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Allegheny County looking to dismiss suit from corrections officer who claimed she was fired for refusing COVID vax
PITTSBURGH – Allegheny County is seeking to dismiss litigation from a veteran corrections officer who alleged she was fired for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, a treatment she wouldn’t consent to because she believes it violates her sincerely-held religious beliefs.
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Allegheny County says it was following the rules when rejecting religious reasons for COVID vax refusal
PITTSBURGH – Allegheny County insists that it did not violate its own Home Rule Charter and Administrative Code and that it is immune from a count of negligent infliction of emotional distress, in a lawsuit over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate allegedly violating a plaintiff’s religious objections.
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SCOTUS in Pa. case: Companies can be sued in states where they register to conduct business
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that companies may be sued in states where they have registered do business but are not based or where the alleged injuries occurred, reinstating the lawsuit of a Virginia man who claimed his colon cancer was the result of his exposure to carcinogenic substances while working for the Norfolk Southern railroad.
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Former Allegheny County employee reiterates executive violated the law by instituting COVID-19 vaccine mandate
PITTSBURGH – A local man maintains that an Allegheny County official exceeded the bounds of his authority when he instituted a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all county employees in the summer of 2021, in violation of his religious objections and exemption.
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Pa. asks to dismiss suit from family of man about to be released from 45-year prison term, only to die of COVID-19
PHILADELPHIA – The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is seeking a complete dismissal of litigation brought by the family of a man who died from COVID-19 shortly before he was to be released from prison after more than four decades, which charged that state officials did not approve the decedent’s pardon in a timely manner, allegedly leaving him at greater risk for contracting the virus and causing his death.
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Estate of N.J. man who died from COVID-19 says SEPTA's lack of safety measures caused his death
PHILADELPHIA – The estate of a Southern New Jersey man is opposing an attempt by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to dismiss its case, one which alleged that the agency failed to protect the decedent in his work as a conductor and subsequently led him to contract a two-year-long fatal case of COVID-19.
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Allegheny County argues for claims dismissal in former employee's suit over COVID-19 vaccine mandate
PITTSBURGH – Allegheny County argues that it did not violate its own Home Rule Charter and Administrative Code and that it is immune from a count of negligent infliction of emotional distress, in a lawsuit over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate allegedly violating a plaintiff’s religious objections.
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Judicial Watch settles National Voter Registration Act suit with Pa. and five of its counties
HARRISBURG – Litigation from election integrity group Judicial Watch against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and five of its counties has been settled, resulting in nearly 180,000 inactive voters being removed from voter rolls statewide.
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'California Knows Best:' SCOTUS says California can use Prop 12 to regulate pork producers across the country
Dissenting justices warned California should now expect other states to respond in kind, following California's "blueprint" to use state laws and market power to bypass Congress and bend the rest of the country to the will of voters in just one or a handful of states
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SEPTA says conductor's estate hasn't tied transit agency to his fatal case of COVID-19
PHILADELPHIA – The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has denied liability for the death of one of its former conductors from COVID-19, charging his estate has failed to properly plead such a claim.
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Federal judge dismisses parents' suit over mandatory mask-wearing at amusement parks
PITTSBURGH – Parents of three autistic children and an adult with a diagnosed case of anxiety and respiratory issues, who argued that pre-existing medical conditions prevented them or their children from wearing masks at Kennywood Park, Sandcastle Water Park and Idlewild Park during the early portion of the COVID-19 pandemic, have lost their case through summary judgment.
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University of Scranton stands by termination of former prof unvaccinated for COVID-19
SCRANTON – The University of Scranton’s Faculty Affairs Council contends that the institution was right to fire a former professor, the latter of whom has charged that his constitutional rights to privacy and bodily autonomy were violated when the institution attempted to force him to disclose his COVID-19 vaccination status.
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Third-party defendants seek dismissal from suit over $2M COVID-19 test sale conflict
PHILADELPHIA – In litigation where defendants were accused of not providing more than 151,000 COVID-19 test kits or a refund to a retailer who paid it nearly $2 million, third-party defendants named in a later version of the complaint now seek to be dismissed from it.
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Third Circuit agrees that a lack of 'imminent danger' dooms food workers' suit over COVID-19 conditions
PHILADELPHIA – In a matter of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has unanimously upheld a lower court dismissal of a lawsuit from workers at a meat processing plant against both the Department of Labor and Occupational Safety and Health Administration – litigation which alleged the agencies refused to enforce COVID-19 pandemic protocols in spite of receiving complaints about the workplace situation, due to OSHA finding no “imminent danger” present.
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Transit union and Allegheny County Port Authority settle suit over wearing 'Black Lives Matter' masks at work
PITTSBURGH – A transit workers union has settled its litigation with the Port Authority of Allegheny County over a now-overturned ban on its employees wearing face masks emblazoned with “Black Lives Matter” at work, after both the trial court and a federal appellate court ordered the ban ended through injunction.
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Class action suit over mask-wearing at Giant Eagle grocery stores is dismissed from federal court
PITTSBURGH – A thrice-amended class action lawsuit from 47 plaintiffs opposing a mandatory policy instituted by Giant Eagle grocery stores to wear masks in its stores during the coronavirus pandemic, has been dismissed from federal court.
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Taylor Swift tickets debacle has thousands complaining about Ticketmaster to AG’s Office
HARRISBURG – After a major fiasco involving ticket sales for pop star and Pennsylvania native Taylor Swift’s next concert tour, the office of Attorney General and Governor-elect Josh Shapiro has received thousands of consumer complaints from state residents against live event giant Ticketmaster.
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AG Shapiro to succeed Wolf as Governor, Lt. Gov. Fetterman wins U.S. Senate seat
HARRISBURG – Two leaders in Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party are headed to higher office, as Attorney General Josh Shapiro has become the Commonwealth’s Governor-elect, and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman will go on to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.
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Pottsville looking to dismiss political activist's suit over open burn ordinance
SCRANTON – The City of Pottsville has motioned to dismiss an activist’s constitutional challenge of its open-burning ordinance with respect to burning flags as a method of political protest, with the case being one of several the plaintiff has filed statewide.
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Pa. federal judge throws out lawsuits against insurers over COVID-19 losses coverage
PITTSBURGH – In concurring with other courts nationwide that found COVID-19 and mandatory shutdowns did not cause physical damage to commercial properties, a Pittsburgh federal judge threw out dozens of cases seeking coverage from Erie Insurance Group and other insurers for losses connected to the pandemic.