Monday, August 5, 2019

PBA QUARTERLY ARTICLE: HURRICANE KOKEN RAGES ON: Uncertainty Continues in Motor Vehicle Accident Litigation in the Stormy Post-Koken Era


Here is a LINK to a recent article of mine that was published in the July, 2019 edition of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly entitled "Hurricane Koken Rages On:  Uncertainty Continues in Motor Vehicle Accident Litigation in the Stormy Post-Koken Era."

The article provides an overview of the 14 years of jurisprudence in this area of law since the Koken decision was handed down in 2005 allowing UM/UIM carriers to remove arbitration clauses from their policies and instead allowing for these claims to proceed by way of a lawsuit.

To date, there has been only scant appellate guidance on the many novel issues of law presented by this form of automobile accident litigation.  As such, litigators in this arena must still rely upon the common law being created across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through trial court decisions on the various issues presented.

In addition to providing an overview of the law as compiled on the Post-Koken Scorecard from the Tort Talk Blog (www.TortTalk.com), the article also encourages litigators to take Post-Koken issues up on appeal, urges the Pennsylvania Superior Court to publicize all of its Post-Koken decisions and not merely list them as non-precedential, and requests that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court consider accepting any and all Post-Koken issues that go all the way up the appellate ladder, all in order to ensure that much needed appellate guidance can be generated for the benefit of both the bench and the bar sooner rather than later.

I thank the editorial board of this publication of the Pennsylvania Bar Association for selecting this article for publication.  I also thank Professor Robert E. Rains, of the Dickinson School of Law, for his excellent editorial input on the article.

Should I be able to assist anyone with any Post-Koken issues from pleadings to discovery to trial, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Please also do not hesitate to contact me for free copies of any cases you find on the Post-Koken Scorecard that may assist you in your own case.

I ask that, should anyone generate a Post-Koken decision (even if only by Order) in any court, that you please consider sending me a copy in order that I may both share that decision with the readers of Tort Talk and also update the Post-Koken Scorecard.

Thank you,

Daniel E. Cummins

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