Civil Rights

Our Civil Rights Team has successfully prosecuted and defended high-profile civil rights and constitutional law cases across Pennsylvania and the U.S. involving all levels of government, public officials, businesses, and private individuals.

Who We Stand Behind

We represent a wide variety of clients including local, county, and state governments; government agencies; elected officials; public employees; law enforcement; and private individuals whose civil rights or constitutional rights have been violated.

How We Take a Stand

We represent clients in prosecuting and defending all manners of civil rights claims, including:

• Lawsuits against government entities, elected officials, public employees, and judges
• Lawsuits against correctional facilities, police, and law enforcement
• First Amendment litigation
• Litigation arising from the taking of property under eminent domain
• Litigation concerning due process of law
• Litigation concerning invasion of privacy
• Claims asserted under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act
• Retaliation claims

We litigate in all federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and corresponding state and local regulatory bodies.

Outstanding Results

• Defended Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and its officials in the highly publicized “cash for kids” litigation, involving hundreds of consolidated civil rights actions filed in federal court, implicating billions of dollars in potential liabilities. Two judges were convicted of conspiring with private correctional facility operators to convict and confine juveniles in exchange for illegal payments. The Civil Rights Team obtained dismissals of all claims against other government officials, entities, and agencies who were alleged to be liable for that conduct.
• Defended to successful jury verdict a multi-million-dollar race discrimination case filed against one of the largest counties in Pennsylvania.
• Defended Luzerne County in a federal civil rights trial in which the jury returned a complete defense verdict for Luzerne County and various individual defendants regarding claims of Eighth Amendment violations.
• Defended Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in a federal civil rights trial in which the jury returned a complete defense verdict for Luzerne County and various individual defendants following a one-week trial regarding First Amendment retaliation claims.
• Successful defense of multiple municipal entities in federal civil rights matters and employment litigation, with a concentration on discrimination claims brought pursuant to Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.
• Won dismissal for a bi-state governmental agency of a $120 million lawsuit brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and successfully defended the dismissal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
• Won the largest single-plaintiff age discrimination verdict in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
• Won a $46 million judgment, the largest in the history of the Commonwealth Court’s original jurisdiction, on behalf of educationally handicapped children.

Related Practices

• Complex Commercial Litigation
• Employment Law
• Higher Education/ Educational Law
• Government/Regulatory
• Appellate