The firm is pleased to announce the opening of its Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania office on September 1, 2011.  Through the Pittsburgh office, we look forward to better serving our clients in western Pennsylvania.  The office is managed by member Michael A. Weiner.  For information, please visit our Pittsburgh page, or contact Mike at (412) 894-4101, weiner@bbs-law.com                    Wayne Partenheimer’s article on discovery of adverse parties’ social networking sites is the lead story in the October 2011 issue of Counterpoint, a publication of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute.  The article describes Pennsylvania court decisions regarding efforts to obtain through discovery access to non-public information about plaintiffs on sites such as Facebook. To access the October 2011 issue of Counterpoint and Wayne's article, click here. Wayne's article on using social media such as Facebook and MySpace in claims investigation was also the cover story in the February 2011 issue of Claims Magazine, a national publication for the claims industry, and on the magazine’s www.propertycasualty360.com website. The article can be viewed at http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2011/02/02/using-social-media-in-claim-investigations. For more information, please feel free to contact Wayne at (215) 665-3342 or partenheimer@bbs-law.com. Louis Bricklin, managing attorney and member of the firm's Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith team will speak at DRI's 2012 Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute to be held in Chicago from March 28 to March 30, 2012.  His presentation and accompanying written materials will address the nature and scope of damages that are recoverable in bad faith claims against insurers, how those recoveries vary from state to state and recent trends in the law governing such recoveries. Louis also recently spoke at the monthly meeting of the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel.  Since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision permitting insurers to remove mandatory arbitration clauses from uninsured and underinsured motorist policy provisions, many carriers have done so.  Louis discussed the various issues -- legal and practical -- that have arisen from those changes including the timing and extent of appropriate discovery, bifurcation and severance of liability and UM/UIM claims and potential bad faith implications arising from such "post-Koken" claims. For more information on this topic, please feel free to contact Louis at (215) 665-3400 or bricklin@bbs-law.com.   Chet Darlington obtained a victory in Superior Court where the court found no insurance coverage in a construction defect case.  In Mid-Continent Insurance Company v. Neves, the Superior Court held that allegations of faulty workmanship, even if alleged to have been accidental, did not constitute an occurrence under a commercial general liability insurance policy and that the carrier did not owe a defense to the insured.  For more information, please feel free to contact Chet at (215) 665-3363 or darlington@bbs-law.com. 2011 Super Lawyers® Louis E. Bricklin Pamela A. Carlos Victoria Komarnicki W. Bourne Ruthrauff Rising Stars James Blumenthal Beth A. Carter Charles Lanzalotti Randy Metz William Sylianteng The firm is pleased to announce that members Louis Bricklin, Pamela Carlos, Victoria Komarnicki and W. Bourne Ruthrauff have been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers® 2011. In addition, James Blumenthal, Beth Carter, Charles Lanzalotti, Randy Metz and William Sylianteng have been selected for inclusion in "Rising Stars" 2011. Both publications are published by Thomson Reuters Business with the selections being made in accordance with their procedures. Past year Super Lawyers® include Kevin M. Blake (2009 and 2010), Edward J. Bradley (2008), Louis E. Bricklin (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010), Pamela A. Carlos (2009 and 2010) and  W. Bourne Ruthrauff (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010) and as well as "Rising Stars" Kevin M. Blake (2005 and 2006), James Blumenthal (2010), Beth Carter (2010), Charles Lanzalotti (2010) and Will Sylianteng (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010).

Nick Cummins and managing attorney Louis Bricklin recently obtained the dismissal of a Delaware PIP benefits subrogation claim. The travel of auto insureds across state lines can create difficult and complex questions regarding the rights and obligations of insurance carriers. In one such recent case, a Delaware insured was involved in an auto accident in Pennsylvania with a Pennsylvania resident. The Delaware insurer paid the insured Delaware PIP benefits, and then sought to recover those benefits in a subrogation action against the tortfeasor's insurance carrier. Subrogation of PIP benefits is permitted under Delaware law, but prohibited under Pennsylvania law. Addressing a novel issue under state law, and against contrary federal court precedent, Louis and Nick successfully obtained a ruling that Delaware PIP benefits cannot be subrogated in a Pennsylvania accident with a Pennsylvania defendant, resulting in the dismissal of the plaintiff's claim. For further information on this subject, contact Nick Cummins at (215) 665-3328, cummins@bbs-law.com. Nick has been appointed Vice-Chair of the newly created Pennsylvania Defense Institute Young Lawyer Committee. The Committee is tasked with the duty to plan and provide training seminars geared specifically for the development of young insurance attorneys as well as to provide an engaging and social atmosphere for PDI's young lawyers. Nick is an associate in our Philadelphia office. If you would like to know more about the YLC, please feel free to contact Nick at cummins@bbs-law.com.

Beth Carter, a member of the firm's product liability and auto teams, has been elected to the Board of Governors for the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel. She was also recently appointed to a co-chair position on the amicus committee for the Pennsylvania Defense Institute. As a co-chair Beth will work with the committee in making Amicus brief recommendations with regard to appellate issues pending in Superior and Supreme court. For more information on these topics, please contact Beth at (215) 665-3311 or carter@bbs-law.com.

The Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel (PADC) has honored David Prewitt with its Distinguished Service Award which is given annually to honor the member of the Bar who "best exemplifies the qualities of professionalism and dedication as defense counsel in the practice of law and in the promotion of the highest ideals of justice in the community". If you would like to speak with Dave or offer congratulations, he can be reached at (215) 665-3379 or prewitt@bbs-law.com.

The Villanova School of Law has selected Danielle Wesley to join their "Writing in Practice Partnership". Members of the new partnership share valuable insight and perspective about the current expectations of prospective employers in the area of legal writing, research, and analysis. These ideas are used to enhance Villanova’s legal writing curriculum and training to ensure new graduates are prepared for the high-level demands of practice in today’s legal market. Danielle is an associate in the firm’s Premises Liability and Construction Litigation Department. If you would like to know more about Villanova’s "Writing in Practice Partnership", please contact Danielle at (215) 665-3336 or wesley@bbs-law.com.

Member William Sylianteng recently appeared before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court representing The Pennsylvania Insurance Federation, and the Pennsylvania Defense Institute as amici curiae in Jones v. Nationwide. The court held that insurers may return deductibles to their insureds on a pro rata basis and that the "made whole" subrogation doctrine did not apply to the insured's deductible claim. William was recently elected to the Pennsylvania Bar Association's House of Delegates (to represent the suburban counties of Philadelphia) and the Board of Directors for the Pennsylvania Prison Society. He was also elected to serve a term on the Board of Directors of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association (APABA) of Pennsylvania. He was also recently appointed by Judge Carolyn T. Carluccio of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas to serve as the Chair of the Montgomery County Bar Association Diversity Committee for 2011.  The Montgomery County Bar's Diversity Committee is charged with promoting diversity throughout the bar and its member firms, including running the Bar Association's Summer 1L Diversity Program. He is on the Pennsylvania Defense Institute's (PDI) Board of Directors and was recently elected Vice President for Eastern Pennsylvania. He also recently testified, in the capacity of Vice President of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, before the Judiciary Committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on the topic of tort reform and the Fair Share Act. Please feel free to contact William at sylianteng@bbs-law.com for more information.