On Thursday, February 20, Pietragallo Partner Jim Marrion will sit on a panel about the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
During this three-hour CLE, offered through the Allegheny County Bar Association, panelists will discuss, in-depth, the issues under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law that attorneys need to be aware of including: ascertainable loss, attorneys’ fees, justifiable reliance, what claims are and are not covered, actual damages, treble damages, intent, comparison with fraud, the catchall clause and differences between pre- and post-amendment requirements.
For more information about Jim Marrion, we invite you to view his biography and contact him directly.
For more information about the ACBA CLE program, please visit the ACBA website here. Read More
The Pietragallo Law Firm and S-E-A Limited are co-hosting an event on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 titled, “Defending Trucking and Vehicle Cases in the 21st Century.” During this dynamic event which begins at 11:30am, industry leaders will review a variety of topics unique to the trucking industry including:
“Accident Reconstruction through 21st Century Visualization” and “Over the Limit? Conducting Impaired Driving Investigations.”
This exciting event concludes with Pietragallo’s Product Liability group Chair and Autonomous Vehicle specialist, Jim Marrion, participating in a panel discussion titled, “The Past, Present and Future of Autonomous Vehicles.”
For more information about this event, please contact news@pietragallo.com. Read More
U.S. News & World Report recognizes Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP as a 2020 Tier 1 Metro “Best Law Firm” in six practice areas in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. These six practice areas are:
Commercial Litigation (PGH & PHL)
Bet-the-Company Litigation (PGH)
Health Care Law (PHL)
Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants (PGH)
Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants (PGH) and
Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers (PGH).
In addition to the Tier 1 Metro ratings, Pietragallo was named a Tier 2 Metro “Best Law Firm” in Pittsburgh in the practice of Product Liability Litigation – Defendants.
Pietragallo has also been named as Tier 2 across the nation in Commercial Litigation and Tier 3 nationally for our work in Health Care Law.
The U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. Clients were asked to provide feedback on firm practice groups, addressing: expertise, responsiveness, understanding of a business and its needs, cost-effectiveness, civility, and whether they would refer another client to the firm. Lawyers also voted on expertise, responsiveness, integrity, cost-effectiveness, whether they would refer a matter to a firm, and if they consider a firm a worthy competitor.
Firms included in the 2020 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and legal expertise.
For more information on the 2020 “Best Law Firms” and Pietragallo’s ratings, please visit http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Read More
William Pietragallo, II, Founding Partner of Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, has been appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Law, Brain and Behavior (“CLBB”). The CLBB is based at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital, and serves as a resource for the understanding of the interaction of neuroscience and the law. In collaboration with Harvard Law School, the Center’s mission is to enlighten the legal process in the pertinent and developing science of the brain. Read More
Best Lawyers® has named seven Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP lawyers in its newly released The Best Lawyers in America 2020 guide. The rankings are based entirely on peer-review content, designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers on the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same practice area and region.
The following Pietragallo lawyers earned recognition:
William Pietragallo for his work in the following fields: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
Mark Gordon: Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Gaetan Alfano: Commercial Litigation
Marc S. Raspanti: Health Care Law
Francis Pipak: Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Clem Trischler: Commercial Litigation, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Paul Kenneth Vey – Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
Paul Vey has been recognized by Best Lawyers since 2009 and has received additional acknowledgement in the 2020 Guide as a “Lawyer of the Year” in Medical Malpractice Law.
For more information about Best Lawyers, please visit their website.
For more information about our Attorneys, we invite you view Our Team pages. Read More
A recent decision in the case of Wilson v. TA Operating, LLC, No. 4:14-cv-00771, 2017 WL 569195 (M.D. Pa. Feb. 13, 2017) (Brann, J.), should be an eye-opener for any defendant facing a claim of punitive damages.
The facts in Wilson were both tragic and unusual. The decedent-driver experienced a fire in the front brakes of his tractor trailer as he was traveling on Interstate 80. After extinguishing the flames, he brought the rig to the nearest service station for repairs. Having been assured that the brakes were fixed, the decedent was sent on his way. But after just 15 miles on the road, the brakes again caught fire. While trying to put out the blaze, he suddenly collapsed and died along a remote stretch of highway. Although the opinion does not say so explicitly, it appears that the cause of death was a heart attack.
