Nicholas Malfitano News
SCI-Benner Township officials immune after pepper spray causes inmate to have an asthma attack
PHILADELPHIA – A federal appellate court has upheld a lower court’s decision to grant qualified immunity to corrections officials accused of deliberate indifference by an inmate at SCI-Benner Township, who suffered an asthma attack when those officials pepper sprayed another nearby inmate.
Santander Bank and Harrisburg entities battling over possession of impounded Dodge Ram vehicle
HARRISBURG – Santander Bank argues it should not have to pay nearly $13,000 to repossess a 2019 Dodge Ram vehicle it financed the purchase of and was later impounded by the Harrisburg Parking Authority for racking up 94 parking tickets, while the company who towed it claims otherwise.
Former Child Custody Master alleges age and gender discrimination by Northampton County court personnel
ALLENTOWN – A former Child Custody Master for the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas alleges that over a nine-year period, she was subjected to systemic age/gender discrimination and retaliation by other court personnel before being fired last October.
Suit over stabbing of school worker aboard bus loses vicarious liability claim
PITTSBURGH – A judge has partially granted preliminary objections in a case brought by a school employee alleging she was stabbed in the back by a nurse/school bus aide during an altercation and that a medical staffing company should have known the nurse was mentally ill and prevented such an incident.
Suit alleging driver data was sold to third parties may be consolidated into MDL
SCRANTON – A lawsuit from a Pennsylvania man who alleged that collective conduct between General Motors, OnStar and LexisNexis resulted in driver behavior data being collected without drivers’ consent has been stayed while a motion for transfer currently before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is resolved.
Settlement reached for cleaning technician who said he was target of anti-Islamic discrimination
PHILADELPHIA – A cleaning technician at Drexel University who alleged he was discriminated against for his Islamic faith on multiple occasions and later fired from his role in violation of federal law, has settled his case.
Pa. man who said Las Vegas law firm violated TCPA settles his class action case
WILLIAMSPORT – A Central Pennsylvania man who filed a class action lawsuit against the Accident Attorneys of America which alleged that the firm has violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) with its unsolicited phone calls to potential clients, has settled his case.
Suit surrounding teacher's molestation stayed, while settlement with Chambersburg Area School District is finalized
HARRISBURG – Litigation from a Chambersburg woman who alleged she was sexually molested by her then-high school chemistry teacher over a six-month time period in 2021-2022 and that the school district lacked adequate policies and procedures for the protection of its students, has been stayed while settlement discussions with the district are ongoing.
Transgender rehabilitation facility aide alleges he was subject to discrimination and retaliatory firing
SCRANTON – A transgender medical aide at a rehabilitation facility contends that in return for reporting harassment he had allegedly received from his co-workers, he was then fired in a retaliatory fashion based on his sex, gender identity and gender stereotyping.
Class action suit: Monroeville landfill's odors have created quality of life impairment for nearby residents
PITTSBURGH – A class action lawsuit asserts that a Monroeville landfill is releasing “substantial and noxious” odors that have invaded the properties of the named plaintiffs and numerous other area homeowners.
Parents who alleged their home was stormed by Philly deputies lose case
PHILADELPHIA – Parent plaintiffs who claimed multiple officers from the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department violated their civil rights when they executed a search warrant at their home in an attempt to find the plaintiffs’ son – who had been murdered five months before the search took place – have seen their case dismissed by the City per the doctrine of res judicata.
Merchandise reseller wants to open default judgment, denies truck unloader's retaliation claims
PITTSBURGH – A merchandise reseller business has requested to open a default judgment and concurrently denied claims from a truck unloader that he was disciplined in retaliation for his reporting several alleged safety violations he observed on the job to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), arguing that he in fact resigned and no such violations existed.
Former Interboro High School lacrosse player says poorly maintained field caused her knee injuries
MEDIA – A former Interboro High School lacrosse player who fell on the school’s grass sports field two years ago and suffered a variety of severe knee injuries in the process, has launched legal action against the school and other sports entities.
Judge: Lien holder cannot intervene in injury suit alleging chocolate factory worker was trapped in tank
ALLENTOWN – A federal judge has rejected a company’s attempt to intervene in a lawsuit filed by a man tasked with cleaning a chocolate batching tank at its facility and who claimed he became trapped in the machinery for more than six hours.
Man who wrecked car after day of golf, drinking sues establishments he says overserved him
PITTSBURGH – A Western Pennsylvania man severely injured in an automobile accident while driving under the influence, has sued the establishments who allegedly violated state law by over-serving him with alcoholic beverages.
Defective bike manufacturing led to plaintiff's extensive bodily injuries, suit alleges
PITTSBURGH – A local man alleges that he sustained a litany of bodily injuries due to the negligence of a bicycle company, which he says caused him to fall off the defectively-manufactured bike he was riding on two separate occasions in 2022.
Settlement reached for server over alleged wage shortages
PITTSBURGH – An Allentown man who worked as a waiter for more than six years and filed a class action lawsuit alleging that tipped, non-exempt servers like himself were shortchanged out of mandated wages in violation of both state and federal laws, has tentatively settled his claims.
Federal judge says state-created danger case against Marple Township police will proceed
PHILADELPHIA – The estate of a man left at a bus stop while in an intoxicated state by Marple Township police officers and killed by a passing vehicle shortly thereafter more than two years ago, will proceed in its case that the Township, its Police Department and a plethora of officers are responsible for the man’s death.
Judge throws out suit from estate of man who threatened his wife's nursing home
WILLIAMSPORT – A federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit brought by the estate of a man who made violent threats against his wife’s nursing home, was involuntarily committed and had his weapons seized, prior to his death, for a failure to prosecute.
Criminal charges dropped in neighbor-on-neighbor violence, but civil case filed
YORK – A confrontation between neighbors which escalated to gun shots and criminal charges against the alleged assailant being dropped during his trial has spawned a civil lawsuit in York County court.