Karen Kidd News
Citizen takes environmental issue into his own hands with lawsuit over Bucks County development
PHILADELPHIA – A citizen suit filed recently against developers of an upscale 14 homesite community in Nockamixon Township is an example of litigation being harnessed to combat environmental law violations, the attorney for the plaintiff told the Pennsylvania Record.
Penn State's definition of 'consent' is challenged by student accused of sexual assault
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania State University sophomore is seeking protection in federal court from a suspension handed down after his alleged "pressuring" and "cajoling" of a fellow student into having sex with him was found to amount to sexual assault.
Pennsylvania racketeering lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare is 'meritless,' the company says
SCRANTON — Two Pennsylvania-based emergency room practices that have filed a federal racketeering and corruption lawsuit against affiliates of a major insurance group don't have much of a case, the spokesperson for the insurance group said.
Pa. judge rejects J&J's request to have talc case heard in federal court
PHILADELPHIA — The case of a Pennsylvania woman with ovarian cancer against defendants that include an East Pennsboro Township-based pharmaceutical company is on its way back to state court after a federal judge last month rejected an attempt to move it to his jurisdiction.
Judge dismisses part of multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Nike over 'COOL COMPRESSION'
PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge has dismissed counterfeiting claims in a Norristown athletics products company's lawsuit against Nike Inc., saying it failed to state a plausible counterfeiting claim.
Superior Court quashes appeal of company ordered to turn over potential members of class
HARRISBURG — A New Jersey-based home health care company will have to abide by a trial judge's order last fall to hand over contact information of current and former employees who potentially could become part of a class action, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently ruled.
Superior Court reinstates priest molestation lawsuit filed against Altoona-Johnstown Diocese
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently reinstated a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown filed by a woman who alleged she was repeatedly molested by a pedophile priest in the 1970s and 1980s.
Whistleblower's lawsuit alleging scheme at Wheeling Hospital defrauded Medicare transferred to West Virginia
PITTSBURGH – The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania recently agreed to transfer a federal whistleblower lawsuit that alleges a hospital overpaid physicians in a scheme to funnel millions in services to the hospital to a federal court in West Virginia.
Judge denies Native American's post-trial motions in discrimination case against Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA – A social worker in the Philadelphia Prisons Department who claims she was passed over for promotions because she is a Native American and not Latina or African-American recently suffered setbacks in her case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania when her three latest motions were denied.
Court doesn't give Sierra Club credit for redesign of Lackawanna Co. power plant
HARRISBURG – A Lackawanna County power plant was redesigned after the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit, but that doesn't mean the lawsuit triggered the redesign or that the environmental group is entitled to fees from the state Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court recently ruled.
Federal judge remands slip-and-fall case against Springfield Walmart back to Philadelphia court
PHILADELPHIA – The case of a man who slipped and fell in a Delaware County Walmart in 2017 is on its way back to Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania declined to dismiss charges against the store's manager.
Philly mayoral candidate sued for firing one of his Senate aides who says it was related to her breast cancer
HARRISBURG – State Sen. Anthony Williams isn't commenting much about a lawsuit filed against him by his former constituent services worker who was fired a few weeks before Christmas after she says she had to take time off for breast cancer treatment.
Pittsburgh lawyer files two cases alleging assault on school buses
PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh law firm this year filed very similarly worded cases in the same common pleas court against two different school systems on behalf of mothers whose young children were allegedly assaulted on school buses last year.
New Jersey using contingency fee lawyers to take lead in PFAS litigation
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – New Jersey is ahead of the rest of the country in using private lawyers to sue manufacturing companies over chemicals known as PFAS, whose toxicity levels are still being determined by federal regulators while lawsuits stack up.
Claustrophobia as a disability: Employee sues fireworks company for not providing him an office with a window
PITTSBURGH — A longtime employee's federal lawsuit against his former employer for allegedly failing to accommodate his condition of claustrophobia follows a series of similar cases introduced since a change in disabilities law in 2008.
Former Women Against Rape director alleges age discrimination, other charges
PHILADELPHIA — The former executive director of a Delaware County activist group is suing the organization, claiming age discrimination amid other allegations.
Pittsburgh lawsuit joins hundreds of others over failed hip replacements
PITTSBURGH — A Braddock couple is suing a New Jersey-based orthopedic firm, claiming a man underwent a failed hip replacement following the recall of components used in the surgical procedure.
Federal judge denies Slatington police officer's third try at lawsuit
PHILADELPHIA — Salvatore Taibi, a Slatington police sergeant on total disability leave, will not get a third opportunity to sue the borough following a federal judge's decision issued last month.
Commonwealth Court rules key portions of 2017 fireworks law unconstitutional
HARRISBURG — Key portions of a year-old Pennsylvania fireworks law went up in smoke this month when the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled parts of the legislation are unconstitutional.
Federal judge troubled by decision to order sexual harassment case into arbitration
PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge who last month ordered a sexual harassment lawsuit against a Maryland-based talent agency into arbitration admitted he was troubled by his seemingly inevitable decision in the case.