Perry v. Borough of Middletown et al. (U.S. Dist. Court, M.D. PA 2011) Early in the morning of May 15, 2008, Deana Perry and her husband were woken by loud pounding on their door and bedroom windows. When she opened the door, a team of officers from the Middletown Police Department and the Dauphin County Drug Task Force burst into their home. Mrs. Perry was handcuffed and forced to sit partially naked on a stool as officers ransacked her home. During the search, officers found intimate pictures that Mrs. Perry had taken for her husband. Upon discovering the pictures the officers continued to laugh and make crude comments in her presence. The officers then placed one of the intimate pictures in the front window of the home, along with a neon yellow bumper sticker saying "Busted ...Say No to Drugs." All charges against Mrs. Perry were dropped. We then pursued a federal civil rights suit against the Drug Task Force and Middletown officer, which was settled for $100,000.00.
Knopick v. Downey (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2011) In a legal malpractice action, the district court dismissed Mr. Knopick's case because it erroneously applied the two-years statute of limitations to the suit. Wherein the plaintiffs divorce attorney had failed to call witnesses resulting in a loss to Mr. Knopick of over $2,000,000. On appeal, the Third Circuit reversed and reinstated his case, holding that Mr. Knopick-who was assured by his attorneys that he could not possibly lose his case-could not have reasonably known that his attorneys committed any malpractice in 2004 until the court ruled against him in 2005 because of that malpractice.
Commonwealth v. McManus (Court of Common Pleas of York County, 2011) Mr. McManus was charged by the District Attorney's Office with multiple felony counts, including two Counts of Theft by Deception, Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Funds, and two Counts of Deceptive Business Practices alleging to have occurred in April, 2004 and June, 2005. It was alleged that Mr. McManus, who was the owner of a construction business, received funds from customers for jobs that he did not complete, and inevitably, did not return the funds. We maintained that Mr. McManus was experiencing financial difficulties and that during this time frame, filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Upon our review of the specifics of the case, we determined that all of the charges had a five year Statute of Limitations or had been discharged under the Bankruptcy Code. We proceeded to file a Motion to Dismiss, and after oral arguments, the Court dismissed all of the charges.
Commonwealth v. Reese (Court of Common Pleas of York County, 2011) Mr. Reese was driving in Fairview Township in the early morning hours when he was pulled over by a Fairview Township Police officer for an "object" hanging from Mr. Reese's rearview mirror. The object was an air freshener. Mr. Reese was subsequently charged with Driving Under the Influence and Driving with a Suspended License. We thereafter filed a Motion to suppress evidence of the stop alleging that the stop on Mr. Reese was unreasonable and that any evidence obtained was in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Immediately prior to oral argument, the District Attorney's Office offered to drop all misdemeanor charges and allow Mr. Reese to plead to a summary traffic offense resulting in only a $25.00 fine.
United States v. Demetrius Greene (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2011) Mr. Greene was convicted of and pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute 50 or More Grams of Cocaine Base and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering. Mr. Greene subsequently pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute 50 or More Grams of Cocaine Base pursuant to a Plea Agreement. Objections to the Pre-Sentence Report were filed, and after a hearing, the Court overruled the objections and adopted the Report as it was written. Mr. Greene was subsequently sentenced to 360 months incarceration. We represented Mr. Greene on appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. After researching the issues involved, briefs were prepared and filed with the Court. The Third Circuit thereafter found that the District Court had erred in overruling the objections, and remanded the case to the District Court for a new sentencing hearing.
Kelly v. Borough of Carlisle, 622 F.3d 248 (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2010) Mr. Kelly was arrested for a felony under Pennsylvania's Wiretap Act by the Carlisle Police Department for recording a traffic stop with a hand held video-camera. The Cumberland County District Attorney's office dismissed the charges against him because it is not illegal to record a police officer on a public street. We filed suit in federal court alleging that the arrest violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The district court dismissed the case, believing that the officer should not be held responsible. On appeal, the Third Circuit reversed and held that it was clearly not illegal under Pennsylvania law to record a police officer who lacked any expectation of privacy. Since no law had been violated, Mr. Kelly's constitutional rights had been violated.
