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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2013 201313222220132013

suring recovery for the plaintiff, The fall occurred when Bernhoft such as the presence of alcohol and sat on a piece of flex board cover- marijuana in Bernhoft's system ing the skylight, according to when the accident occurred. Bernhoft's pretrial memorandum. "There was a significant impedi- Bernhoft landed on her tailbone on ment in the case," Kline said. a staircase below, slid down the stairs, and landed on her head. "Very few cases are perfect, and Tom Kline while Lorna Bernhoft was a true Bernhoft's court papers alleged victim of a serious defect in the that the primary defendants, Jo- premises that she visited, she also seph, Irene and Jennifer Palmer, Of the Legal staff had a 0.26 blood alcohol level with were reckless in that they covered marijuana in her system and we the skylight with only a piece of A case involving a college stu- recognized that it would have been flex board and subsequently did dent who was paralyzed after she a significant case had it gone to nothing to repair the hazardous fell 20 feet through a skylight has trial." condition of the floor where the settled for $11.6 million. Kline also mentioned that there skylight was situated. Settlement in the premises liabil- was initially concern as to whether On July 27, 2012, the Palmers ity and catastrophic injury case there existed sufficient resources filed a joinder complaint to add Bernhoft v. Palmer was finalized and insurance coverage from the previous tenants of the property to Monday. The settlement was paid property owner and tenants to the case. There were 14 additional by 11 insurers, covering the prop- compensate Bernhoft. defendants added, according to erty owners as well as the tenants, court papers. to Lorna Bernhoft, who became a Bernhoft's fall took place Oct. 12, paraplegic after falling though a 2010, when the woman, a junior at According to the Palmers' de- skylight covered with a thin board the University of Pennsylvania, fense papers, the skylight opening in an off-campus residence in Phil- was attending a student gathering was covered with three-fourths- adelphia. at an off-campus event. She was inch plywood and nailed shut dur- injured when she fell through the ing renovations to the building in Tom Kline, Dom Guerrini and raised skylight opening in the the 1980s. David Williams of Kline & Specter fourth floor of an off-campus In the pretrial memorandum of in Philadelphia represented home, according to Kline. Bernhoft in the case. one of the additional tenant de- The University of Pennsylvania fendants, Grant Frierson IV, alle- Kline said the case, at first blush, was not a defendant in the case. gations were made that the Palmers presented many challenges to en- never inspected the fourth floor or checked on the status of the sky- mediator/facilitator. During the light covering. course of the post-mediation I had The Palmers' defense papers al- no fewer than 20 discussions leged that tenants of the property where there was a continuing back- in 2009-10 never reported any re- and-forth among 14 parties, includ- moval of the plywood board or ex- ing 11 insurance carriers. It was istence of hazardous conditions to really his follow-through and per- the Palmers as was a condition of severance that allowed the various the lease. pieces of a very complicated puz- zle to be put together." Additionally, the Palmers' court papers alleged that Bernhoft was under the influence, underage and that the tenants during the time of the incident were liable as they were in exclusive possession and control of the building and its con- dition. Joseph F. Van Horn of Fallon Van Horn in Philadelphia repre- sented the Palmers and did not re- turn phone calls seeking comment. Kline said, "We sued the owner of the premises so we could see how the suit would evolve, en- couraged joinder of the additional defendants, proceeded along the path of discovery and determined that there was significant insurance coverage." In terms of the blood alcohol and marijuana issues, Kline said that in a pretrial conference, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge John Milton Younge educated "the defendants on the limitations of their defense, including the limita- tions of their substance defense and their exposure." Kline also lauded the "non- traditional" mediation process em- ployed by mediator and former state Supreme Court Justice Rus- sell M. Nigro. "Justice Nigro was instrumental in the process," Kline said. "He engaged in a process outside of the usual two-day mediation. He kept with the case in the position of a