3rd Circuit Court

Luzerne, Pa., Arb Rules Change, as Judge Is Probed Over Panel Appointments

In an apparent expansion of an ongoing probe into judicial corruption in Pennsylvania, a federal grand jury in Scranton is now hearing testimony about uninsured and underinsured motorist arbitrations in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. A related investigation is also looking at the relationship between a Luzerne judge and a local…

Mar 16, 2009 11:04 PM CDT

3rd Pa. Judge on Hot Seat; Will Juvenile Convictions Be Reversed?

In the latest developments in an expanding scandal over corruption in the Luzerne County, Pa., court system, a third judge there is now on the hot seat. Relying on unnamed sources, the Legal Intelligencer reports that the judge is being investigated over an allegation that he may have received a…

Mar 13, 2009 9:02 PM CDT

Retired Pa. Judge Gets Almost 4 Years in Insurance Fraud Case

A federal judge in Erie, Pa., today sentenced a retired state court judge to nearly four years in prison for falsely claiming to have suffered debilitating injuries in a 2001 auto accident. Michael Joyce was given a 46-month prison term this afternoon for an insurance fraud that netted some $440,000,…

Mar 11, 2009 2:49 AM CDT

Appeals Court Blasts Settlement Firm, Nixes Deal Costing Victim $300K

A federal appeals court has refused to approve a lump-sum deal that cost a bombing victim around $300,000 because the Houston settlement company that struck the agreement evaded a Pennsylvania law requiring court approval. The company, Rapid Settlements, agreed to pay $32,000 upfront to the father of a 13-year-old boy…

Mar 10, 2009 3:12 PM CDT

Continuing Luzerne, Pa., Court Probe: Were Auto Accident Cases Fixed?

Was the deck stacked against defense attorneys in uninsured and underinsured motorists cases in Luzerne County, Pa.? That is the issue on which investigators are now focusing in the latest chapter of an ongoing federal probe of court corruption there, reports the Legal Intelligencer. A pro-plaintiff arbitration system has been…

Feb 23, 2009 8:04 PM CST

Bankruptcy Judge Nixes Sidley’s Top $1,100 Hourly Rate, OKs $925

In a hearing today, a federal bankruptcy court judge in Wilmington, Del., said he won’t OK a top $1,100 hourly fee requested by Sidley Austin in a newspaper company’s case. But U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin Carey approved a top hourly fee of $925 in the Tribune Co. bankruptcy, Bloomberg…

Feb 20, 2009 9:03 PM CST

Latest Luzerne Court Follies News: Administrator Pleads Guilty

The administrator of a troubled Pennsylvania court that has recently seen two top judges plead guilty to criminal charges himself pleaded guilty today in federal court in Scranton to embezzling funds. William Sharkey, 57, admitted during a brief hearing this morning that he took more than $70,000 in seized illegal…

Feb 17, 2009 8:07 PM CST

2 Pa. Judges, 2 Lawyers and Others Sued in $2.6M Jail-for-Pay Case

Two Pennsylvania judges accused by federal prosecutors of accepting $2.6 million in kickbacks to jail juveniles in privately owned detention facilities are now being sued for damages. In the first of several expected lawsuits seeking class-action status, a federal complaint was filed yesterday contending that juveniles incarcerated under the scheme…

Feb 13, 2009 7:17 PM CST

Pa. Attorney Was Victim in Juvenile Jail-for-Pay Case, His Lawyer Says

A Pennsylvania lawyer who formerly was a co-owner of juvenile detention facilities implicated in a jail-for-pay case that has brought down two senior judges was a victim of their kickbacks scheme, his lawyer says. “Bob Powell never solicited a nickel from these judges and really was a victim of their…

Feb 11, 2009 8:55 PM CST

3rd Circuit: Verdicts May Compensate for Taxes on Back Pay

A federal appeals court has ruled trial judges may increase awards to compensate for taxes a plaintiff will have to pay on lump-sum awards for back pay. The ruling by the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “sharpens a split in the circuits,” the Legal Intelligencer reports. The 3rd…

Feb 4, 2009 12:13 PM CST

Lack of Legal Research in FMLA Case Costs Company an Extra $80K

Because an in-house lawyer didn’t research whether a pregnant worker was covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act before her employer fired her, a federal judge has doubled a jury verdict and awarded an additional $80,000 or so to the plaintiff. Senior U.S. District Judge Norma Shapiro said the…

Jan 30, 2009 10:14 PM CST

Suspended Pa. Judge Now at Issue in $3.4M Legal Malpractice Judgment

Accusations that two now-suspended Pennsylvania judges accepted $2.6 million in kickbacks in exchange for incarcerating juveniles at specific detention facilities have spilled over into another multimillion-dollar case. A law firm seeking to overturn a $3.4 million legal malpractice award says in a motion for a new trial yesterday that it…

Jan 30, 2009 8:20 PM CST

Animal Activists Battle First Amendment Defenses

The chief counsel for the Humane Society of the United States says the group is battling First Amendment arguments in its efforts to protect animals. Jonathan Lovvorn, vice-president and chief counsel of the Humane Society, spoke to the Am Law Daily about recent cases citing the right to free speech.…

Jan 29, 2009 7:14 PM CST

2 Pa. Judges are Suspended, Due to Kickbacks-for-Jailed-Juveniles Case

Acting within days of news that two longtime Pennsylvania judges have agreed to plead in a case alleging that they accepted $2.6 million in exchange for jailing juveniles in specific detention facilities, the state supreme court has suspended both, citing the criminal charges against them. Mark Ciavarella Jr., 58, who…

Jan 29, 2009 5:54 PM CST

2 Judges to Plead in Jailing Juveniles for Profit Case, But What About the Kids?

Public outrage and potential litigation are being sparked by news that two longtime Pennsylvania judges have accepted a plea that includes prison time in a case alleging that they incarcerated juvenile defendants for their own personal profit. After news of the plea by Luzerne County’s president judge, Mark Ciavarella Jr.,…

Jan 28, 2009 6:40 PM CST