Steve Bardsley, Sean Ryan and Dick Abell of Bardsley Law teamed with prominent national law firm, K&L Gates, in securing a complete defense verdict for Bardsley Law client, Community Health Systems (CHS), one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers. The lawsuit was initiated by Tower Health of Reading PA who was seeking more than $144 million in damages stemming from Tower Health’s 2017 purchase of Pottstown Hospital from CHS.
The case, filed in federal court, alleged various claims regarding the integrity of the spray applied fireproofing on the building’s steel structural member, and assertions that CHS breached the Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) because the hospital was not in compliance with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services conditions of participation and the relevant Pennsylvania licensure requirements at all times prior to and at the closing of the APA. Additionally, Tower Health alleged the financial statements for the hospital that were disclosed to Tower Health before the closing did not comply with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) because they failed to disclose certain contingent liabilities.
After a protracted and intense discovery period, a 19-day bench trial and extensive post-trial briefing, U.S. District Court Judge Edward G. Smith found in a 56-page opinion that the Hospital was in compliance with applicable requirements for a health care facility, the financial information provided by CHS under the APA was appropriate and that CHS had not violated the purchase agreement. In finding for CHS and dismissing all of Tower Health’s claims, Judge Smith additionally required that Tower Health pay all of CHS’ attorney’s fees and costs related to the suit. A copy of an article regarding the lawsuit from the Philadelphia Business Journal is reproduced here with permission.
Steve Bardsley and Sean Ryan of Bardsley Law received the distinction of being amongst the “best legal talent in the world, reviewed and approved by their professional peers.” Steve Bardsley was honored as a Best Lawyer in Construction Law, an accolade he has held since 2020. Sean Ryan was acknowledged as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the areas of Construction Litigation and Product Liability Litigation Defense. Sean has held these honors since 2021 and 2022, respectively.
PLUS is a premier organization servicing the professional liability insurance industry by providing educational programs, seminars, networking events, and educational products. Bardsley Law is a proud member of PLUS Mid-Atlantic and participated in the annual golf tournament and fundraiser for its numerous career enhancing events.
The American Council of Engineering Companies, or ACEC, provides the executives of private engineering firms with the tools and educational opportunities to be better business owners and managers. ACEC also presents a strong, cohesive voice for the profession in national legislative and policy debates to help ensure that firms can compete fairly in an increasingly aggressive world market. ACEC today is the largest national organization of engineers engaged in the practice of consulting engineering. It is a federation of 52 state and regional councils representing more than 6000,000 engineers, architects, land surveyors, scientists, technicians, or other professionals.
The Legal Counsel Forum is a committee formed so that the lawyers for ACEC member firms could meet and share information about legal issues facing engineering companies. The Forum is primarily composed of in-house lawyers employed by ACEC members, but select few private attorneys nationwide are invited to participate in the forum and share there unique perspective. The Legal Counsel Forum meets for a day and a half in conjunction with the ACEC Annual Convention and Fall conference. Steve has contributed as a member of the ACEC Legal Counsel forum for the last 10 years and plans to attend the Fall Conference this year in Colorado.
Steve Bardsley is honored to be included on the 2022 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list for Construction Litigation. Super Lawyers is a rating service that uses a patented multiphase selection process involving peer nomination, independent research and peer evaluation to identify outstanding lawyers who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Steve has been honored with a Super Lawyer designation every year since 2017.
The annual SARA PA Golf Outing is a great event to network with professionals and more importantly to contribute to the Student Grant Program, which provides financial support to an undergraduate student’s academic development in the study of architecture. Bardsley Law is proud to contribute to the Student Grant Program. Yet another student received financial assistance through this event during the dinner presentation.
Every year the AIA Philadelphia Golf Outing raises funds to support programming that benefits the local design and construction community’s efforts to engage K-12 students to learn more about the design and construction industry. Funding goes towards programs such as the Architecture and Design Education program -- where design and construction professionals partner with classroom teachers in Philadelphia Public School classrooms to empower the next generation to be effective shapers and advocates for our city, our neighborhoods, our parks, and public spaces.
Steve Bardsley served on the AIA Golf Committee organizing the event for years, along with many others, including Tony Naccarato of O’Donnell & Naccarato and Matt Koenig, of BartonPartners who co-chaired the event. Sadly, Matt Koenig unexpectantly passed away this year. To commemorate Matt's service and commitment to AIA the golf outing was renamed the Matthew J. Koenig Memorial Golf Tournament. Bardsley Law is a proud sponsor of the first annual Matthew J. Koenig Memorial Golf Tournament.
EECMA’s annual conferences are always a highly anticipated event attended by claim professionals, underwriters, brokers, defense and coverage attorneys and environmental experts and consultants from across the country. While the in-person conference has been put on hiatus with COVID, the fun does not stop and the conference was held virtually this year with breakout rooms and networking events. This educational and networking event provides excellent presentations ranging from PFAS, Microsplastics, Environmental Release Dating and Fingerprinting to Coverage Litigation and Environmental Justice, among others. Dean Seman has presented at the conference in years past on the risks of genetically modified organisms. Bardsley Law had a strong showing at this year’s conference and looks forward to participating in next year’s 37th conference.
Sean Ryan successfully defended a specialty metal designer and fabricator against a significant claim at a jury trial in the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, PA. The issues were hotly contested. However, after opening arguments and the cross-examination of the plaintiff and a key fact witness a confidential settlement was reached.
Pam successfully defended a legal malpractice claim which was tried to verdict before the Honorable Michael M. Baylson. The case involved a blown statute of limitations, which required plaintiff to prove a case within a case. Plaintiff claimed that his civil attorney failed to timely bring a legal malpractice action against his criminal defense attorney. The underlying case against the criminal defense attorney involved a parole revocation hearing, he had handled for the plaintiff. The plaintiff alleged that he was caused to spend 23 months in prison due to his criminal defense attorney’s counseling and representation of him at his parole revocation hearing. Pam was able to establish through expert testimony that the criminal defense attorney in the underlying case had not committed malpractice. As a result, the jury returned a defense verdict despite the blown statute of limitations and admitted liability by the civil attorney.
Bardsley and Sean Ryan presented a risk management seminar entitled “Loss Prevention and Risk Management, Essential Tools for Success” to DIGSAU, an award-winning architectural firm in Philadelphia that is comprised of over 50 professionals practicing contemporary architecture, urbanism and environmental design. The seminar identified common causes of construction disputes and provided recommendations and best practices to mitigate those risks and maximize profitability from inception to completion of the Project.
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