Hon. Patricia McInerney (Ret.) joins JAMS after a distinguished 23-year career on the bench. Judge McInerney presided over numerous high-profile cases and served as supervising judge of the Commerce Court in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, which is a specialized civil program that handles business-to-business disputes.

Judge McInerney managed an individual docket of cases involving all types of commercial disputes, including shareholder derivative actions, mergers and dissolutions, commercial insurance policies, unfair competition, trade secrets, commercial real estate transactions and non-consumer class actions.

Before taking the bench, Judge McInerney worked as a public defender and then as a civil litigator, handling employment, civil rights, premises liability and other general liability disputes. 

ADR Experience

• Consistent with the goals of the Commerce Court program, engaged counsel in early intervention to encourage timely resolution; resolved discovery disputes and facilitated settlements in all manner of complex commercial cases
• In the Major Civil Jury Program, conducted settlement conferences in hundreds of major civil cases, including defective products, medical malpractice and catastrophic personal injury
• Certified as a civil mediator by The National Judicial College
• Served in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania’s compulsory arbitration program, acting as an arbitrator in cases involving less than $50,000 
  
  

Select examples of Judge McInerney’s high-profile cases include the following:

• Commonwealth ex rel Kane v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 114 A.3d 37 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2015): Restored $126 million to an annual payment owed to Pennsylvania as part of a nationwide settlement against major tobacco companies

• Intertrust GCN, LP v. Interstate General Media, LLC, Jan. Term, 2014, No. 0099 (C.P. Phila.): Dispute between minority ownership and majority ownership groups of the Philadelphia Inquirer over firing of the paper’s editor

• Source Healthcare Analytics Inc. v. SDI Health LLC, Feb. Term, 2011, No. 2290 (C.P. Phila.): Breach of exclusivity and confidentiality agreements in LOI; reliance rather than restitution damages awarded
  
  

Judge McInerney also gained experience in many areas on the bench and in private practice, including the following:

Representative Matters

• Business & Commercial
Breach of contract, insurance coverage disputes, shareholder derivative actions, partnership disputes, corporate governance issues, trade secrets, business divorce
• Civil Rights
Police conduct, First Amendment, Title IX
• Class Action and Mass Tort
Commercial class actions, product liability, wage and hour
• Construction/Construction Defects/Management
Condominiums, schools, airports, commercial buildings
• Employment
Labor disputes; wrongful termination; discrimination (age, disability, race, gender, sex, sexual orientation); FELA; non-compete; sub-contractor/contractor disputes
• Environmental
Coverage litigation
• Insurance
Coverage disputes, contribution and indemnification, bad faith
• Personal Injury Torts
Medical malpractice; nursing home neglect; wrongful death (industrial accidents, automobile rollover, aviation disasters); product liability; premises liability; sexual assault; wrongful use of civil proceedings; rules of professional conduct
• Professional Liability
Architects, lawyers, doctors, dentists
• Real Estate & Real Property
Partnerships, condominium association/owners and commercial real estate/developer disputes, receiverships

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS
• Appointed Member, State Trial Judge Ethics Committee, 2003–2013, 2015–2018
• Chair, Ethics Subcommittee, First Judicial District Education Committee
• President, Temple American Inn of Court, 2018
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• American Bar Association, Business Litigation Section, Judges Initiative
• American College of Business Court Judges
• Appointed Business Court Representative, ABA Business Law Section, 2013–2015
• Distinguished Leaders Award, The Legal Intelligencer, April 2017
• Adjunct Trial Advocacy Professor, Temple University Beasley School of Law, 1999–2017
• National Association of Women Judges
• International Association of Women Judges
• Advancing Civics Education, 2008–2013

Background and Education

• Judge, Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Trial Court Division, 1996–2018
• Assigned Commerce Court, 2011–2018
• Supervising Judge, Commerce Court, 2016–2018
• Coordinating Judge, Commerce Court, 2014–2015
• Major Jury Civil Program, 2003–2011
• Arbitrator, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, 1982–1995
• Litigator in private practice, 1987–1995
• Defender Association of Philadelphia, 1981–1987
• J.D, Temple University Beasley School of Law, Philadelphia
• M.A., Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
• B.A., with Honors, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY