U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Recent News About U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
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Borough of West Chester and plaintiffs differ on mootness and constitutionality of COVID-19 emergency orders
PHILADELPHIA – While the Borough of West Chester feels that a lawsuit filed against the municipality and its former mayor which challenged the constitutionality of their emergency declaration orders issued during the coronavirus pandemic is moot, the plaintiffs counter that the issue is not resolved. -
Butler County says case over Gov. Wolf's COVID orders isn't moot, can prevent future unconstitutional mandates
PHILADELPHIA – An attorney representing Butler County, a county which contested the legality of Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 emergency measures before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, agrees with a federal judge that state officials should never again enact policies which violate the constitutional rights of Pennsylvanians. -
Third Circuit upholds dismissal of gift shop worker's discrimination suit against Geisinger Medical
PHILADELPHIA – A panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed a summary judgment ruling which dismissed an age and disability-related discrimination lawsuit filed by a Wilkes-Barre hospital gift shop worker ,who claimed she wasn’t hired for open positions advertised at the facility. -
Third Circuit: In longtime rail project suit, FERA retroactively applies to any case pending when law was passed
PHILADELPHIA – A federal appellate court unanimously ruled that an amendment to the False Claims Act which lowered the burden of proof on whistleblowers does apply retroactively, to any case pending when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that the amendment was designed to cover. -
Third Circuit: Lingering questions of med-device product liability law need to be decided by Pa. Supreme Court
PHILADELPHIA – According to a panel trio of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and not itself, must decide two unresolved questions of medical device product liability law. -
Third Circuit: Suit of man who was fired over allegedly taking FMLA leave, was properly dismissed by lower court
PHILADELPHIA – A per curiam panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has upheld a lower court ruling which ordered that a wrongful termination complaint filed by a man versus his ex-employer over his taking medical leave would be dismissed. -
5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling keeps planned PennEast pipeline alive, for now
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court narrowly ruled Tuesday that natural gas pipeline projects which are granted federal approval can utilize eminent domain for state-owned land, bolstering efforts for the planned 116-mile-long PennEast Pipeline through Pennsylvania and New Jersey. -
Third Circuit affirms decision that U.S. Steel plant's pollutant releases are covered by federal law exemption
PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed a victory for U.S. Steel, upholding a lower federal court decision which found that the releases of hundreds of thousands of pounds of hazardous pollutants into the air from three of the company’s plants were exempted under federal law. -
U.S. Supreme Court rules free speech rights of cheerleader thrown off squad after profane Snapchat post were violated
WASHINGTON – In a key free speech case for the Internet age, the U.S. Supreme Court found in favor of a Pennsylvania teenager who sued the Mahanoy Area School District after a profanity-laced Snapchat photo led to her removal from her high school’s cheerleading squad, though it stopped short of prohibiting public schools from regulating off-campus speech. -
Third Circuit: District Court properly dismissed Jenkintown mayoral candidate's suit against Borough officials
PHILADELPHIA – A former Jenkintown mayoral candidate and her spouse who lost their retaliation case against a number of borough officials have also lost the appeal of their case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. -
Third Circuit denies Ohio couple's appeal over fall at Erie casino, says sign was 'an obvious hazard'
PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has thrown out an appeal from an Ohio couple, who initially lost their case in a lower federal district court related to the wife’s fall over a sign located on a casino’s property. -
Third Circuit: Trial court's summary judgment for dilatory counsel representing farmer who violated Clean Water Act, was proper
PHILADELPHIA – A trio of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit bench have upheld the granting of summary judgment to the U.S. government in its second litigation against a farmer who allegedly violated the Clean Water Act, finding that defense counsel’s repeated procedural violations called for such a sanction. -
Inmate with gender dysphoria not denied access to medical treatment, Third Circuit rules
PHILADELPHIA – A per curiam panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has agreed with a lower court that corrections officers and administrators did not deny a state prisoner access to doctor-ordered treatment. -
FOX anchor's counsel argues to Third Circuit that intellectual property rights should preserve his client's publicity case
PHILADELPHIA – Counsel for a local television news anchor who sued a series of social media entities for an alleged improper use of her image across the Internet argued to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that the case should proceed, despite a federal law which prevents lawsuits against third-party providers of online content. -
NFL announces stop to 'race-norming' practice in evaluating concussion settlement claims
PHILADELPHIA – The National Football League announced it will stop a practice known as “race-norming” – which operated under the assumption that Black players began their football careers with decreased cognitive function as compared to white colleagues – in its handling of the billion-dollar settlement program of brain injury claims brought by former NFL players, and examine past determinations for examples of racial bias. -
Third Circuit agrees with trial court that inmate with schizophrenia failed to show deliberate indifference from prison docs
PHILADELPHIA – A per curiam complement of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has agreed with a trial court ruling that a Western Pennsylvania inmate suffering from schizophrenia, failed to show that medical officials at his corrections facility interfered with and altered his treatments. -
Third Circuit agrees that man's constitutional rights weren't violated in state court's record-expunging process
PHILADELPHIA – A per curiam panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit agreed with a lower federal court, which had previously thrown out a civil rights case from a man who claimed the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas violated his rights, when he tried to expunge his criminal record. -
Phila. court not extending jurisdiction to state law claims, from estate of man who died in Montco officers' custody
PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia federal court has declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims, brought by the estate of a man who suffered a severe medical episode and died in custody at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. -
Third Circuit: Professional malpractice cases without certificates of merit were properly dismissed by lower federal court
PHILADELPHIA – A panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed the ruling of a lower federal court, which stated that a pair of professional malpractice cases were properly dismissed due to their not containing certificates of merit. -
Third Circuit: Dismissal of man's suit over alleged improper sale of property he acquired from his wife, was correct
PHILADELPHIA – A per curiam panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed the ruling of a lower federal court, which had thrown out a lawsuit concerning a man’s dispute over the sale of property he says he acquired from his incapacitated wife.