Norton on Insurance Coverage in Pennsylvania, 2nd Edition (PBI Press)

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4710 U.S. Steel Tower
600 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-2702

Phone: 412-288-4000
Fax: 412-288-2405
Email

 

 

Latest Business and Legal News

These news items and case summaries are a service provided by FindLaw. Picadio Sneath Miller & Norton, P.C. does not endorse any service or product advertised or discussed in any of these items.

Business

[09/09] Apple to publish guidelines for app approval

Intellectual Property

[08/26] Patent dispute spins around Cedar Fair's new ride

Insurance

[09/08] Independence Blue Cross Unveils New Health Plan Options for Small Businesses

Environment

[09/09] Tropical Storm Igor barely moving in the Atlantic

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Case Summaries

Intellectual Property

[09/09] Baseload Energy, Inc. v. Roberts
In plaintiff's action seeking a declaratory judgment that defendant's patent related to a flying wind turbine was invalid and unenforceable, district court's grant of defendant's motion for summary judgment in holding that the terms of the parties' 2008 settlement agreement barred all claims between the parties is reversed as the language of the settlement agreement did not release either claims of infringement of the patent or the accompanying defenses of invalidity or unenforceability.

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[09/09] Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. v. Matrix Laboratories, Ltd.
In a patent infringement suit, related to 1-biphenylmethylimidazole compounds and their use as angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) for the treatment of high blood pressure, district court's decision sustaining the validity of a patent under 35 U.S.C. section 103 is affirmed as the district court did not err in holding that defendant failed to establish a prima facie case of obviousness because defendant failed to show that one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to select the '902 ARBs as lead compounds or, even if they had, that the skilled artisan would have been motivated to modify the '902 compounds to synthesize the claimed invention.

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Insurance Law

[09/08] Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. Univ. Crop Protection Alliance, LLC
In a declaratory judgment action seeking a ruling that a pollution exclusion in defendant's insurance policy relieved plaintiff of any obligation to defend or indemnify defendant, summary judgment for plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) in the insurance policy coverage context, a declaratory judgment action is ripe irrespective of whether the underlying litigation is ongoing or resolved; and 2) the underlying complaint made clear the relofted particulates at issue were toxic, and therefore, would qualify as "pollutants" under the policy.

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[09/08] Murphy v. Deloitte & Touche Grp. Ins. Plan
In an action concerning defendant's denial of disability benefits under an ERISA plan, summary judgment for defendant is vacated where: 1) the court's case law prohibited courts from considering materials outside the administrative record where the extra-record materials sought to be introduced related to a claimant's eligibility for benefits; and 2) neither a claimant nor an administrator should be allowed to use discovery to engage in unnecessarily broad discovery that slows the efficient resolution of an ERISA claim.

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Environmental Law

[09/09] Ecuadorian Plaintiffs v. Chevron Corp.
In an action alleging that defendant-Chevron polluted the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest over the course of several decades while engaging in oil extraction in the region, the district court’s order directing plaintiffs' consultants to submit to a foundational deposition is affirmed where: 1) it made no sense to require defendant to seek the consulting firm's documents from an Ecuadorean official, given the plaintiffs' denial that they provided any such documents to the official and his interest in denying receipt of the firm's material; and 2) the record did not clearly demonstrate that defendant was attempting to evade restrictions on discovery in Ecuador.

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[09/09] South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist. v. FERC
In a petition for review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) order approving the construction of new facilities to allow for the northward flow of natural gas, the petition is denied where: 1) FERC's environmental impact statement contained a reasonably thorough discussion of the environmental impact of its actions, based on information then available to it; 2) the California Public Utility Commission's determination was the product of a lengthy decision making process subject to ample challenges by petitioner; and 3) the Clean Air Act did not require that FERC attempt to "leverage its legal authority to influence or control" state air quality issues.

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Commercial Law

[09/09] Ecuadorian Plaintiffs v. Chevron Corp.
In an action alleging that defendant-Chevron polluted the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest over the course of several decades while engaging in oil extraction in the region, the district court’s order directing plaintiffs' consultants to submit to a foundational deposition is affirmed where: 1) it made no sense to require defendant to seek the consulting firm's documents from an Ecuadorean official, given the plaintiffs' denial that they provided any such documents to the official and his interest in denying receipt of the firm's material; and 2) the record did not clearly demonstrate that defendant was attempting to evade restrictions on discovery in Ecuador.

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[09/09] Anderson v. City of Hermosa Beach
In a First Amendment challenge to a city's ban on tattoo parlors, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where tattooing is purely expressive activity fully protected by the First Amendment, and the city's total ban on such activity was not a reasonable "time, place, or manner" restriction.

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Attorney Biographies

Katherine C. Evans 
4710 U.S. Steel Tower
600 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219-2702

Communication Center 
Phone: 412-288-4003
Fax: 412-288-2405
E-mail: kevans@psmn.com
Web site: http://www.psmn.com

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Areas of Practice	Education	Honors
Affiliations

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Ms. Evans focuses her practice in the areas of commercial litigation and insurance coverage litigation.  Ms. Evans previously worked as an associate at a banking and business law firm, concentrating her practice in the areas of collection, bankruptcy, appellate practice and general litigation.  Ms. Evans received her Juris Doctorate degree from Duquesne University School of Law where she served as a research editor for the Duquesne University Law Review.  While in law school, Ms. Evans also interned for the Honorable David S. Cercone of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.  Ms. Evans obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 2004, graduating summa cum laude.

Areas of Practice:

Commercial Litigation

Insurance Coverage

Bar Admissions:

Pennsylvania, 2008

U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania, 2008

Education:

Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2008
J.D.
Honors: Cum Laude
Law Review: Duquesne Law Review, Research Editor & Member, 2006 - 2008

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2004
B.S.
Honors: Summa Cum Laude
Honors: Dean's List
Major:  Psychology

Honors and Awards:

CALI Award in Bankruptcy, 2008

Professional Associations and Memberships:

Allegheny County Bar Association, 2008 - Present

Member

Pennsylvania Bar Association, 2008 - Present

Member

Past Employment Positions:

Karlowitz Cromer & Flaherty, P.C., Associate, 2008 - 2010

Birth Information:

1982, Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States of America