Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has ruled that two plaintiffs alleging that asbestos exposure caused their illnesses cannot have their cases dismissed on summary judgment simply because their doctor opined their illnesses are attributable both to asbestos exposure and to smoking. According to the plaintiffs’ attorney, the court’s ruling could impact many cases beyond asbestos litigation by setting the standard of review of summary judgments as a de novo review, rather than an abuse of discretion standard of review.

Despite a plaintiff’s argument that upholding the dismissal of the first hormone replacement therapy tort case to reach Pennsylvania’s highest court conflicts with succeeding case law in Pennsylvania’s HRT litigation, the state Supreme Court is leaving intact a judgment notwithstanding the verdict in favor of drugmaker Wyeth.

A man who says he contracted herpes after his wife had an affair with her allegedly infected psychiatrist can bring a negligence action against the doctor, a New York judge has ruled.

A Canadian woman on sick leave for depression said Monday she would fight an insurance company’s decision to cut her benefits after her agent found photos on Facebook of her vacationing, at a bar and at a party. Nathalie Blanchard’s insurance provider, Manulife, told her the photos were evidence she was no longer depressed. Blanchard’s lawyer said Blanchard was wrongfully dismissed from her benefits, and that she had been advised by her doctor to go on vacation.