John P. Morgenstern

Overview

Managing Partner of O’Hagan Meyer’s Philadelphia and New Jersey offices, John specializes in all aspects of complex commercial litigation, for which he has earned the rating of AV Preeminent, the highest possible rating in professional and ethical standards from Martindale-Hubbell®. As lead counsel John has tried 74 cases to verdict.

John’s extensive experience in mass tort and class action defense includes USA Gymnastics and Boy Scouts of America and he routinely defends hotels, motels and others in the hospitality industry, including claims alleging human trafficking.

John and his team defend licensed professionals and institutions, including nursing homes; drug, alcohol and mental health treatment centers; and other skilled care facilities. We defend insurance agents and brokers, lawyers, architects, engineers. and other licensed professionals. John has defended multiple professional sports teams and organizations.

A fourth-generation defense attorney, John’s roots in the insurance and insurance defense industries run deep. He is particularly versed in insurance coverage and coverage litigation and currently chairs DRI’s Medicare Secondary Payer Act Task Force and regularly assists insurance companies, settlement trustees and administrators in MSP Act compliance, including section 111 reporting and settlement and distribution procedures.

John served with the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General's ("JAG") Corps during the first phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in Iraq, a NATO Commanding General’s Commendation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the U.S. Meritorious Service Medal in Germany, among other military awards and recognitions. Based on his experience and training in the Middle East, John authored The Interrogators’ Guide to Depositions, Investigations, and Discovery: What Civil Trial Attorneys Can Learn from the World’s Best Interrogators, which was published in June 2018 and is available at all major booksellers.

An avid runner, John has completed full marathons in Rome, Paris, Dublin, Washington, DC and Philadelphia, in addition to several shorter distance races and triathlons. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife and their two children.

Experience

• In re: USA Gymnastics, Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division (arising from sexual abuse of athletes)
• Haberle v. Borough of Nazareth, et al., 885 F.3d 170, 2018 WL 1386431 (3rd Cir. 2018) (involving police officers’ obligations to accommodate disabilities while making lawful arrests)
• Dolfman v. Cedar Fair et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 15-2695 (May 4, 2016) (involving legal causation and the accidental death of a foreign exchange student)
• RHJ Medical Center, Inc. v. City of Dubois, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 12-3641 (April 24, 2014) (involving the placement of a methadone clinic in a city business district)
• In Re Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware (litigation in several state and federal courts involving decades of alleged sexual abuse
• Hedges v. Musco, et al., 204 F.3d 109 (3rd Cir. 2000) (affirming summary dismissal of Fourth Amendment claims based on alleged intrusive search of a 14-year old high school student that included the testing of bodily fluids)
• Damiani v. Township of Bensalem, et al, 2012 WL 1657920 (E.D. Pa. 2012) (defense verdict in case of alleged excessive force while taking a suspect into custody)
• Monger v. Upper Leacock Township, 132 A.3d 585 (Pa. Cmwlth. Ct. 2016) (summary dismissal of case involving alleged detrimental reliance on representations by township manager during site plan application)
• Otto v. George Smith Towing, PA Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County, February 2017 Term, No. 4317 (class action against towing company).
• School District of Philadelphia v. several architecture firms, PA Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County, 2013 (where public school district brought lawsuits long after design work and construction was completed on school buildings implicating the doctrine of nullum tempus occurrit regi)
• Yakal-Kremski v. Denville Township Board of Education, 329 N.J. Super. 567, 748 A.2d 642 (NJ App. Div. 2000) (enforcing limits on recoverable expert witness fees)

Honors, Publications, & Speeches

Honors

• AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale-Hubbell, 2015 to Present
• Super Lawyers, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, 2018 to Present
• Top Attorneys, Philadelphia Magazine, 2018 to Present
• Military Service Bronze Star Medal, Baghdad, Iraq, February 2004
• Military Service Meritorious Service Medal, Heidelberg, Germany, June 2005
• Military Service NATO Commanding General’s Commendation, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, April 2005
• Military Service U.S. Army Commendation Medal, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, April 2005

