Erie County Court of Common Pleas Again Rules in Favor of Severance of Post-Koken Claims

In the Erie County Court of Common Pleas post-Koken case of Crownover v. Orzano, Liberty Mutual Group, Inc., et.al., No. 14329-2011 (C.P. Erie Co. March 9, 2012 Garhart, J.), Judge John Garhart sustained a tortfeasor’s Preliminary Objections on the subject of improper joinder and ordered that the Plaintiff “shall try their liability claims against [the tortfeasor Defendant] separately from their contract/UIM claims against the other Defendants.”

In his short Order, Judge Garhart noted that Judge Connolly of the same Erie County Court of Common Pleas “made essentially the same decision to sever UIM claims from negligence claims in the case of Brown v. Hass, October 31, 2011, at Docket [No.] 11658-2011. Absent Appellate Court direction, consideration of judicial comity counsel that we do the same.”


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

I send thanks to Attorney William C. Wagner of the Erie, Pennsylvania law office of Marner, Mioduszewski, Bordonaro, Wagner & Sinnott, LLC for forwarding this case to my attention.