Patricia concentrates her practice on insurance coverage, bad faith disputes and special insurance investigations. She regularly provides guidance to national and global insurance carriers concerning coverage issues and litigates coverage and bad faith claims brought against them.
Patricia routinely provides counsel and defense of issues arising from commercial, personal, specialty property and casualty policies, professional liability policies, health/life policies and workers' compensation policies. She has tried a wide range of bad faith lawsuits in both state and federal court and has substantial experience handling complex discovery issues presented in bad faith lawsuits. Patricia also focuses her practice on the investigation, defense and affirmative prosecution of fraudulent claims. She has extensive experience with cases involving medical provider fraud, claimant fraud, insurance claim inflation, staged accidents, application/rate evasion fraud, workers' compensation fraud and automobile thefts.
While a large portion of Patricia’s practice is focused on insurance coverage, special insurance investigations and bad faith disputes, she also is experienced in employment law defending public entities and private employers from discrimination and retaliation claims, state whistleblower suits, and employment claims filed under Section 1983, such as those arising under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. She also has represented employers before the National Labor Relations Board, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the EEOC, various county courts of common pleas, Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Superior Court of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and the United States District Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Further, Patricia's experience also includes the defense of claims for intentional torts, civil rights violations, and any claim that may fall under a public entity's errors and omissions policy, employment policy, or general liability policy. She has tried numerous civil rights cases to verdict, including claims arising out of police pursuits, false arrests, excessive use of force, denial of due process, and zoning matters.
In 1986, Patricia received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida, and in 1990, she achieved her juris doctor from the University of Pittsburgh. Throughout her legal career, Patricia has been an active trial lawyer and was elected as a shareholder with Marshall Dennehey in 1999. Her past experience also includes service in the role of solicitor to local municipalities. Patricia is a frequent speaker on employment and insurance coverage topics and has authored several articles for the firm's Defense Digest. She has received an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell.
Honors & awards
AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
Best Lawyers in America, Insurance Law
2024-2026
The Best Lawyers in America, Litigation - Insurance
2026
Year joined
1995
Results
Successful appeal of summary judgment in favor of insurer.
Appellate Advocacy & Post-Trial Practice
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
December 6, 2022
We successfully appealed a summary judgment in favor of an insurance client that had been sued by another insurance carrier for more than $1.6 million in damages arising out of a fire loss to an insured auto repair facility. The opposing insurance company had paid $1.6 million in damages and intended to pursue a product liability claim against a vehicle manufacturer, alleging a defectively manufactured vehicle had caused the fire. Our client insured the vehicle that was allegedly defective.
School district prevails in busing dispute.
School Leaders' Liability
November 1, 2022
We successfully defended a public school district that had been sued in federal court for not providing busing to charter schools within its district. The charter schools sought a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prevent the district from prioritizing busing to students attending traditional schools over those attending charter schools. The court agreed that the district was fairly maximizing its bus driver resources to service the most students possible.
Promissory estoppel claim does not survive summary judgment.
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
February 16, 2022
We obtained summary judgment for an insurance carrier client that had been sued by another insurance carrier for more than $1.6M in damages arising out of a fire loss. The opposing insurance company had paid $1.6M in damages and intended to pursue a product liability claim against a vehicle manufacturer, alleging that a defectively manufactured vehicle had caused the fire to an auto repair facility. Our client insured the vehicle that was allegedly defective.
Pension rights action dismissed.
Public Entity & Civil Rights Litigation
December 2, 2021
We successfully handled a pension rights action before the Commonwealth Court on behalf of a municipality. A police chief in small municipality alleged that a scrivener’s error in his employment contract erroneously referencing Act 600 entitled him to an Act 600 pension plan upon retirement when his existing pension plan had been organized many years pursuant to Act 15.
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.
Pa. Supreme Court Evaluates Constitutional Parameters of a Jury’s Punitive Damage Award
Pittsburgh
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
September 28, 2023
Pennsylvania Superior Court Addresses Stacking Waivers in Single Vehicle Policies
Pittsburgh
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
January 17, 2023
In Erie Ins. Exchange v. Backmeier, __A.3d__, 2022 Pa. Super. The material in Legal Updates for Insurance Services, January 17, 2023, has been prepared for our readers by Marshall Dennehey.
Pennsylvania Superior Court Strikes Down the Regular Use Exclusion
Pittsburgh
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
October 25, 2021
Rush v. Erie Insurance Exchange, No. 1443 EDA 2020 (Pa. Super. Oct. 22, 2021) Legal Updates for Insurance Services - October 25, 2021, has been prepared for our readers by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin.
The Third Circuit Confirms that Gallagher Does Not Eradicate All Household Exclusions
Pittsburgh
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
March 19, 2021
In William Dunleavy v Mid-Centu Legal Updates for Insurance Services - March 19, 2021, has been p
Classes/Seminars Taught
Defense Litigation: Key Concepts and Current Developments, Marshall Dennehey Client Seminar, March 2026
Defense Perspectives: Bodily Injury and Bad Faith Claims, Marshall Dennehey Client Seminar, April 2025
Handling UM/UIM Cases in Pennsylvania, Marshall Dennehey Client Webinar, May, 2021
Employment Liability in the Cyber Age, Marshall Dennehey / AIG Employment Seminar, Pittsburgh, PA, May 2, 2013
Speaker on various topics including employment claims, civil rights litigation, federal practice and insurance bad faith
