News from March 2012
Pa. state employee charged by Attorney General in insurance kickback scheme
An auditor with Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry was arrested by state authorities March 19 and charged with soliciting and receiving bribes in exchange for favorable treatment of businesses insured through the State Workman’s Insurance Fund.
Judge refuses to dismiss conspiracy claim against City of Phila. and police officers
A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia filed by a man who claims police encouraged neighborhood residents to assault him, since law enforcement officials had believed the man was responsible for the rape of a little girl.
Pa. Supreme Court Justice McCaffery scheduled to testify before Congress on proposed Veterans Court funding
A jurist from Pennsylvania’s highest court was set to testify before Congress on Thursday in support of a measure that would make federal dollars available to state and local governments for the establishment of nationwide courts designed to specially treat military veterans who have run afoul of the law.
Judge orders City of Phila. to pay $877,000 in legal fees stemming from Boy Scouts discrimination suit
A long-term dispute between the City of Philadelphia and a local chapter of the Boy Scouts of America appears to have reached an end, after a federal judge this week ordered city officials to cough up $877,000 in legal fees for the firm that represented the Scouts in a case relating to eviction from a city-owned property.
Sandusky attorney asks for trial continuance, dismissal of sex-abuse charges
The attorney representing accused child molester Jerry Sandusky filed a motion with the Centre County Court of Common Pleas March 22 asking the judge in the case to dismiss some of the sex-abuse charges against his client and push back the trial start date.
Man charged with illegally transferring machine guns loses bid to be tried separately from codefendants
A man who is being charged in connection with his role in a theft, and subsequent plot to sell firearms stolen from a federal gun dealer has lost his bid to be tried separately from the other defendants in the case.
Judge to Sandusky prosecutors: provide defense with alleged victims' contact information
The judge presiding over the upcoming Jerry Sandusky child molestation trial granted a defense request to have certain information pertaining to the alleged victims turned over by the prosecution.
Pa. Superior Court Judge, area attorney to be honored at Bar Association awards banquet
Two area legal professionals will find themselves at the center of an upcoming awards ceremony designed to highlight the good deeds of women in the workplace.
Govt. seeks to transfer injury claim involving FBI agent to federal court
Justice Department lawyers have filed a removal notice in federal court in Philadelphia seeking to transfer a personal injury case arising from a motor vehicle accident involving an FBI agent from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where the suit was initially filed, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Regal Entertainment Group seeks venue transfer in personal injury case
Attorneys for a movie theater being sued by a Philadelphia woman who claims she broke her leg after slipping on the theater’s wet restroom floor are seeking to transfer venue from state to federal court.
Discrimination suit by former juvenile detention center officer can move forward, judge rules
A federal judge in Philadelphia has ruled that a former detention officer who worked for an area juvenile facility can move forward with his lawsuit against his former employer, which alleges that the man was fired from his job of six years for discriminatory reasons.
Pa. courts' website gets technological upgrades
Court-ordered fines, restitution, motor vehicle violations and other court related financial transactions in Pennsylvania can now be taken care of electronically via the state judiciary’s website, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts announced Monday.
Commonwealth Court rejects lawyer's attempt to remove Obama from Pa. primary election ballot
A state appellate court panel late last week rejected a request by a Philadelphia-area attorney to get President Obama kicked off the April primary election ballot.
Insurance company ordered to pay court costs to former lab technician
A former blood-taker at a local laboratory can collect attorney’s fees from the insurance company that provides coverage for workers at her former place of employment, which the woman had sued for denying her claim, a federal judge has ruled.
Pa. Dept. of Corrections properly deducted money from inmate's account, appellate court rules
A state appellate court panel has ruled in favor of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and others who were being sued by a prison inmate who claimed that officials were deducting money from his personal account without a court order.
Lawsuit claims harassment of lawful gun owners is turning Phila. into a 'police state'
A federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a Philadelphia man on March 15 alleges that the City of Philadelphia and its police department have been engaging in a widespread assault on citizens’ Second Amendment rights, specifically by unlawfully arresting people who are legally carrying firearms using gun licenses from reciprocal states.
Judge dismisses suit against McDonald's over slip-and-fall incident
A woman from Southeastern Pennsylvania who sued McDonald's last December over injuries she sustained in a slip-and-fall incident at a Maryland McDonald’s restaurant located a mere five miles from the plaintiff’s home cannot move forward with her suit, but not because the complaint was filed in an improper venue.
Pa. Attorney General's Office serves subpoenas on Penn State employees
State prosecutors have served subpoenas to an unknown number of Pennsylvania State University officials, presumably in relation to the ongoing child sex-abuse case against a former university assistant football coach, according to media reports and an announcement released by the university.
Pa. Superior Court: suit against Bucks County casino cannot be heard in Phila.
A state appellate court has affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a personal injury lawsuit against a Pennsylvania casino cannot be played out in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas.
Lawsuit over injuries from broken wine glass remanded back to state court
A federal judge in Philadelphia has granted a motion by a Holland, Pa. man to remand his lawsuit over a broken wine glass back to state court.