Commonwealth v. Rainey (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2010) Shortly before his murder trial, the prosecution notified Mr. Rainey of a new government witness, Brandon Davis, who would testify that Mr. Rainey asked him to kill a witness. Mr. Rainey's attorney moved to withdraw as counsel because his conflict of interest as to Mr. Davis, who he had represented on multiple criminal cases. The court of common pleas denied the motion, and the jury convicted Mr. Rainey of third-degree murder. We represented Mr. Rainey on appeal. The Superior Court reversed and remanded for a new trial, holding that the trial court denied Mr. Rainey his right to effective assistance of counsel under the Sixth Amendment by making him proceed to trial with an attorney who had a clear conflict of interest.
United States v. Chambers-Galis (U.S. District Court, Middle District of PA, 2010) Ms. Chambers-Galis was Indicted by a federal grand jury with five counts of money laundering and one count of wire fraud. It was alleged that Ms. Chambers-Galis was the President of a real estate settlement company who misappropriated client funds and used corporate funds for her own personal use. We maintained that Ms. Chambers-Galis had moved funds at the direction of the owner of the company, and that any funds taken for her personal use were approved. After a jury trial, Ms. Chambers-Galis was acquitted of the five money laundering counts. She was convicted of only a single count of wire fraud.
United States v. McGee (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2010) Following conviction, Mr. McGee attempted to challenge his conviction pro se (without a lawyer), however due to restrictions and procedures of the Bureau of Prisons, Mr. McGee was unable to reproduce relevant material necessary to be provided to the Court. Mr. McGee alleged that his inability to reproduce the necessary documents was a direct result of the implementation of the Bureau of Prison's Inmate Financial Responsibility Plan, where he was restricted to $25.00 per month commissary spending. Mr. McGee's filed a Habeas Corpus Petition which was subsequently denied by the District Court. We were subsequently appointed by the Court to represent Mr. McGee before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals raising the issue that the denial of the Petition was in error and that the filing of a Habeas Petition was the proper venue for pursuant this argument. After briefing the issue, the Court of Appeals vacated the judgment of the District Court.
Commonwealth v. Cave (Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County, 2009) Mr. Cave was serving a prison term when he threw his own feces at a correction's officer. For this, he was charged with aggravated harassment by a prisoner, a third degree felony. Upon our motion, the Court appointed an independent medical examiner to determine whether Mr. Cave-who appeared to suffer from multiple severe mental disorders-was able to understand the nature of his actions. Ultimately, all charges against Mr. Cave were dismissed.
Stoner v. State Correctional Institute - Albion (U.S. Dist. Court, W.D. PA 2009) Mr. Stoner was incarcerated at State Correctional Institute at Albion with a maximum release date of September 3, 2007; however, for some unknown reason, he was not released on that date. When he was not released, he notified his prison counselor and the records department of his plight, and filed a written request for release and an official grievance, which was arbitrarily denied. Mr. Stoner then appealed to the prison's Superintendent who upheld his baseless detention. Ultimately, Mr. Stoner was released on October 11, 2007. As a result of the prison's deliberate indifference to his constitutional rights, Mr. Stoner spent 38 days in prison for no legitimate reason. We then pursued a federal civil rights suit against the personnel responsible for Mr. Stoner's unlawful detention. After the suit was filed the case was settled for $25,000.00.
Snell v. City of York 564 F.3d 659 (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2009) Mr. Snell was arrested by the City of York Police Department for disorderly conduct when he stepped into an alley next to Planned Parenthood to peacefully counsel women approaching the abortion clinic. Mr. Snell was ultimately found not guilty of disorderly conduct. We filed suit in federal court to vindicate Mr. Snell's First and Fourth Amendment rights. The district court dismissed the case, but on appeal, the Third Circuit reversed and reinstated the case for trial. The Third Circuit found that Mr. Snell demonstrated that the police unlawfully arrested him based upon his beliefs while allowing Planned Parenthood employees and patrons to walk in the same alley that the police arrested him for using.
