Saturday, July 17, 2010

Motion for Reconsideration of Post-Koken Decision in Lackawanna County Denied

Followers of Tort Talk's Post-Koken Scorecard may recall that there is a split of authority within Lackawanna County on the issue of consolidation vs. severance of post-Koken claims.

Judge Carmen D. Minora, Judge Robert A. Mazzoni, and Senior Visiting Judge Harold A. Thomson, Jr. have all come down on the side of allowing for the consolidation of such claims in the past.

Then, in the case of Mehall v. Benedetto and Erie Ins. Exchange, 09-CV-744 (Lacka. Co. 2010 Thomson, S.J.), Judge Thomson ordered that third party claims should be severed from UIM claims into two separate lawsuits.

I was advised recently that Mehall case came back before Judge Thomson on a Motion for Reconsideration but he chose to issue another Order on July 8, 2010, without an explaining Opinion, reaffirming his prior decision in favor of severance.

As such, the split of authority remains within Lackawanna County on this issue.


I send thanks to Attorney Robert L. Goodman of the Scranton office of Forry Ullman for bringing this decision to my attention.

Anyone desiring a copy of this Order may contact me at dancummins@comcast.net.

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