The defendants—the service station where the repairs were made and the technician who made them—moved for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s claim for punitive damages. The court, however, denied the motion, finding genuine issues of material fact concerning the defendants’ training, supervision, and expertise. Thus, construing Pennsylvania law, District Judge Brann held that the mechanic’s failure to properly repair the brakes could, under the circumstances presented, rise to the requisite level of recklessness to support a claim for punitive damages. Ultimately, the question was left to the jury as one of fact.
Of course, the potential for an award of punitive damages in a negligence action is not remarkable, in and of itself. Indeed, it’s long been the rule in Pennsylvania that willfulness, wantonness, or recklessness can justify the imposition of exemplary damages.
But what makes Wilson noteworthy is the fact that the alleged recklessness (i.e., failure to repair the brakes) did not lead directly to decedent’s death. Read More
PITTSBURGH, PA, October 8, 2015 – Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP is pleased to announce the election of its newest partner, Jason M. Reefer. Mr. Reefer is a member of the Product Liability group and is based in the Pittsburgh office.
Mr. Reefer’s practice is dedicated to defending manufacturers of pharmaceutical products, automotive vehicles, and firearms in litigation pending throughout the United States. Mr. Reefer has litigated at all levels of state and federal court, including the U.S. Supreme Court, where he represented an amicus curiae in the seminal case, Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. v. Bartlett.
“Mr. Reefer is one of the truly gifted young lawyers in America in the Product Liability field,” said Bill Pietragallo.
He holds two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania: a B.A., summa cum laude, with Distinction, earned in 2005; and a J.D., earned in 2008. Mr. Reefer is admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania and to the U.S. District Court- Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Read More
Under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, a drug is classified either as a branded drug (a drug whose composition is novel) or as a generic drug (a drug designed to be a copy of a branded drug). Manufacturers of the latter are currently immune from most products liability lawsuits. But this near-immunity may soon come to an end. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a rule to change federal law in a manner that purports to expose generic-drug manufacturers to personal injury liability. Indicative of the complexities of the proposal and importance of the issues, more than 100 comments were submitted in response. Yet questions remain as to whether the FDA’s proposal would do more harm than good and if an alternative to the FDA’s approach should be adopted.
The modern era of drug regulation began in 1984, when Congress passed the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, commonly known as the Hatch–Waxman Amendments to the FDCA. At that time, Congress had two goals: to provide incentives for the invention of new drugs and to lower the prices for patients to obtain existing drugs. In furtherance of these goals, Congress provided branded-drug manufacturers with greater patent protections to reward innovation and generic-drug manufacturers with a streamlined approval process to decrease the costs of market entry.
To obtain the FDA’s approval to market a branded drug, the drug’s sponsor must prove through the new drug application, or NDA, process that the drug’s active pharmaceutical ingredient is safe and effective for a particular indication. To do so, NDA sponsors must conduct extensive clinical trials and formulate warnings to apprise physicians of the side effects identified during those trials. The costs associated with the NDA process are staggering. Forbes has estimated that it costs approximately $5 billion to bring a branded drug to market. Read More
PITTSBURGH and PHILADELPHIA, PA – William Pietragallo, II, founding partner of the law firm of Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP was selected as a Pittsburgh Top 50 Lawyer by Super Lawyers 2014. Mr. Pietragallo was recognized for his work in Business Litigation. Marc S. Raspanti, name partner in the firm, was selected as a Philadelphia Top 100 Lawyer and a Top 100 Lawyer in Pennsylvania by Super Lawyers 2014. Mr. Raspanti was recognized for his work in the White Collar Criminal Defense Practice Area. These designations are awarded to lawyers who received the highest point totals in the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers 2014 nomination, research, and blue ribbon review process.
Twenty-three attorneys in total were named by the publication as 2014 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers. In addition to Pietragallo and Raspanti, the following firm counsel were recognized by the publication as 2014 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, Gaetan J. Alfano, Joseph J. Bosick, Mark Gordon, Christopher A. Iacono, Kathryn M. Kenyon, James W. Kraus, Daniel J. McGravey, Michael A. Morse, Francis E. Pipak, Jr., Kevin E. Raphael, Douglas Rosenblum, Clem C. Trischler, and Paul K. Vey. The following firm attorneys were recognized as 2014 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars, Ethan J. Barlieb, Sarah R. Lavelle, Leslie A. Mariotti, Alicia M. Passerin, John A. Schwab, and Peter S. Wolff. Selection as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer is an honor reserved for only 5% of the Pennsylvania Bar. The arduous selection process encompasses a strict nomination, research, and review process. Read More
May 17, 2024
Pietragallo is pleased to announce that 24 lawyers have been named to the 2024 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list. Read More
