Margolis Edelstein attorneys Rolf Kroll and Claire Murtha secured summary judgment on behalf of our insurer client in a high-stakes underinsured motorist (UIM) case in the United States District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania. The case arose from a New Jersey intersection accident involving a bicyclist who sustained a traumatic brain injury and remained in a coma for approximately one month.
Claire Murtha served as the principal author of the joint brief, which advanced two key arguments: the plaintiff’s intoxication rendered him unfit to operate a bicycle under the policy’s exclusion, and the plaintiff was at fault for the accident after running a red light.
Although the plaintiff introduced eye-witness testimony disputing intoxication and pointed to conflicting evidence on the status of the traffic light, the Court accepted the defense’s position on both prongs and entered judgment in favor of the defendants. This ruling marks a significant result in a complex, high-exposure case.
