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Our Team Bradley J. Vance

Bradley J. Vance is a partner at the firm’s Philadelphia office and Chair of the Philadelphia Litigation Group and Insurance Practices Group. He concentrates his practice on the areas of bad faith, insurance coverage, construction litigation, professional negligence, and premises liability. Brad has tried cases in the federal and state courts across Pennsylvania.

Brad is called upon frequently to provide insurers with pre-litigation analyses and opinions concerning potential bad faith exposures. He has provided lectures to insurance claims departments and also operates as Counsel to excess insurers and brokers in large exposure construction and commercial litigation matters.

For over 30 years, Brad has represented insureds in catastrophic and fatality matters. Throughout his career, he has represented insurance companies in bad faith and coverage litigation and recently successfully defended commercial entities at trial achieving defense verdicts in their favor. Brad routinely has bad faith claims dismissed and has successfully upheld the dismissal of bad faith claims in appeals before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Brad is a devoted husband and father of three amazing young women. He’s a former college baseball player and jazz musician. 

  • Successfully obtained an order and opinion of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirming summary judgment in favor of his client, Farmland Mutual Insurance Company. Plaintiffs sustained catastrophic injuries during an automobile accident and sought $1 million in underinsured motorist benefits. Mr. Vance successfully argued that the insured should only have to pay $35,000, the amount that was elected on the application, pursuant to the requirements of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law Section 1734.
  • Successfully defended a commercial property owner in a case in Philadelphia County in which the pretrial demand was $6.5 million. After a two-week trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of his client. In a case in which joint tortfeasor principles would have made his client responsible for the entire verdict of $2 million, the jury returned a verdict finding Mr. Vance’s client was not negligent.
  • Successfully defended a Philadelphia-based pool service company against claims that Plaintiff suffered serious injuries resulting from an explosion in an underground pool and separate underground bunker, in which the pool’s mechanicals and propane tank were located. It was alleged that the explosion resulted from a combination of storing the pool’s equipment, along with propane gas, in an area which was prone to flooding, rendering the underground bunker dangerous. While the claim centered on an alleged duty to warn the property owners of the dangerous conditions, Mr.Vance successfully obtained a Demurrer, resulting in the dismissal of all claims against our client.
  • Obtained dismissal of bad faith claims in commercial property damage dispute.
  • Obtained dismissal of bad faith claims in multiple large exposure Underinsured Motorist claims.
  • Obtained Third Circuit Court of Appeal affirmance of District Court dismissal of statutory and common law bad faith claims.
  • Represented a local company in a class action involving a large industrial fire, with alleged damages that exceed $100 million.
  • Successfully defended a commercial sprinkler system installer in a four-week trial.
  • Currently defending commercial entities in catastrophic commercial/industrial accidents.

New Affirmative Defense in Product Defect Cases?

At first reading, it appears as if the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has added to the affirmative defenses, which must be pled specifically under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure or deemed waived.…
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  • Pennsylvania Dispute Institute
  • Appellate Moot Court Board
  • Wagner Memorial Labor Law Moot Court team (National Champion 1989)