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  • In re Appeal of Friends of Marconi Plaza

    Publication Date: 2022-12-26
    Practice Area: Government
    Industry: State and Local Government
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Leavitt
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 938 C.D. 2021

    Trial court properly reversed decision of city's board of licensing and inspection review and found objectors had standing to challenge historical commission's approval of an application to remove a statue of Columbus from Marconi Plaza, commission did not have adequate evidence to conclude public safety was an ongoing concern and office of arts failed to follow the mandate in directive 67 regarding public input. Affirmed.

  • McGuire v. City of Pittsburgh

    Publication Date: 2022-12-12
    Practice Area: Government
    Industry: State and Local Government
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Wecht
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 26 WAP 2021

    Since "color of state law" under §1983 and "scope of office or duties" under the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act involved different considerations because §1983 imposed liability for official misconduct within and without the scope of an official's authority, a federal verdict imposing §1983 did not constitute a judicial determination triggering municipal duty to indemnify under the PSTCA. Order of the commonwealth court affirmed.

  • Clark v. Governor of the State of New Jersey

    Publication Date: 2022-11-29
    Practice Area: Government
    Industry:
    Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
    Judge: Judge Rendell
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 21-2732

    Plaintiffs appealed the dismissal of their complaint.

  • Geidner v. Volant Borough

    Publication Date: 2022-10-31
    Practice Area: Government
    Industry: State and Local Government
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Motto
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 70040 OF 2021, C.A.

    Plaintiffs sufficiently alleged that they had a legal right to have a public restroom opened by the defendant borough where they paid a merchant license fee directed at raising funds to maintain the restroom and continued to pay the fee without their customers having consistent and regular access to the facility. The court overruled in part defendants' preliminary objections.

  • Butler Area Sch. Dist. v. Levine

    Publication Date: 2022-10-17
    Practice Area: Government
    Industry: Education | State and Local Government
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge McCullough
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 647 M.D. 2020

    While voters recently approved amendments to the state constitution placing constraints on the Pennsylvania Governor's authority to act in a disaster emergency, petitioners raised a viable issue regarding whether the commonwealth's police powers in disaster emergencies could override specific grants of emergency powers given to local public school districts. The commonwealth court overruled respondent's preliminary objections.

  • Owens v. Huffman

    Publication Date: 2022-09-19
    Practice Area: Government
    Industry: Real Estate | State and Local Government
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
    Judge: Judge Motto
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 10612 OF 2021, C.A.

    Court granted in part and denied in part defendant city official's motion to dismiss plaintiff homeowner's complaint for negligence arising out of the city's failure to issue citations to neighbors who refused to correct sewage leakage. The court denied the motion in part finding that defendant as a city official owed a duty to investigate sewage leakage and was responsible for doing so under the Clean Streams Law. The court agreed, however, that defendant's failure to issue sewage citations did not amount to malicious conduct and the

  • Harris v. Burgmann

    Publication Date: 2022-09-12
    Practice Area: Government
    Industry: State and Local Government
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County
    Judge: Judge Roberts
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 22-0985

    The successor judge overturned a jury's verdict finding that a SEPTA officer was not protected under governmental immunity. The court noted the jury's verdict was inconsistent, as the jury had found that three other officers, with no distinguishable facts, were not liable for similar actions. The court further noted that the officer was clearly acting within the scope of his employment and entered JNOV in defendant's favor.

  • Ursinus Coll. v. Prevailing Wage Appeals Bd.

    Publication Date: 2022-08-22
    Practice Area: Government
    Industry: Construction | Education | State and Local Government
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Wojcik
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 22-0950

    Prevailing Wage Appeals Board erred in holding petitioner's construction project was a "public work" under the Prevailing Wage Act because the economic reality of the transaction showed the project was not paid for "out of the funds" of the authority as a public body and the transaction was not a public work subject to the act. Reversed.

  • Kajmowicz v. Whitaker

    Publication Date: 2022-08-08
    Practice Area: Government
    Industry: Federal Government
    Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
    Judge: Circuit Judge Rendell
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 22-0881

    District court properly dismissed appellant's Vacancies Reform Act and appointments clause action challenging acting attorney general Whitaker's authority to issue a rule because attorney general Barr's ratification cured any defects in the rule, the Vacancies Reform Act did not prohibit the ratification and the rule stood even if Whitaker served in violation of the Vacancies Reform Act or the appointments clause. Affirmed.

  • Keystone Outdoor Advertising Co., Inc. v. Sec'y of the Pennsylvania Dep't of Transp.

    Publication Date: 2022-08-01
    Practice Area: Government
    Industry: Advertising | Real Estate | State and Local Government
    Court: U.S. District Court for Pennsylvania - Eastern
    Judge: District Judge Surrick
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 22-0857

    PennDOT lacked authority to enforce state regulations governing outdoor advertising on billboards placed on leased-out Delaware River Port Authority property, where the interstate compact creating DRPA empowered the agency to control the use of its property and collect rents on said property. Intervenor plaintiff's motion for summary judgment granted, defendant's motion for summary judgment granted in part and denied in part.