PA Appellate Courts Uphold JNOV After Trial

On November 18, 2019, DMV Partners, Francis J. Deasey and Matthew J. Junk obtained a rare JNOV (judgment notwithstanding the verdict) in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The JNOV was obtained after a nearly two-week jury trial centering on allegations that the firm’s client, a company operating a group home facility in Berks County, Pennsylvania, failed to prevent the suicide of a 16-year-old resident.  Extinguishing a $2.9 million award for the plaintiff, Mr. Deasey and Mr. Junk successfully argued to the trial court that based on the trial evidence the plaintiff had failed to establish a cause of action against the defendant.

On March 26, 2021, the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed and upheld the trial court’s determination that the plaintiff had failed to establish a cause of action against the defendant. Further, on January 4, 2022, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the plaintiff’s petition for allocatur, or review, of the Superior Court’s opinion, thus securing a victory for the firm’s client that operated a group home facility in Berks County, Pennsylvania.