PITTSBURGH – A police chief and one of his officers want to be dismissed from a lawsuit filed by a Vandergrift Borough Council member, alleging a conspiracy-based campaign of defamation and slander undertaken by a number of borough officials was intended to drive her out of office.
Karen McClarnon first filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on May 28, versus the Borough of Vandergrift, Kathy Chvala, Christine Wilson, John Uskuraitis, Thomas Holmes, Lenny Collini, Barbara Turiak, Chief Joseph M. Caporali and Officer Nathan Rigatti. All parties are based in Vandergrift.
McClarnon said she had criticized a number of issues in the Borough’s operation, such as its alleged lack of written or standardized operating procedures, activity taking place at the Casino Theatre, fiscal management of the borough-owned pool, alleged intimidation at the hands of local police targeting her family, alleged nepotism and the Borough Council allegedly conducting secret meetings in violation of the Pennsylvania Sunshine Law for government transparency.
McClarnon added local officials have engaged in at least two dozen forms of retaliation against her, including but not limited to, allegedly declining to provide a police report from when her husband was pulled over in front of the plaintiff’s home; the Borough Council allegedly refusing to give her prior notice of meetings; Collins allegedly spreading false rumors she had been fired from her prior role as principal at Cardinal Maida Academy for theft and Caporali allegedly telling an officer that the plaintiff had phoned into a Borough Council meeting while drunk, when she was only out of town and in no way intoxicated.
“All of these actions have been performed in an attempt to keep plaintiff McClarnon from participating in Vandergrift Borough Council business and to prevent her from carrying out her constitutionally-protected and mandated duties in retaliation for her criticisms of the borough and of council,” the suit states.
“All of the foregoing actions have been motivated by defendants’ desire to silence plaintiff McClarnon who has been an outspoken, vocal minority critic of defendants’ policies and actions as majority members of Vandergrift Borough Council.”
UPDATE
On June 25, defendants Caporali and Rigatti filed a motion to dismiss themselves from McClarnon’s lawsuit in three separate counts in which they were named: First Amendment violations (Count I), Substantive Due Process (Count III) and Failure to Train/Supervise (Count V).
“None of the factual averments as to Officer Rigatti arise to the level of a Constitutional violation. Chief Caporali is not alleged to have engaged in any conduct beyond advising plaintiff that no reports existed as to two alleged incidents,” the motion stated, in part.
“The alleged conduct of each officer, assumed for purposes of the within motion as true, will be examined. Regarding Chief Caporali, when plaintiff asked for copies of police reports on two separate occasions, Chief Caporali responded by advising that no reports existed. These alleged actions are devoid of the type of conduct that could be construed as violating plaintiff’s rights and it follows then that no unconstitutional conduct has been identified to support any cause of action.”
For counts of violation of due process, defamation and violation of liberty interest and violation of free speech, the plaintiff is seeking an injunction restraining the defendant from continuing violation of any of the alleged acts taken against her, damages in the form of costs, attorney’s fees and such other and further relief as is deemed appropriate.
The plaintiff is represented by Jon Pushinsky and William Lafferty, plus Craig H. Alexander of Bruce E. Dice & Associates, all in Pittsburgh.
The defendants are represented by Thomas P. McGinnis, Karin M. Romano and Samuel G. Dunlop of Thomas Thomas & Hafer, plus Paul D. Krepps and Morgan M.J. Randle of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, also in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case 2:20-cv-00779
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com