News from September 2023
Bystander says he was shot four times by pub security as they fought with another patron
PITTSBURGH – A bystander to an exchange of gunfire between an unruly customer of a Pittsburgh pub and its security force has sued the pub after the altercation resulted in him being shot four times.
Pa. Commonwealth Court rejects arguments that life sentence without parole is unconstitutional
HARRISBURG – The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has dismissed a petition from a group of inmates incarcerated at SCI-Phoenix, who sought to challenge the state and federal constitutionality of their sentences of life without the possibility of parole.
With Support from Ballard Spahr, Philadelphia Kicks Off Largest-Ever Energy Conservation Project
Ballard Spahr served as underwriters’ counsel in connection with a bond financing for the City of Philadelphia to fund a $91 million project to replace all of its 130,000 streetlights—the largest energy conservation project in its history.
Motorcyclist who crashed bike under the influence continues to say bar overserved him
MEDIA – A man who crashed his motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol and suffered spinal and leg injuries as a result, insists that the pub overserved him alcoholic beverages and allowed him to drive at the end of the night.
Codi Joyce case: Father accepts confidential settlement to resolve wrongful death lawsuit
PITTSBURGH – The family of a man allegedly beaten and killed at a Munhall house party in 2015, has accepted a confidential settlement to resolve a wrongful death lawsuit filed over those events.
Lawsuit: West Penn Township police chief assaulted subject of arrest warrant
SCRANTON – A local woman alleges that West Penn Township’s police chief used excessive force and assaulted her, when serving a warrant for her arrest more than one year ago.
Lawsuit: Authorities misidentified plaintiff as shoplifter, detained her alongside 8-year-old great-granddaughter
PITTSBURGH – An 81-year-old woman claims that she and her great-granddaughter were assaulted, threatened with criminal arrest and wrongfully detained while shopping at Walmart just over one year ago.
Man who said Papa Johns violated Wiretap Act and lost in federal court appeals to Third Circuit
PITTSBURGH – After a federal court dismissed a man’s class action lawsuit against pizza chain Papa John’s alleging violations of the Wiretap Act and invasion of privacy, the plaintiff has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Practice Guidance: Crafting a Consumer Facing Privacy Notice on September 13, 2023
Odia Kagan will lead a discussion of state laws and best practices regarding consumer facing privacy notices.
The NLRB’s New Framework for Union Organizing – What It Means for Employers on September 13, 2023
Join Fox Rothschild Labor Management Relations attorneys Bob Nagle, Andrew MacDonald and Lori Armstrong Halber for a webinar exploring the full impact of the National Labor Relations Board’s groundbreaking decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, which jettisoned 50 years of established law to provide unions with a more favorable organizing framework.
Bucks County man challenging Educator Discipline Act wants to do so anonymously
PHILADELPHIA – A Bucks County man seeking a permanent injunction against enforcement of the provisions of Section 17.2 of Pennsylvania’s Educator Discipline Act – a statute which he feels criminalizes the disclosure of truthful information connected to the filing of an educator misconduct complaint with the Commonwealth’s Department of Education – wants to proceed anonymously in his action and file unredacted exhibits along with it.
Sikorsky Aircraft seeks to dismiss lawsuit over chopper crash that killed Canadian military members
PHILADELPHIA – For reasons of alleged improper venue, Sikorsky Aircraft is attempting to dismiss wrongful death litigation from the families of six members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who were killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Greece, allegedly due to a defective design in the helicopter’s flight system.
After losing case in federal court, woman alleging GameStop invaded her privacy appeals to Third Circuit
PITTSBURGH – A Pennsylvania woman who filed class action litigation against video game retailer GameStop – charging that it violated a state wiretap law and invaded its customers’ privacy when it allegedly intercepted and recorded the electronic communications of visitors to its website – has appealed the dismissal of her case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Parents' wrongful death suit against UPMC McKeesport may be settled for $1M
PITTSBURGH – Counsel for the parents of a 33-year-old man who died of a pulmonary embolism at the University of Pittsburgh McKeesport hospital one year ago, are ready to settle subsequent wrongful death litigation brought in connection with that event for $1 million.
Lawsuit filed over murder of Uber driver in Allegheny County
PITTSBURGH – A Pennsylvania woman has filed wrongful death litigation against Uber concerning the murder of her daughter, a driver for the ride share service who was held up at gunpoint and killed by her passenger.
Noted Securities Attorney Albert Dandridge, III Joins Ballard Spahr
Albert S. Dandridge, III—a nationally recognized securities attorney and leader in the Philadelphia legal community—has joined Ballard Spahr’s Business and Transactions Department and Securities and Capital Markets Group, firm Chair Mark Stewart announced today.
Couple say Pa. resort's walkway dropoff led wheelchair-bound husband to fall off
PITTSBURGH – A New Jersey couple claim that a resort’s uneven drop-off between a cement walkway and a pebbled path led to the husband-plaintiff falling off his motorized wheelchair and seriously injuring himself in the process.
Suit: Hole in Giant Eagle supermarket flooring allegedly causes shopper to fall in
PITTSBURGH – A local man says negligence on the part of a Giant Eagle supermarket in Export led him to fall through an exposed section of the store flooring during a shopping trip.
Bucks County couple's lawsuit against Sandals resort again dismissed
PHILADELPHIA – For the second time, a Bucks County couple’s litigation alleging that the husband-plaintiff suffered a series of injuries when he fell on a wet staircase at a Sandals resort in St. Lucia has been met with dismissal, while they continue to pursue a separate action.
Defendant removed from case of driver whose truck overturned with 40,000-pound load
PITTSBURGH – Counsel for a Western Pennsylvania truck driver and an Erie company have agreed to dismiss one defendant from litigation brought by that same driver, which claimed that a load he was carrying which weighed in excess of 40,000 pounds shifted without warning and caused his truck to overturn.