Michael P. McKenna

Representative Matters: Represented the plaintiff insurer in Penn-Patriot Insurance Company v. Santillo, where Penn-Patriot denied coverage for negligence claims arising out of a dispute between delivery drivers at an Amazon facility. The court granted judgment on the pleadings to Penn-Patriot based on its Assault and Battery exclusion, since any harm, regardless of liability theory, arose out of an alleged battery.; Represented the plaintiff insurer in Philadelphia CCP in Penn-Patriot Insurance Company v. Nguyen where Penn-Patriot denied coverage both to its insured (McDonald's franchisee) and to an additional insured (McDonald's) for negligence claims arising out of a stabbing incident in a McDonald's parking lot. The court granted judgment on the pleadings to Penn-Patriot based on its Firearms and Other Weapons exclusion.; Represented the defendant insurer in Philadelphia CCP in Sunoco v. Penn National where plaintiff claimed coverage under a Grantor of Franchise endorsement as a 'de facto franchisor,' a concept neither contemplated by the policy nor endorsed by any precedent. The trial court granted summary judgment for the insurer, with that result now before the Superior Court.; Represented the plaintiff insurer in Penn National v. St. John, establishing that 'first manifestation' trigger for CGL coverage against property damage claims applies even when exposure, manifestation of harm, and discovery of cause extend over multiple policy periods, thus rejecting extension of the J.H. France asbestosis multiple or continuous trigger of coverage. The favorable Chester County trial result was upheld in the Superior Court and thereafter in the Supreme Court.; Represented the plaintiff insurer in Nationwide v. Tambone, establishing the validity and applicability of its personal auto policy livery exclusion where the named insured's son, living elsewhere, occasionally used the covered auto to transport casual acquaintances for pocket money. The favorable Chester County trial result was upheld in the Superior Court, the Supreme Court thereafter denying a Petition for Allowance of Appeal.; Represented prime defendant The Sheraton Corporation, the original owner and designer of the subject hotel, in the San Juan Dupont Plaza Fire Litigation in Puerto Rico, described by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals as a 'litigatory monster' involving 264 separate lawsuits with 2,400 plaintiffs seeking total damages of over $1,800,000,000 for 98 deaths and over 140 severe burn injuries.; Represented prime defendant Halprin Supply in the One Meridian Plaza Fire Litigation in Philadelphia against claims by the building owners, the owners of surrounding damaged buildings and businesses, and the estates of three firefighters killed in a blaze which destroyed this 38 story high-rise office building.; Represented prime defendant Trident Mechanical Systems in the Central Synagogue Fire Litigation in Federal Court in Manhattan against claims of extensive damage to this historically certified building, the oldest extant synagogue in the United States, obtaining a defense verdict following a six week trial.