Federal Court News
Federal Court
Christian's COVID vax-refusal case sent elsewhere
PITTSBURGH - A Christian physical therapist fired over refusing the COVID-19 vaccine won't be able to sue her former employer in court, a Philadelphia federal judge has held.
Federal Court
Inquirer settles Facebook Pixel class action for $1.1 million
PHILADELPHIA - A federal judge has approved another class action settlement over privacy concerns at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Federal Court
Black business owner has Upper Merion take his land but judge says no racism
PHILADELPHIA - A federal court has found no racial animus in Upper Merion's decision to take for itself land being sold to a Black business owner under a gentlemen's agreement.
Federal Court
Fairness concerns with Allegheny County's probation system to be raised after Third Circuit revives lawsuit
PHILADELPHIA - Detained for months on end, convicts who allegedly violated the terms of their probation have a second chance to prove an unfair system in Allegheny County rubber-stamps their fate.
Federal Court
Settlement in case of man killed by SEPTA train
PHILADELPHIA - After her lawsuit struggled to find its footing, a woman whose brother was killed by a SEPTA train has settled with the agency and Amtrak for $20,000.
Federal Court
Ex-Harvard morgue manager pleads guilty to selling human remains
WILLIAMSPORT - The former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School accused of harvesting and selling body parts like skin and heads has pleaded guilty.
Federal Court
Millions on the way to lab that created controversial Zantac scare
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - A drug-testing lab's war on Zantac, which spawned tens of thousands of lawsuits despite claims of "junk science," will earn it millions of dollars.
Federal Court
Judge to Wilkinsburg Massacre suspect: No wrongful arrest if you actually did it
PITTSBURGH - The man arrested for the murder of six people in a Western Pennsylvania shooting who was later acquitted won't get to take his malicious prosecution claim to trial, as a federal judge seems to think he did, in fact, pull the trigger.
Federal Court
Judge won't step in to give Pennsylvanians medical aid in dying
PHILADELPHIA - A Pennsylvania man who equated not being able to die with dignity with slavery has lost his argument in federal court, as a judge refused to bypass the General Assembly and institute medical aid in dying.
Federal Court
Bisexual man taking PennDOT to trial on hostile work environment claim
WILKES-BARRE - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation can't escape a lawsuit filed by a bisexual former employee who claimed harassment like co-workers placing a tampon on his chair.
Federal Court
Inquirer data breach settlement finalized; $175K for lawyers
PHILADELPHIA - A federal judge has given final approval to a $525,000 class action settlement in a lawsuit over a data breach at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Federal Court
Hockey tournament company can't be sued after player walks into duck sign at hotel
PITTSBURGH - The organizer of youth hockey tournaments has defeated a lawsuit brought by a player injured at his hotel by a joke "Duck Crossing" sign.
Federal Court
Harvard morgue manager, charged with selling body parts, says they aren't 'merchandise'
WILLIAMSPORT - The criminal case of the former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School accused of selling pieces of dead bodies asks the question of whether human remains can be considered "goods."
Federal Court
Hundreds of employees at TEKsystems grouped into four overtime pay class actions
PITTSBURGH - A federal judge's ruling raises the stakes on a labor lawsuit against a global business and technology firm.
Federal Court
'Historic' case over future of Pa. elections tossed
HARRISBURG - A group hoping to show Pennsylvania does not properly handle federal elections has failed in federal court, as a magistrate judge has found its plaintiffs lack standing to file suit.
Federal Court
Blowin' in the wind: Ex-PPD lieutenant accused of ignoring rape by detective can't ignore subpoena
PHILADLPHIA - A former Philadelphia Police Department lieutenant can't rely on the wind to blow her problems away, a judge has ruled in lawsuits over a disgraced detective found guilty of rape and other crimes.
Federal Court
Lackawanna Co. escapes liability for St. Patrick's Day assault on inmate
SCRANTON - A man arrested for public intoxication then tossed around a jail cell during Scranton's St. Patrick's Day celebration in 2023 has lost his lawsuit against the Lackawanna County Sheriff's Department.
Federal Court
Lab has 'whistleblower' settlement in place in Zantac case
PHILADELPHIA - The product-testing lab whose research has created tens of thousands of lawsuits still works to settle a case it brought itself and received no support from the federal government and more than two dozen states refusing to participate.
Federal Court
Animal rescue fails to show Rostraver Twp. took revenge on her
PITTSBURGH - A federal judge has tossed what's left of a lawsuit over a Westmoreland County neighborhood dispute, brought by a woman running an animal-and-people rescue in Rostraver Township.
Federal Court
Sextortion/suicide victim's case against Meta needs a home court
PHILADELPHIA - A social media giant says a wrongful death lawsuit against it and several others over the suicide of a sextortion victim will be grouped with others in California, while the plaintiff wants it sent back to the Philadelphia state court in which it was first filed.