John O'Brien News
Lackawanna Co. escapes liability for St. Patrick's Day assault on inmate
SCRANTON - A man arrested for public intoxication then tossed around a jail cell during Scranton's St. Patrick's Day celebration in 2023 has lost his lawsuit against the Lackawanna County Sheriff's Department.
Lab has 'whistleblower' settlement in place in Zantac case
PHILADELPHIA - The product-testing lab whose research has created tens of thousands of lawsuits still works to settle a case it brought itself and received no support from the federal government and more than two dozen states refusing to participate.
Animal rescue fails to show Rostraver Twp. took revenge on her
PITTSBURGH - A federal judge has tossed what's left of a lawsuit over a Westmoreland County neighborhood dispute, brought by a woman running an animal-and-people rescue in Rostraver Township.
Sextortion/suicide victim's case against Meta needs a home court
PHILADELPHIA - A social media giant says a wrongful death lawsuit against it and several others over the suicide of a sextortion victim will be grouped with others in California, while the plaintiff wants it sent back to the Philadelphia state court in which it was first filed.
Jurors should hear case of gay teacher fired by Catholics, judge says
PITTSBURGH - A federal magistrate judge says a gay teacher's discrimination lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg should head toward trial.
Owner of staffing firm in Charleroi pleads guilty to using, harboring illegal immigrants
PITTSBURGH - The owner of a Pennsylvania company that supplies immigrant workers to an area that has seen its Haitian population explode faces prison time after pleading guilty to tax crimes.
Charleroi business owner using Haitian labor called 'big baby' after suing vocal critic
WASHINGTON - The Washington County business owner who went to court over criticisms he filled his staff with cheap Haitian labor is acting like a "big baby," says the man he sued.
Pa. SC protects retailers from new consumer protection theory
PITTSBURGH - Collecting sales tax does not open retailers to lawsuits under Pennsylvania's consumer protection law, the state Supreme Court has held in a proposed class action against companies like Kohl's and J. Crew.
Lawyers' tobacco playbook hits Big Food; How big can litigation get?
PHILADELPHIA - It's no secret that plaintiff lawyers often try to emulate the successes they had in the 1990s suing tobacco companies, when they teamed with government officials to score billions of dollars in fees from massive settlements.
5 new cases to know: Where should the Amish use the bathroom?
In recent cases of note filed in Pennsylvania courts, America is fighting for the rights of Old Order Amish persons to use outhouses, while a woman is suing the maker of a candle that set her hair on fire.
Appeal filed after Philadelphia wins wrongful death case over police shooting
PHILADELPHIA - The estate of a man shot to death by Philadelphia police is appealing the loss of its wrongful death lawsuit that claimed officers should have tasered him instead.
Amputee fired for calling manager 'scumbag' on Facebook loses discrimination case
HARRISBURG - A Pennsylvania Department of Transportation worker fired over a Facebook post complaining about his manager has lost his discrimination lawsuit.
Changes from 2023 didn't take Roundup plaintiffs' 'shaky' causation experts
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Experts once called "shaky" by the federal judge hearing thousands of Roundup cases can continue to testify, as the latest wave of plaintiffs make their way through a multidistrict litigation proceeding.
Wrongful death case against Philadelphia survives dismissal motion
PHILADELPHIA - The City of Philadelphia has lost its attempt to toss out of court a lawsuit that alleges police left a one-legged man to die in jail.
Skier struck by snowboard loses lawsuit against Blue Mountain
PHILADELPHIA - For the second time in a month, a Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled for a ski resort sued by an injured customer, citing a state law that "for better or worse," protects defendants.
Settlement reached in case of man left dying on Greyhound bus
PHILADELPHIA - It's an $85,000 settlement in a lawsuit brought over a man who suffered cardiac arrest on a Greyhound bus and later died.
Pa. court sides with med-mal lawyers, draws line on if doctor picked surgery for patient
HARRISBURG - A state appeals court has revived a medical malpractice lawsuit against Geisinger Medical Center, in a win for Pennsylvania's plaintiff lawyers.
Roofers, check your ladders; Court rules against worker who fell off one placed on a block
PITTSBURGH - A roofer should have known better, a Pennsylvania appeals court has ruled, finding that a ladder placed on a wooden block is an obviously dangerous condition.
Domino's decision a win for Pa. plaintiff lawyers, though other states have reached the opposite conclusion
PHILADELPHIA - A recent decision by a Pennsylvania appellate judges not only goes against an earlier ruling by their own court but also at least six others.
Domino's too controlling over franchisee, must pay for its $2.3M mistake
PHILADELPHIA - Domino's Pizza has lost its effort to avoid paying its slice of a $2.3 million verdict to a man whose leg was amputated after a traffic accident involving a pizza deliveryman.