Publications

• Author, “The Interrogators’ Guide to Depositions, Investigations, and Discovery: What Civil Trial Attorneys Can Learn from the World’s Best Interrogators,” Archway Publishing, 2018

Presentations & Speeches

• Speaker, “Practical Litigation Skills and Investigation Techniques,” Regular Presenter to Temple University Beasley School of Law Honors Program, 2019 to Present.
• Speaker, “Nuclear Settlements in Mass Tort Claims: Lessons from Recent Sexual Abuse Cases, Multi-District Litigation and Bankruptcies,” Annual Meeting, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC) July 27, 2023
• Speaker, “Using Military Intelligence to Increase Efficacy: Maximizing Productivity and Civility Using Military and Intelligence Interrogation Methods, FDCC September 22, 2021
• Speaker, “Maximizing Deposition Productivity Through Civility,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Civility in the Profession Committee, June 21, 2021
• Speaker, “What Judge and Lawyers Can Learn from the World’s Best Interrogators,” Philadelphia Bar Association Bench-Bar Conference, October 2019
• Speaker, “DRI Medicare Secondary Payer Act Case Law Update 2018,” presented to national audience, May 2018
• Speaker, “DRI Medicare Secondary Payer Act Case Law Update 2017,” presented to national audience, April 2017
• Speaker, “DRI Medicare Secondary Payer Act Hot Topics,” presented to national audience, November 2015
• Speaker, “DRI Medicare Secondary Payer Act Case Law Update 2014,” presented to national audience, November 2014
• Speaker, “DRI Medicare Secondary Payer Act Case Law Update 2012,” presented to national audience, September 2012
• Speaker, “Medicare Secondary Payer Act Update: Tackling the Most Common Obstacles to Settlements, March 2011
• Speaker, “Medicare Secondary Payer Act Issues in Chinese Drywall Litigation,” 2010 East Region Construction Defect and Insurance Coverage Conference, Boca Raton, FL June 2-4, 2010
• Speaker, “Practitioner’s Guide to the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, an overview of Medicare Set-aside Arrangements and Medicare Secondary Payer Reports,” February 2009
• Speaker, “Settler Beware: Navigating the Amendment to the Medicare Secondary Payer Act,” DRI committee newsletter, 2009
• Speaker, “Congress Provides Additional Breaks to Military Members and Families Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act,” March 2007
• Speaker, “The Continuing Evolution of USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act),” The Job Description (DRI Employment Law Committee newsletter), Fall 2007
• Speaker, “Military Issues in Civil Litigation,” Pennsylvania Defense Institute Continuing Legal Education, March 4, 2006.
• Speaker, “Strategic Use of the Motion to Dismiss and Preliminary Objections,” Pennsylvania Defense Institute Continuing Legal Education, May 17, 2007
• Speaker, “Supreme Court Clarifies Triggering Event for Title VII Pay Discrimination Claims,” The Voice (Defense Research Institute newsletter) June 13, 2007
• Speaker, “Supreme Court Expands Pool of Retaliation Plaintiffs in Federal Courts,” March 2007
• Speaker, “Welcoming Home the Service Member Employee: A Primer on the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act,” June 2007
• Speaker, “Observations from Behind the Wall in Iraq,” International Human Rights Lecture, University of Pennsylvania School of Law, April 3, 2006

News

Professional

• Member, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, 2020 to Present
• Member, International Association of Claims Professionals, 2020 to Present
• Member, DRI
• Medicare Secondary Payer Act Task Force Chair, 2021- 2023
• Member, Employment and Labor Law Committee, New Jersey State Bar Association
• Member, Civility in the Profession Committee, Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Member, Philadelphia Bar Association
• Member, Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel
• Member, Veterans of Foreign Wars
• Member, American Legion

Community

John has served as a regular presenter on “Practical Litigation Skills and Investigation Techniques” to Temple University Beasley School of Law Honors Program. He is also a former director of Pro Vet International Gifts and Scholarships, a charity devoted to U.S. veterans and/or their families, focused on providing financial aid to assist them in obtaining professional and/or academic degrees or other educational scholarships. An avid runner, John has completed full marathons in Rome, Paris, Dublin, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, in addition to several shorter-distance races and triathlons.