U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Allentown Division
Recent News About U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Allentown Division
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Judge says plaintiff's lawyer in developer's discrimination case didn't violate ethical rules
ALLENTOWN – A federal judge has thrown out an affidavit containing a Palmer Township official’s remark describing a developer of Syrian origin as a “terrorist” in civil rights litigation brought by the developer that contended the Township denied him the opportunity to build properties due to his national origin. -
Christian arrested protesting Reading's Pride March wins part of lawsuit
ALLENTOWN – A federal judge has partially granted summary judgment in a lawsuit filed by an evangelical Christian, who protested the City of Reading’s first-ever Pride March & Rally and was then arrested for disorderly conduct by members of the local police department. -
Judge upholds $397K arbitration award, ending case over solar energy production technology
ALLENTOWN – A federal judge has affirmed a $397,000 arbitration award previously granted to a small Pennsylvania chemical company’s domestic and international competitors – a pair of companies that the plaintiff alleged had conspired to steal patented technology it created, whose primary use would be to generate solar energy. -
Federal judge dismisses suit from pastor who alleged his civil rights were violated during an arrest
ALLENTOWN – A Christian pastor arrested during a demonstration just outside Reading Senior High School nearly 18 months ago who alleged that the City of Reading and one of its police officers had a bias against Evangelical Christians and violated his civil rights, has lost his case. -
N.J. man cleared of charges lose false arrest case
ALLENTOWN – After three years of litigation, a New Jersey man jailed by Bethlehem authorities for allegedly soliciting sex with what he believed was a 14-year-old girl has lost his case against law enforcement authorities, which claimed he was falsely taken into custody and imprisoned in the sting operation that resulted in his arrest. -
Federal judge denies motion to dismiss of Wind Creek Bethlehem in assault case
ALLENTOWN – A federal judge has denied a dismissal motion from Wind Creek Bethlehem Hotel & Casino, in a lawsuit brought by the father of an intoxicated man trying to find their hotel room and who claimed Bethlehem Police Department officers assaulted him when they confronted the duo. -
No response to summary judgment motion leads federal judge to dismiss discrimination claims
ALLENTOWN – After not responding to a prior summary judgment motion from the defense, a federal magistrate judge has dismissed claims from a Philadelphia law firm’s former office manager, a plaintiff of Hispanic origin who alleged that she and a fellow co-worker were discriminated against during their tenure because of their ethnic background. -
Lancaster County seeks dismissal from wrongful death suit concerning man who died by suicide in custody
ALLENTOWN – Lancaster County is attempting to have itself be dismissed from wrongful death litigation brought by the estate of an inmate who died by suicide in custody in the County, while suffering from withdrawal symptoms. -
Mars Chocolate receives partial summary judgment against claims of worker trapped in tank
ALLENTOWN – A federal judge has partially granted and partially denied the Mars Chocolate company’s attempt to obtain summary judgment, 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. -
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. -
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. -
Wind Creek Bethlehem looking to strike negligence and punitive damages from excessive force case
ALLENTOWN – After the father of an intoxicated man trying to find their hotel room claimed Bethlehem Police Department officers assaulted him when they confronted the duo, Wind Creek Bethlehem Hotel & Casino counters that the plaintiff had not properly pled allegations of negligence or to support a request for punitive damages. -
Lehigh Township and its Chief of Police settle former officer's claims of sexual harassment for $1.75M
ALLENTOWN – Lehigh Township and its Chief of Police have settled litigation from a female former officer of the Lehigh Township Police Department for $1.75 million – litigation which alleged that, over a five-year period, the Chief of Police targeted her for sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse, creating what she called a “hostile, toxic and intolerable work environment” that led to her resignation. -
Jackhammer operator who alleged Norfolk Southern's negligence caused his injuries ends case
ALLENTOWN – Litigation from a jackhammer operator and his spouse against the Norfolk Southern railroad company, which claimed company negligence forced the operator to jump approximately 30 feet from a manlift in order to save his own life from an approaching train, has been closed. -
Lancaster is dismissed from litigation concerning alleged warrantless raids of vape businesses
ALLENTOWN – Lancaster County has been dismissed from litigation asserting that its district attorney and police officers conducted warrantless raids of businesses selling vape products last April, raids which those proprietors contend were illegal and contradictory to state laws currently on the books. -
Federal judge confirms $779K arbitration award to franchisee, in Choice Hotels lawsuit
ALLENTOWN – A federal judge has confirmed a $779,000 arbitration award decided in favor of a plaintiff franchisee in a wide-ranging lawsuit brought by such franchisees against the Choice Hotels organization, who claimed they have been overcharged inflated fees to increase the group’s revenue and have been subjected to discriminatory treatment based on race. -
After deaths of girls blamed on hoverboard battery, judge OKs $38.5M settlement
ALLENTOWN – A federal judge has signed off on a settlement of $38.5 million in survival and wrongful death litigation surrounding a fatal house fire in Hellertown in April 2022, a fire started by a hoverboard device which allegedly malfunctioned while charging and killed two young girls. -
Mother of Pen Argyl boy harmed by lead exposure settles with former landlord for $20K
ALLENTOWN – The mother of a six-year-old Pen Argyl boy who filed suit against her Florida-based landlord, charging that his failure to remediate lead from the home she rented has left her son with permanent brain damage, recently settled her claims for $20,000. -
$38.5 million settlement after deaths of girls blamed on hoverboard battery
ALLENTOWN – A federal judge has approved a settlement of $38.5 million in survival and wrongful death litigation surrounding a fatal house fire in Hellertown in April 2022, a fire started by a hoverboard device which malfunctioned while charging and killed two young girls. -
Judge: Biological father of girl who died in hoverboard house fire cannot recover Wrongful Death Act damages
ALLENTOWN – A federal judge has ruled that the biological father of one girl among two killed in a fatal house fire in Hellertown in April 2022, a fire started by a hoverboard device which malfunctioned while charging, is not eligible to recover damages under the Wrongful Death Act.