyer, one of the most important steps is to get in writing how the attorney will be paid and how much the attorney will be paid. Without such a writing, fights between clients and their attorneys can overshadow legitimate lawsuits.
Paige Robbins and her Lower Merion webcam lawsuit went down without a fight. Robbins and her attorney could not agree on a fee schedule, and the plaintiff chose to drop her case instead of continuing her fight, perhaps confirming the strength (or weakness) of her case.
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While the league capitalizes on the big hits, a group of retired football players in a string of NFL concussion lawsuits claim that the NFL intentionally misled them on the dangers of the game and as a result they now suffer life-long head and brain injuries, reports the Associated Press.
]]> The first lawsuit filed by seven former players was brought in Philadelphia last summer. A similar lawsuit, also filed in Philadelphia, was brought on behalf of another 100 ex-players. Other lawsuits are pending or expected in California, Florida, New York, and elsewhere, reports the AP.Instead of hearing multiple similar claims in courthouses across the country, the NFL is hoping to consolidate in Philadelphia all the lawsuits into one case.
Regardless of where the case is heard, it is no sure thing that injured former players suffering from traumatic brain injuries will prevail in their case. To win a personal injury claim against the NFL, the plaintiffs will have to show that playing in the NFL caused the injuries in the first place.
But as more and more studies are done, it is being revealed that football players often suffer traumatic brain injuries as early as high school. So it may be an uphill battle for the retired players to show the NFL caused their injuries, as opposed to sustaining their injuries in high school or college.
The NFL concussion lawsuits may be consolidated in a Philadelphia court. Wherever the case is heard, the plaintiffs have the difficult task of having to prove that they were actually injured while playing in the NFL.
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But just because someone lost the fight, this does not automatically mean they’re the good guy or innocent victim. However, that may be so in this case after the Philadelphia police revealed additional information on the fight.
]]> Apparently, the fight was instigated when a group of Flyers fans paid a homeless man to squirt the Rangers fan with a bottle, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Rangers fan, an off-duty cop, obviously was not happy with being squirted by the homeless man and took offense.After a verbal altercation, it appears that the Flyers fan throws the first punch and eventually floors the Rangers fan before a group of Flyers fans then take to punching and kicking the downed man. The Rangers fan suffered a concussion and required numerous stitches.
If the Rangers fan decides to sue his attackers (if they are ever caught), he has some video evidence to support his claim. However, to collect damages, he may also have to show that his hands were clean in a personal injury claim, meaning that he did not start or escalate the fight.
Being squirted by water is not pleasant, but it does not deserve a physical response. A verbal argument is unpleasant, but it too does not usually deserve a physical response. However, being attacked and punched, would likely deserve a physical response.
The Rangers Flyers fan fight video appears to show the Rangers fan being attacked without provocation. If this is true, he may be able to win a potential personal injury claim.
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Now, in even more tragic news, we’re writing about a triple hit and run that killed a disabled women in a wheelchair. So what exactly is a triple hit and run?
]]> Unfortunately, it's exactly what it sounds like. The 58-year-old victim was identified as Edith MacFarland and she was reportedly attempting to cross a street near the hotel where she was staying in Wilmington when she was struck by a car, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.The force of the collision ejected McFarland from her wheelchair and into the southbound lane of the road. It's not clear if she survived the initial crash, but she was soon struck by another two vehicles. Shockingly, none of the three motorists stopped, reports the Inquirer. MacFarland was pronounced dead at the scene.
For the hit and run, the motorists could face both criminal and civil liability. Focusing on the civil liability, it will be interesting to see who could be held liable in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Three separate motorists struck Edith MacFarland. While, we currently do not know at what point MacFarland died, the defendants in a potential lawsuit will want to know.
For example, if MacFarland died after getting hit by the first car, that driver would likely be solely responsible for her death. The other drivers could argue they do not owe a duty to a dead body and caused no harm to the victim as she was already dead.
