By SAMUEL LOPEZ
USA HERALD — August 24, 2025
A Philadelphia law office that tried to hold its malpractice insurer accountable for a $600,000 jury verdict has hit a wall. A Pennsylvania federal judge ruled the “firm” that brought the lawsuit wasn’t actually a legal entity, and even if the individual attorneys had standing, their claims were sunk by a conversion exclusion in the insurance policy.
U.S. District Judge John F. Murphy granted summary judgment to Allied World Specialty Insurance Co. on Thursday, closing out litigation that plaintiffs had already discontinued weeks earlier.
The judge’s memorandum leaves no doubt: “Despite plaintiffs’ claim that the ‘precise form of business entity is not germane here,’ we must identify the applicable form of business entity to determine its existence.” He pointed out that plaintiffs themselves admitted that D’Angelo & Eurell “is not a partnership under Pennsylvania law but is an unincorporated association,” which state law defines as an “unincorporated association conducting any business or engaging in any activity of any nature whether for profit or otherwise under a common name.”