McTernan v. City of York, 579 F.3d 521 (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2009) The City of York Police department threatened to arrest Mr. McTernan if he entered an alley next to Planned Parenthood to peacefully counsel women who approaching the abortion clinic. We filed suit in federal court alleging that this threat of arrest violated his First Amendment rights. The district court dismissed the case, but on appeal, the Third Circuit reversed and reinstated the case for trial. The Third Circuit held that the police department singled him out based upon his beliefs, thereby discriminating against him.
Doll v. Williams et al. (U.S. Dist. Court, M.D. PA 2009) After a fire at Mr. Doll's business, police were summoned from Carroll Township for purposes that are not clear. Once police arrived, they attempted to arrest Ken Doll, Sr. and Ken Doll, Jr. and an altercation ensued. The Dolls claimed that the police attacked them; two police officers said that the Dolls attacked them. During the altercation, Ken Doll, Jr. was struck three times in the head from behind by a police officer with a large flashlight. He was thereafter maced and tasered twice. In addition, the officers threw Ken Doll, Sr. to the ground and tasered him as well. Police thereafter charged both Ken Doll, Jr. and Sr. with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and interfering with fire operations. Following a week-long jury trial at which more than 20 witnesses testified, the jury found them not guilty of all charges. We then pursued a federal civil rights suit against the police officers, which was settled for $57,500.00.
Davis v. Schnectedy Community College (U.S. Dist. Court, N.D. NY 2009). This case involved a violation by municipal police officers and community college officials who attempted to prevent Mr. Davis from preaching in an area open to the public and videotaping in public. The federal court held that Mr. Davis has a right to videotape, ordered the municipality and the community college to allow him to continue videotaping, and directed that the community college and police pay Mr. Davis' attorney fees in the amount of $52,000.00.
Shope v. Lancaster County Children & Youth Services (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2008) - On June 8, 2006, the year old daughter of Patricia Shope was taken to the Lancaster General Hospital where she was diagnosed with ear infections (otitis media). For reasons that never became clear, a social worker for Lancaster County Children & Youth Services ("CYS") came to the hospital, without reasonable suspicion, and took custody of the child. The mother was required to see two different psychologists, at the request of CYS, both of whom found no issues with the mother. Despite the fact that CYS never had any evidence of abuse or neglect, they retained custody of the child until August, 2006. Following the child's return, we instituted a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging 14th Amendment violations. The case settled on the eve of trial when CYS agreed to pay Ms. Shope $125,000 for the Constitutional violation.
Grove v. City of York (U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, 2007). After being previously ordered by a federal judge to permit Pastor Grove and other members of his church to participate in the City of York's annual Halloween parade, the City of York permitted Pastor Grove to be in the parade, but placed him at the very end of the parade, behind the fire truck that traditionally marked the end of the parade. We brought suit arguing that the City's content-based discrimination violated Pastor Grove's rights to free speech, freedom of association and freedom of religious rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The federal courts agreed, and entered declaratory judgment in favor of Pastor Grove and ordered the City of York to pay nearly $50,000 in attorneys fees.
(November, 2006) - A middle-aged woman was arrested for videotaping an exchange between police and a pastor who was preaching in the street and was charged with disorderly conduct/unlawful videotaping. After criminal charges were dismissed, we pursued a civil claim on behalf of the client which settled out-of-court. In accordance with the terms of the settlement, the names of the parties and the terms of the settlement cannot be disclosed.
Kimes v. D.J. Wisor and Sons - Court of Common Pleas of McKean County 2005
An employee of the Borough of McKean was killed in a work accident when a contractor caused a sewer pipe to explode, that, in turn, exploded a manhole. The case was settled in the upper six figures.
Williams, et. al v. Henson Trucking - U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania 2003
Trucking company employees had been underpaid by their employer. An action was filed under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law. Following a jury trial, plaintiffs were awarded back pay and attorney's fees.
Marino v. Heckman - Supreme Court of Pennsylvania 1999
Case successfully challenged a Pennsylvania procedural rule that permitted courts to dismiss civil actions after there had been two years of inactivity on the docket. As a result, the Supreme Court reinstated the case and an injured plaintiff was able to settle a significant personal injury action. The case had a significant impact on other plaintiffs throughout the Commonwealth.
