PAMED and AMA file brief defending venue selection clause

On September 25, 2026, PAMED and AMA filed an amici curiae brief arguing for the Superior Court to uphold a venue selection clause that limited where a medical malpractice suit could be filed. The case, Stenger v. Women’s Regional Health Group, et al., arose from a June 2023 medical procedure that is not detailed in the county court opinion. On October 31, 2025, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas ruled in favor of a Bryn Mawr OB/GYN group who sought to have a medical malpractice case filed in Philadelphia transferred to Montgomery County because the patient-plaintiff (Stenger), prior to treatment, had signed a venue selection clause mandating that any suit arising from the treatment be filed in Montgomery County. The court granted the preliminary objections filed by the medical practice defendants (Regional Women’s Health Group and others) and transferred the case to Montgomery County. Stenger appealed the decision to the Superior Court. 

The PAMED/AMA brief argues that the Philadelphia court correctly transferred the case based on last year’s Somerlot v. Jung decision. It argues that the court should apply general contract law principles to forum selection clauses, not treat them differently because they concern medical treatment.

In Somerlot, the Superior Court found that a contractual forum selection clause was enforceable. In upholding the forum selection clause, the Superior Court noted that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has long held that parties are free to contract to limit venue. Further, the court determined that the forum selection clause in Somerlot was neither unclear nor unreasonable.

The plaintiffs in the Somerlot case appealed the Superior Court decision in that case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Earlier in September 2026, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal. In the meantime, the Superior Court should apply its decision in Somerlot to decide this appeal.

Oral argument has not yet been scheduled in this case but should in early 2027. The court’s decision can be expected later in 2027.