Continuing off our earlier blog post that had raised questions regarding attorney-expert communications in Barrick, et al. v. Holy Spirit Hospital, et al. (read here!), on July 10, 2014 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made official a rule change barring attorney-expert communications during discovery. Following its decision in Barrick, the Supreme Court approved an amendment to the Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 4003.5 concerning attorney-expert communication during discovery. This amendment to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure created a bright-line rule, and creates a difficult arena for attorneys to maneuver during the discovery process.
Articles Posted in Publications
Third Circuit Adopts Liberal Notice Pleading Standard for False Claims Act Cases
Refusing to adopt the heightened pleading standard under Rule 9(b), the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court for New Jersey’s order, which held that Plaintiff Foglia failed to meet the pleading requirements under Rule 9(b) for pleading a false claims act case. U.S. ex rel. Foglia v. Renal Ventures Mgmt., LLC, 2014 WL 2535339 (3d Cir. June 6, 2014). In contrast to the District Court, the Third Circuit agreed to a more liberal standard for pleading cases under the federal False Claims Act and concluded that Foglia’s factually false claim against Renal proved sufficient to satisfy Rule 9(b). The circuits are split over whether a whistleblower must allege specific examples of false claims to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, and the Third Circuit held that the whistleblower need not provide such specific examples.
Commerce Judges Offer Tips on Practice
Philadelphia Bar Reporter
Huffington Post-Stop Capturing the Moment
Huffington Post
Huffington Post-Coming to Terms With the Unexpected
Huffington Post
Philadelphia Commerce Case Management Program: Judge Pro Tempore Training Session
by Gregory H. Mathews, Hon. Mark I. Bernstein, Hon. Arnold L. New, Hon. Albert W. Sheppard, Jr., Linda R. Singer
Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, Pa.
Ten Questions for the Honorable Howland Abramson
by Gregory H. Mathews and Hon. Howland Abramson
The Philadelphia Lawyer – (Spring 2007)
Recent Developments in the Commerce Case Program
by Gregory H. Mathews, Mitchell Bach, Hon. Howland Abramson, Hon. Albert Sheppard and others
Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, Pa.
Mediation and other ADR Advocacy in Philadelphia’s Commerce Case Program
by Gregory H. Mathews, Professor Harold Abramson and Hon. Howland Abramson
Bench-Bar Conference, Philadelphia Bar Association, Atlantic City, New Jersey – October 1, 2005
Apologies Can Make All the Difference in Dispute Resolution
by Gregory H. Mathews
Legal Intelligencer – June 1, 2005, p. A 6
Kang Haggerty News

