Kang Haggerty NewsIn the September 11, 2025 edition of Broad+Liberty, Kang Haggerty associate Ross Wolfe makes a compelling case for why Pennsylvania must adopt its own False Claims Act (FCA) in his article, The False Claims Act will fight fraud and save the taxpayers money. Continue reading ›
Articles Posted in Publications
Legal Intelligencer: No End-Run Piercing: Lessons From ‘Mortimer’ and ‘Dewberry’
Taken together, Mortimer and Dewberry define both opportunity and constraint. They confirm that Pennsylvania trial courts may develop an enterprise liability doctrine but also underscore that no amount of judicial sympathy can justify collapsing corporate distinctions without rigorous analysis.
In the September 11, 2025 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Edward Kang writes, “No End-Run Piercing: Lessons from ‘Mortimer’ and ‘Dewberry.’” Continue reading ›
Legal Intelligencer: Bad Character, Good Evidence: Reclaiming Character Evidence for Strategic Use in Civil Litigation
In the August 7, 2025 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Edward Kang writes, “Bad Character, Good Evidence: Reclaiming Character Evidence for Strategic Use in Civil Litigation.”
Character evidence has a paradoxical position in the law of evidence: deeply relevant in many cases, yet presumptively inadmissible. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 404 and its state counterparts, parties are generally barred from introducing evidence of a person’s character or character trait to argue that they acted in keeping with that character on a particular occasion. This is the so-called “propensity rule,” a prohibition on suggesting that someone did something simply because they are the sort of person who would. Rule 404(a)(1) codifies this general exclusion, and Rule 403’s balancing test, typically used to weigh probative value against prejudicial effect, is preempted in these cases by the categorical nature of the prohibition in Rule 404. There are exceptions, however. Continue reading ›
Law360 Expert Analysis Opinion: Walter Bourdaghs on Budget Act’s Deduction Limit Penalizes Losing Gamblers
On August 5, 2025, Law360 published an Expert Analysis-Opinion authored by Kang Haggerty associate Walter Bourdaghs on how the recent Budget Act’s Deduction Limit Penalizes Losing Gamblers (subscription required).
“Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, it will become extraordinarily difficult to be a professional gambler in the U.S.,” says Bourdaghs, who plays an occasional hand as an avid poker player in his free time. “Previously, gamblers were taxed only on their net profits. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code so that gamblers will be allowed to deduct only 90% of their losses against their winnings. This will potentially lead to counterintuitive outcomes in which some gamblers owe taxes despite having had a net loss for the year.”
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please contact Walter at Kang Haggerty.
Legal Intelligencer: Justice at Scale: Class Action Settlements Must Deliver
In the July 17, 2025 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Edward Kang writes, “Justice at Scale: Class Action Settlements Must Deliver.”
In June 2024, U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie in the Eastern District of New York denied preliminary approval of a proposed $30 billion swipe-fee settlement between merchants and credit card giants Visa and Mastercard. At the last moment, despite nearly two decades of litigation and what appeared to be a monumental compromise, the deal fell through. The court criticized the sufficiency of relief compared to trial-level damages and noted that the proposed settlement inequitably benefited smaller merchants at the expense of larger ones. The court’s decision exemplifies heightened judicial scrutiny over class action settlements in recent years. It underscores the central tension in such cases: while such settlements can deliver mass redress, they must offer the class real, equitable benefits, not just symbolic fixes or compensation for counsel.
Legal Intelligencer: Uniform Protections, Civil Consequences: Litigating Employer Duties to Servicemembers Under USERRA
In the July 3, 2025 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Edward Kang writes, “Uniform Protections, Civil Consequences: Litigating Employer Duties to Servicemembers Under USERRA.”
It is common to see businesses marking Veterans Day with social media posts thanking service members for their service and sacrifices. It is notably less common for the same businesses to understand or honor their legal obligations to employees who are current or former members of the military. Too often, businesses discriminate against their employees who spend time serving in the uniformed services, such as the National Guard. While it is understandable that the employees’ time away from work could cause disruption at work (e.g., an employee spending six months on overseas service), the businesses need to understand that these employees provide vital functions for the public.
Legal Intelligencer: Reading Between the Lines: Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
In the May 22, 2025 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Edward Kang writes, “Reading Between the Lines: Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing.”
It is not in boldface. It does not appear in the indemnity clause. And it is rarely the lead count in a complaint. But the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing arises from a duty that is embedded in every contract, and a breach of the implied covenant claim can be a powerful tool in litigation. Too often, litigators make the mistake of tacking on a breach of implied covenant as a boilerplate claim or abandoning it in response to a motion to dismiss. Properly framed, a breach of the covenant claim is not just filler, but a remedy in cases where the contract is silent, ambiguous, or grants the opposing party discretion exercised for bad-faith advantage. In complex business disputes, especially those involving strategic behavior that may evade a literal breach, a well-pleaded covenant claim may be the best—or only—path forward. Continue reading ›
Legal Intelligencer: Where Do I Have to Go to Get a Decent Beer?—State of Taprooms in Pa. and NJ in 2025
In the May 12, 2025 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Aaron Peskin writes, “Where Do I Have to Go to Get a Decent Beer? —State of Taprooms in Pa. and NJ in 2025.”
It is fair to say that the craft beer boom of the 2010s is largely over. The year 2024 saw the first decline in the overall number of craft breweries nationwide since 2005. There are a lot of factors that have led to this decline, including the rise of hard seltzers, RTD (ready to drink) cocktails, and even the rise of recreational cannabis. With all of that said, Pennsylvania has both recently either passed new laws or reinterpreted existing ones to be friendlier to those in the business of brewing beer.
Legal Intelligencer: Shifting the Balance: Use Offer of Judgment in Litigation
Offers of judgment encourage settlement by shifting litigation risks to the party that refuses a reasonable settlement offer, thus forcing the party to carefully assess whether proceeding to trial is worth the financial risk. Offers of judgment, if used properly, can provide strategic leverage in negotiations and serve as a decisive tool in bringing cases to a more efficient resolution.
In the March 20, 2025 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Edward T. Kang writes, “Shifting the Balance: Use Offer of Judgment in Litigation.” Continue reading ›
Aaron Peskin Provides Law360 Expert Analysis on How DOGE’s Severance Plan May Affect Federal Employees
On February 26, 2025, Law360 published an Expert Analysis authored by Kang Haggerty senior counsel Aaron Peskin, on How DOGE’s Severance Plan May Affect Federal Employees.
To say that President Donald Trump’s administration is off to a fast start would be quite the understatement. The administration, working through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, is clearly looking to change how the federal government works by offering a mass severance package to roughly 2 million employees, which is virtually the entire federal workforce.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please contact Aaron at Kang Haggerty.