A high-school girl complains she was forced to race against a biological male, a conspiracy lawsuit against the food industry and an NFC championship celebration goes wrong are among five new cases of interest in Pennsylvania.
A.M. v. U.S. Department of Education, et al.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Jan. 20
"You are not a girl. You should not be racing against girls," plaintiff A.M. told a fellow cross-country in September after finishing second.
A.M.'s lawsuit says Plymouth Whitemarsh High School decided the runner, known as L.A. in court documents, was a biological female when they are actually a male. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association affords principals the last word when a "student's gender is questioned or uncertain."
A.M., a senior at Quakertown High School, again finished second to L.A. in a race, a 4x400 relay, in December. Her lawsuit says her 14th Amendment right to equal protection has been violated.
She is suing the Department of Education for implementing a new rule that defines sex discrimination to include bias toward gender identity.
Solomon Radner of The Law Office of Keith Altman in Michigan represents the plaintiff.
Daniel Booth v. City of Philadelphia, et al.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Jan. 24
It started as a joyous night in January 2023 as Booth and his friends were at the intersection of Frankford Ave. and Cottman Ave. in Philadelphia, celebrating the Eagles' victory in the NFC Championship that put them in the Super Bowl, where they eventually lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Booth was recording the celebration on his cell phone but was pushed from behind by law enforcement acting as crowd control, the suit says. When he turned around, the officer struck his phone with a nightstick, causing Booth to drop it, he says.
The two cursed at each other, and officers allegedly pushed Booth's friend to the ground and hit him with a nightstick. Booth says he was also struck before being put in a headlock.
Booth was placed in a police van and is suing for excessive force. He complains of a $600 medical bill for his knee at an urgent care facility.
Bryce Martinez v. Kraft Heinz Company, et al.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Dec. 10
Major plaintiffs firms Morgan & Morgan and Seeger Weiss are teaming for an ambitious lawsuit that was recently removed to Philadelphia federal court by the food-and-drink industry.
Among the defendants accused of a conspiracy to harm the public by selling ultra-processed foods are Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Nestle and Conagra. One of those consumers, Bryce Martinez, has been diabetic since the age of 16 and is the plaintiff in this case.
"UPF are alien to prior human experience," the suit says. "They are inventions of modern industrial technology and contain little to no whole food."
Tobacco companies Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds purchased U.S. food companies in the 1980s and "used their cigarette playbook to fill our food environment with addictive substances that are aggressively marketed to children and minorities," the suit says.
The country has experienced epidemics of obesity, diabetes and heart disease as a result, the suit claims.
"The UPF industry is well aware of the harms they are causing and has known it for decades," the suit says. "But they continue to inflict massive harm on society in a reckless pursuit of profits."
Edward McLean, et al., v. Warwick Township, et al.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
McLean says he was attacked by Warwick police officers on Jan. 22, 2023, at his home at 9:15 p.m. They were responding to a report of domestic violence but were at the wrong address, the suit says.
"Defendants... arrived at Plaintiffs' home, punched through their screen door, pulled the door off the hinges, entered the home without a warrant and violently assaulted Plaintiff, Edward McLean, by punching him in the chest, slamming him to the ground and handcuffing him," the suit says.
His wife and three children were home at the time. McLean says he was physically injured and suffered humiliation.
Nicholas and Teresa Bentivegna v. Hampton Township School District, et al.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Jan. 20
Bentivegna, a lawyer in Cambria County, is suing over the tax assessment appeals process in Allegheny County. He and his wife bought a fixer-upper cabin in Hampton in October but were sued by the school district there.
The suit sought an increase on the tax assessment on the cabin. Bentivegna said he later learned the Hampton School District had filed hundreds of similar cases, as had other school districts in the county, as part of a "well-oiled" machine.
Appeals are useless, he says, and the whole process is unconstitutional. He attempted to take the issue to the state Supreme Court before filing suit recently in federal court, claiming violations of his civil rights.
"The Hampton School Board welcomes newcomers into their community by filing lawsuits against them. Their policy is to target and freeze concentrated tax increases on a relatively small group of their most vulnerable citizens. They really ought to be ashamed of themselves," Bentivegna says.