On the other hand, if MacFarland survived the initial collision, the other drivers could be held partially responsible if they contributed to her death in the triple hit and run.
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But only a few days after the New Year’s Eve hit and run, police say they made an arrest of a suspect, 24-year-old Matthew Cooper, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.
]]> Both McManus and Cooper had attended New Year's parties and were on Taylor Drive in Folcroft, reports the Inquirer. McManus, a father of two, was the designated driver and was dropping off his friends at their home. Cooper had just left a party nearby.McManus was standing outside his vehicle when Cooper drove his Ford 500 into him. McManus suffered a collapsed lung and other injuries. Police later found Cooper's damaged vehicle and tied the accident back to him.
For his part, Cooper says that he realized he struck something, but did not think that he struck someone, reports the Inquirer. However, anytime you get into an accident, there are certain steps you should take, and fleeing is not one of them.
First, and foremost, you should always stay at the scene of the accident. You do not want to compound your problems by fleeing the scene, and Matthew Cooper probably now faces criminal liability on top of any personal injury liability.
Second, you should check on the safety of all drivers and passengers involved in the accident. If you're not sure what you hit, you should stop and look around. You shouldn't blindly make assumptions and drive off leaving someone critically injured on the road.
Third, after attending to injuries, you should exchange driver's license and insurance information with the other driver involved in the accident. You should also contact your insurance company.
The New Year's Eve hit and run suspect, Matthew Cooper, was finally caught. For not taking the proper steps following a car accident, the man could face criminal and civil penalties for striking John McManus.
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As you may know, the school district got in trouble when it had activated webcams on student laptops without the students' consent. The district allegedly had captured several thousand images, though it claimed that it had only intended to view the images if the laptops were reported lost or stolen.
]]> Nevertheless, when news broke that the district had collected these images, upset students sued the district. After paying out more than $1.6 million to litigate and settle claims, the district characterized the Levin lawsuit as a money grab. But instead of fighting the lawsuit in court, the district agreed to settle and pay out anyway, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.The terms of the settlement were not released, but Levin's lawyer says that it is more than the $10,000 the district was offering to settle similar lawsuits, reports the Inquirer.
Even in settlement, the district continued its verbal attack on Levin, calling the complaint "driven purely by monetary interests" and an "attempted pillaging of Lower Merion taxpayers for hundreds of thousands of dollars," reports the Inquirer.
So why settle? Parties often settle for different reasons. Even if a defendant is innocent, it may be more expensive to prove innocence in court, as opposed to simply paying the plaintiff to go away. In addition, once a case goes to court, you never know how a jury is going to rule.
Lower Merion professes its innocence in the Joshua Levin school webcam lawsuit. Nevertheless, it paid the former student to go away anyway.
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Instead of paying out of pocket, the insurance company for Sandusky's Second Mile charity, Federal Insurance Co., was stuck with the Jerry Sandusky legal bill, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. But now the company is trying to get out of paying the bill.
]]> Like most organizations, Second Mile was covered by a business insurance policy. The details of the coverage were not specified, but typical policies cover accidents, injuries, and malfeasance of employees.In the case of Jerry Sandusky, Federal Insurance was paying the legal bills for the ex-coach because Sandusky allegedly committed his criminal acts of molesting and sexually assaulting several minors through his work at the Second Mile, reports the Inquirer.
While the insurance policy does cover legal costs, Federal Insurance is now arguing that public policy dictates that it shouldn’t have to pay. First, the insurance company says that Sandusky’s acts were not committed in his capacity as an official at Second Mile. In addition, the company says that paying such costs “arising from sexual assault, molestation” or abuse is “repugnant to Pennsylvania public policy” and should be barred, reports the Inquirer.
Whether Federal Insurance will have to pay the Jerry Sandusky legal bill will probably be determined by how a court interprets the policy. Public policy considerations may factor into the court’s decision.
Jerry Sandusky faces a mountain of legal problems. Now he may have to pay for that mountain.
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