Moira Clare Duggan
Of Counsel
Mail: duggan@bbs-law.com
Phone|Fax|Text: 215.665.3305
Office: Philadelphia, PA
Education
LaSalle College, B.A.
Temple University Beasley School of Law, J.D.
Admissions
Bar Admissions
Pennsylvania
Hobbies/Interests
Horticulture
Gardening
Hiking
Volunteer Work
Reading
Moira Clare Duggan was born and raised in Frederick, Maryland. She graduated with high honors from LaSalle College in Philadelphia where she was on the Dean's list every semester. While attending Temple University’s Beasley School of Law at night, she was employed full time as a title examiner, then as a law clerk. After obtaining her law degree, Moira clerked for The Honorable John E. Backenstoe in the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
Moira came to work as an associate at Bennett, Bricklin & Saltzburg LLC in 1983. She has handled class actions, products liability, employment litigation, bad faith and other cases. Accordingly, she is a member of several of the firm's practice groups.
In the products liability area, Moira has defended the manufacturers of a variety of products, including food, liquor and snack products, cosmetic aids, nonprescription medications, baby foods, bottles, toys, and furniture, ethical drugs, medical and surgical devices and machinery in failure to warn, malfunction and manufacturing defect and design cases.
Moira managed a leading baby bottle manufacturer's “nursing bottle syndrome” class action litigation for over ten years, defeated class certification in all cases, and enabled the client to conclude all known nursing bottle claims for a nuisance-value settlement despite pending claims for punitive damages and permanent disfigurement. Later, she assisted in the same client's defense in a series of consumer fraud class action cases. Other class action cases have involved insurance and consumer fraud issues.
Moira has represented defendants in employment cases brought under federal, state, and municipal laws in both state and Federal courts and at the EEOC and Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Her cases have involved claims of sexual harassment including sexually charged atmosphere, age, race, disability, gender discrimination and wrongful termination.
In the insurance area, Moira has developed a subspecialty in her defense of several of the area's largest automobile insurers against claims for punitive damages arising in the first-party benefits context and brought under Pennsylvania's “bad faith” statute. She is widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable attorneys in first-party benefits in eastern Pennsylvania.
As a firm believer in the value of education, Moira plays an active role in client education and gives frequent lectures, legal updates and interactive seminars. In her spare time, Moira studies horticulture and enjoys gardening, hiking and camping. She is a volunteer "Big Sister" with the Philadelphia Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization.
