Siana Law

$3M

Personal Injury, Municipal Liability, Premises Liability

Pennsylvania Supreme Court reinstated a $3,000,000 judgment against the City of Philadelphia in a bike race accident case, ruling that a signed waiver was not effective due to the City's duty of public service to maintain safe roads.

Employment Law, Age Discrimination, Gender Discrimination

A western Pennsylvania municipality prevailed in an age and gender discrimination claim filed by an unsuccessful candidate for Police Chief. The Borough successfully defended the appeal after being subjected to over three years of litigation.

Governmental Immunity, Sexual Abuse, School Law

In R.B. and E.B. v. Bethlehem Area School District, the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas ruled that a school district's alleged inaction in response to bullying reports, which escalated to sexual abuse, could give rise to liability under the Sexual Abuse exception to governmental immunity.

Premises Liability, Spoliation of Evidence

A federal court denied summary judgment against a store for failing to preserve all video footage from the day of an alleged fall, leading to an adverse inference instruction at trial.

Zoning, Land Use

Commonwealth Court ruled that a township's zoning ordinance did not expressly prohibit short-term rentals of entire properties, making such rentals permissible. The court emphasized the importance of specific statutory drafting.

Zoning, Land Use

Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a township's ban on short-term, web-based rentals (like Airbnb or VRBO), clarifying that zoning ordinances defining "family" as a "single housekeeping unit" prohibit such transient uses in residential districts.