Parents of children in the Lebanon School District sued the district after it issued over 1,200 truancy citations per year and collected fines exceeding the $300 statutory maximum on hundreds of occasions, retaining more than $107,000 in excess payments without offering refunds or adjustment procedures for amounts already paid. The court denied the district's motion to dismiss, holding that the district is a proper defendant and that the complaint states a viable claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The core reasoning was that money constitutes a protected property interest under the Fourteenth Amendment, and the absence of any meaningful process for recovering the overpaid fines raises a plausible due-process violation.
In Kelly v. Borough of Carlisle, plaintiff Brian Kelly was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over by police officer David Rogers for speeding and a bumper height violation; Kelly recorded the stop on a small handheld camera resting on his lap without informing the officer. The officer seized the camera, consulted an assistant district attorney, and arrested Kelly under the Pennsylvania Wiretap and Electronic Surveillance Control Act. After the Third Circuit vacated in part the district court's initial grant of summary judgment and remanded for further findings on the Fourth Amendment claims, the district court reconsidered the officer's motion. The court denied summary judgment, holding that genuine issues of material fact remained regarding whether the officer had probable cause and was entitled to qualified immunity, including disputes over whether the camera was in plain view and the clarity of Pennsylvania law on recording police during traffic stops.
This case involves a dispute between Northwest Savings Bank and its landlords over a commercial lease for property at 2200 South Atherton Street in State College, Pennsylvania. The bank sought a declaratory judgment that it had not defaulted under the lease by failing to occupy the premises or by making alterations without prior written consent. The court granted the bank's motion for partial summary judgment, holding that no default occurred. The core reasoning was that the lease permitted the delayed bank use, non-occupancy did not meet the definition of abandonment given ongoing renovation plans, the landlords had accepted rent payments while aware of the situation, and any alleged breaches lacked the required notice and cure period under the lease terms.
This case involves a former employee of the Lackawanna County Controller’s Office who sued the newly elected controller under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging he was terminated hours after the defendant took office in retaliation for his political affiliation or refusal to participate in political activity, in violation of his First Amendment rights, and without due process. The court adopted the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation in full, granting summary judgment to the defendant on the failure-to-train claim but denying it as to the political termination, procedural due process, and punitive damages claims. The core reasoning was that the plaintiff had presented sufficient evidence of a genuine factual dispute on whether his political stance was a substantial motivating factor in the termination, that available post-termination union procedures did not necessarily satisfy due process requirements for a public employee with a property interest in the job, and that the question of punitive damages should be left to the jury given the surviving claims.
This case involves an inmate at SCI Smithfield suing several prison officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that a collapsing shower ceiling caused him head and back injuries and that the officials' awareness of the ceiling's deterioration amounted to deliberate indifference under the Eighth Amendment. The court adopted the magistrate judge's report and recommendation in full. It granted summary judgment to defendants Palakovich, Smeal, and Reihart but denied summary judgment to the remaining defendants, finding a genuine issue of material fact on whether those defendants had subjective knowledge of the ceiling's condition based on the plaintiff's allegation that he personally observed them inspecting the sagging ceiling.
In this employment discrimination case, plaintiff Joyce Robinson, a Black female locomotive engineer, alleged that her railroad employer subjected her to unequal discipline, denied her access to women's restrooms, failed to prevent racial vandalism and threats at work, and terminated her after a train derailment, all in violation of Title VII and state law. The court denied the employer's motion for summary judgment on the Title VII claim for ongoing employment discrimination and the race-based hostile work environment claim, finding genuine issues of material fact that required a trial. It stayed proceedings on the Title VII termination claim pending further briefing on whether Robinson had exhausted administrative remedies before the EEOC and PHRC. The court granted summary judgment on the remaining claims, including sex-based hostile environment and intentional infliction of emotional distress, primarily because those claims were time-barred or unsupported by sufficient evidence.