Two More Philadelphia County Post-Koken Decisions in Favor of Severance

Last week, two more decisions in favor of the severance of post-Koken claims were handed down by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, by Order only, on the basis of filings by the tortfeasor defendant:

Saltzburg v. Haynes and State Farm, November Term, 2010, No. 03227 (Phila. Co. Jan. 14, 2011 Tereshko, J.)(Preliminary Objections of tortfeasor defendant on basis of improper venue and improper joinder of third party negligence case with UIM case; claim against tortfeasor dismissed without prejudice to Plaintiff's right to re-file in Montgomery county).

Pascal v. Nalbondian, et al., July Term, 2010, No. 2118, Control No. 10121229 (Phila. Co. Jan. 14, 2011, Fox, J.)(Tortfeasor's motion to sever negligence claims from claims filed against UIM carrier granted).

With the addition of these two cases to the Post-Koken Scorecard there are now at least 34 decisions across the Commonwealth in favor of the consolidation of these claims and 22 in favor of severance.

The breakdown county-by-county is much closer. There are now at least 10 counties that have ruled in favor of consolidation (Beaver, Cambria, Clinton, Dauphin, Erie, Lawrence, Lehigh, Luzerne, Montgomery, Northampton, and Pike Counties)

There are at least 8 counties that have ruled in favor of severance (Adams, Butler, Delaware, Lancaster, Mercer, Schuylkill, Washington, and York Counties).

Several counties, including Lackawanna, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and arguably Allegheny have a split of authority on the issue amongst the judges in their own court system.

Note that this compilation is not represented to be exhaustive and there may be other decisions out there that I have not yet come across.