Allison is a member of the Professional Liability Department where she concentrates her practice on insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. She routinely represents national/global insurance carriers in insurance coverage disputes and first-party automotive claims brought against them. Allison is experienced in many types of coverage issues, including: policy cancellation, policy reformation, phantom vehicle cases, and a variety of policy exclusions. She also defends clients in the area of bad faith litigation. She practices in Pennsylvania state and federal court, as well as before arbitration panels and appellate courts.
For two years prior to joining the firm, Allison served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Judge Donald R. Totaro in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas. During her final year of law school, Allison served as a legal extern for the Honorable Justice J. Michael Eakin of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She also served as a certified legal intern for the Pennsylvania State Civil Service Commission in the Hearings and Appeals Department.
In 2006, Allison graduated magna cum laude from York College of Pennsylvania. She then attended the Widener University School of Law and graduated cum laude in 2009. During her time in law school, Allison served on Widener’s Law Journal and was the president of the Moot Court Honor Society from 2008 to 2009.
Honors & awards
The Best Lawyers in America , “Lawyer of the Year,” Harrisburg, Insurance Law
2025
The Best Lawyers in America , Insurance Law
2024-2026
Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star
2019
Year joined
2011
Results
Achieved Dismissal of an Appeal of Our Defense Verdict
Appellate Advocacy & Post-Trial Practice
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
September 12, 2025
We won dismissal of the plaintiff’s appeal of a defense verdict. Our client issued a professional liability insurance policy to the plaintiffs. When the plaintiffs were sued for legal malpractice, they notified our client of the suit and asked them to provide counsel to defend the matter. However, the plaintiffs never agreed to counsel proposed by our client. The plaintiffs then proceeded to mediation in the legal malpractice action and settled the matter without notifying our client. As a result, our client denied the plaintiffs’ request for indemnification.
Jury Verdict Received in a Breach of Contract Action
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
April 11, 2024
We secured a jury verdict in a breach of contract/statutory bad faith action that arose under a legal malpractice policy issued to a law firm by our insurance company client. The plaintiffs settled a malpractice claim set forth against them without our client’s knowledge or consent. The insurance company then denied coverage for that claim, and the plaintiffs filed suit. Because the case included a bad faith claim, if the plaintiffs prevailed on both counts, the damages could have been seven figures or more. We took the case to trial before Judge Patrick in Philadelphia County.
Dismissal of bad faith UTP and UTPCPL claims.
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
December 20, 2022
We obtained dismissal of both bad faith and Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL) claims in a case filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The case arose from a UIM claim presented after a motor vehicle accident. In an extensive footnote to the order, the court included a fairly comprehensive overview of the standards for pleading viable bad faith in UTPCPL claims in Pennsylvania. The court did not allow the plaintiff the opportunity to amend his complaint in order to cure the pleading defects.
Summary Judgment for Large Insurance Carrier in a Breach of Contract Case.
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
December 31, 2018
The parties had filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The issue for the court was whether the carrier had breached the terms of the policy when it denied the plaintiff’s first-party benefits claim relating to medical bills for PTSD allegedly caused by the underlying accident.
Summary Judgment in Class Action Lawsuit On Behalf of Large Insurer.
Class Action Litigation
August 24, 2018
We obtained summary judgment in a putative class action lawsuit in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of a large insurer. The case dealt with a letter the insurance carrier would send to their insureds following a motor vehicle accident in which they advised their insureds that they would have a rental vehicle for five days. The named plaintiffs argued the letter misrepresented the policy language and they sued for breach of contract, bad faith, declaratory judgment and equitable relief.
Thought Leadership
98 Marshall Dennehey Attorneys Recognized in the 2026 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America
August 20, 2025
Marshall Dennehey is proud to highlight the firm’s 98 attorneys who have been recognized in the 2026 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America. Less than 6% of all practicing lawyers in the U.S.
‘Regular Use Exclusions’ Stand: Pa. Supreme Court’s Latest Ruling Post-’Gallagher’
Harrisburg
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
August 20, 2024
109 Marshall Dennehey Attorneys Recognized in the 2025 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America
August 15, 2024
Marshall Dennehey is proud to highlight the firm’s 109 attorneys who have been recognized in the 2025 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America. Less than 6% of all practicing lawyers in the U.S.
New Jersey Legislature Passes Bad Faith - What’s Next
Mount Laurel
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
January 14, 2022
New Jersey is on the brink of its first insurance bad faith statute after clearing both the Senate and Assembly by vote on January 10, 2022. Legal Updates for Insurance Services - January 14, 2022, has been prepared for our readers by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin.
Pa. Ruling Leaves Auto Policy Stacking Questions
Harrisburg
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
November 10, 2021
Classes/Seminars Taught
Bad Faith 2022, Pennsylvania Bar Institute CLE, September 2022
Exploring Bad Faith - Practical Discussion of Bad Faith Law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Marshall Dennehey Insurance Fraud 360 Seminar, Lafayette Hill, PA, June 2022
All things UM/UIM & Bad Faith in PA, Marshall Dennehey Virtual Client Presentation, February 2021
An Overview of Pennsylvania Law for Auto Law & Premises Claims, Marshall Dennehey Virtual Client Presentation, February 2021
Proper Handling of UM/UIM Claims: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Marshall Dennehey Client Seminar, June 17, 2016
Regular Use Exclusions in Pennsylvania -- Coverage Issues and Practical Applications, Marshall Dennehey Client Seminar, June 2015
Recent Pennsylvania Trial and Appellate Case Law, Cumberland County Lunch and Learn, March 2015