Alleheny County courthouse. Credit: Shutterstock Pittsburgh Judges Ask Court to Toss Suit From Lawyer Jailed in Discovery Dispute
The defendants contend that Bernard's incarceration "was the result of his own vexatious and dilatory behavior."
February 20, 2024 at 05:26 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Legal Intelligencer
What You Need to Know
- Two Pittsburgh judges are seeking to dismiss claims stemming from the incarceration of a Black lawyer in a discovery dispute.
- The lawyer claims he was wrongly jailed and forced to settle a landlord-tenant dispute while shackled.
- The judges assert that they are immune from suit and that the lawyer failed to comply with court orders.
Two Pittsburgh judges argued that they could not be sued over the jailing of a Black attorney in connection to a discovery dispute.
Judges Philip Ignelzi and Mary McGinley of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas argued in a Feb. 16 motion to dismiss that judicial and governmental immunities shield them from allegations that they unlawfully arrested and imprisoned attorney Walter Bernard.
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