The Appellate Practice Group

The Appellate Practice Group is national in scope, with a focus on federal and state courts in Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey. Our attorneys represent diverse clients, including insurance companies, product manufacturers, construction companies, hospitals, municipalities, and landowners. Our attorneys have comprehensive experience in appellate procedure, law, and tactics.

Pre-Trial, Post-Trial, and Appellate Advocacy

For the strategic advantage of our clients, we provide appellate expertise at all levels of litigation:

• Motions Practice: In complex trials, our lawyers identify and develop the important legal issues through pre-trial motions, trial briefs, oral argument, and interlocutory appeals.
• Trial Monitoring: In high-exposure cases, our lawyers monitor the trial, in cooperation with trial counsel, to ensure preservation of the record, identify trial court errors, and facilitate settlement.
• Post-Trial Intervention: At the critical post-trial stage, where the appeal issues are developed, our lawyers take over cases to provide a fresh perspective of the record and an objective evaluation of the appeal prospects.
• Appeals: Our attorneys craft persuasive appellate arguments, drawing upon our creative legal analysis, nuanced understanding of the appellate rules, and thorough knowledge of the record in each case.

Noteworthy Successes

Products Liability: Department of General Services v. United States Mineral Products Co., 898 A.2d 590 (Pa. 2006), on remand, 927 A.2d 717 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2007)

In a complex products liability action involving alleged PCB contamination of a state office building, White and Williams appellate and litigation counsel joined forces to convert a $60 million judgment to a defense verdict for firm client Monsanto Company. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed that the first trial judge had incorrectly allowed raw replacement costs unbounded by fair market value, submitted damage claims to the jury unsupported by competent expert testimony, and improperly allowed recovery for contamination caused by an unintended use of the product, a catastrophic building fire. On retrial, White and Williams obtained a defense verdict and successfully defended against the state's post-trial motions.

Products Liability: Arnoldy v. Forklift LP, 927 A.2d 257 (Pa. Super. 2007)

White and Williams appellate counsel obtained, and successfully defended on appeal, the grant of summary judgment in favor of firm client, Forklift LP, in a products liability action with a $7 million demand. Pre-trial, appellate counsel developed the argument that plaintiffs' product liability claims, alleging a forklift defect due to the lack of automatic backup warning devices, were preempted by federal law. After obtaining summary judgment on preemption grounds, White and Williams successfully defended that result on appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. In addition to holding that plaintiffs' state law claims were preempted, the Superior Court also agreed that plaintiffs' appeal suffered from multiple procedural irregularities and warranted a finding that certain claims and arguments had been waived.

Insurance Coverage: Re/Max 440 Realty, Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance Companies, No. 111 EDA 2005 (Pa. Super. Jan. 18, 2006)

Taking over on appeal, White and Williams appellate counsel won the reversal of a declaratory judgment on the insurer's duty to defend in favor of firm clients Fireman's Fund Insurance Companies and American Automobile Insurance Company. The Pennsylvania Superior Court agreed with our argument that three separate policy exclusions barred coverage under an errors and omissions liability policy, and entered judgment in the insurers' favor. White and Williams also successfully defended against the plaintiff's petition for allowance of appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.