MEMORANDUM ANITA B. BRODY, District Judge. Gerald J. Haas ("Haas") petitions this Court for a Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254. Having considered Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski's Report and Recommendations (the "R & R") (Doc. 10), and Haas's Objections to the R & R (the "Objections") (Doc. 12), I will DISMISS Haas's Petition. I. BACKGROUND On September 19, 2003, Haas was tried before Judge Juan R. Sanchez of the Chester County Court of Common Pleas on charges of...
MEMORANDUM YOHN, District Judge. TriState HVAC Equipment, LLP ("TriState") brings this action against Big Belly Solar, Inc. ("Big Belly"), alleging breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, tortious interference with a prospective contractual relation, unjust enrichment, and unfair competition under both section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1125(a), and the common law. Currently before the court is Big Belly's motion to dismiss for lack of...
MEMORANDUM ANITA B. BRODY, District Judge. I. BACKGROUND In 2003, Plaintiff Benjamin Post ("Post" or "Ben"), and Tara Reid ("Reid"), were defense counsel representing Mercy Hospital ("Mercy") and other affiliated defendants in a medical malpractice case captioned Bobbett, et al. v. Mercy Hospital, et. al. (the " Bobbett case"). Due to unanticipated events, Mercy settled the case with the Bobbetts in the middle of trial. Soon thereafter, Mercy informed Post of its intention to file a...
MEMORANDUM EDUARDO C. ROBRENO, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiffs Barry Lackro and Beverly Lackro (collectively, "Plaintiffs") brought this medical malpractice action as husband and wife seeking redress for injuries sustained during a brachytherapy procedure administered by Dr. Gary Kao ("Dr. Kao") at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center ("PVAMC"). Dr. Kao, enclosing a certification of employment from the United States Attorney ("U.S. Attorney"), asserts that he was an employee of the...
MEMORANDUM OPINION RUFE, District Judge. Before the Court is Defendant SMS Rail Lines's Motion for Summary Judgment, 1 requesting that the Court dismiss all claims against it as a matter of law. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY In February 2006, Plaintiff Christopher Freitick was hired by Defendant, a Class III Switching Railroad company, 2 to perform the job of a boom truck operator and railroad track laborer. 3 Plaintiff passed a written test as a condition to be eligible to work on...
ORDER BERLE M. SCHILLER, District Judge. AND NOW, this 22nd day of June, 2010, upon consideration of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Petitioner's Initial and Supplemental Briefs in Support of his Petition, the Commonwealth's Response to the Petition and Response to the Supplemental Brief, inclusive of all exhibits thereto, the transcript of the evidentiary hearing conducted on April 29, 2009, Petitioner's trial brief, the Commonwealth's Post-Hearing Response, Petitioner's Reply...
INDIVIDUALIZED DETERMINATIONS OF THE APPROPRIATE SENTENCING GUIDELINE RANGE AS TO EACH DEFENDANT EDUARDO C. ROBRENO, District Judge. I. BACKGROUND On November 27, 2007, Defendants were charged in a three-count indictment. This case involved 18 defendants, 1 as members of the Smith Crack Cocaine Gang ("SCCG") drug organization, charged with conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 or more grams of cocaine base ("crack"), in violation of 21 U.S.C. 846 and 841(a)(1)....
EXPLANATION ANITA B. BRODY, J. Plaintiffs filed this motion to compel defendant witness, Ms. Bowers, who is a former employee of the defendant, GlaxoSmithKline, to answer questions regarding her conversations with counsel at recesses during her deposition. Plaintiffs argue that, under federal law, off the record communications between deponent and counsel during these recesses are not protected by the attorney-client privilege and are therefore discoverable. Defendant responds that state law...
MEMORANDUM OPINION TIMOTHY R. RICE, United States Magistrate Judge. Petitioner Craig Saunders filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254. I must determine if Saunders is entitled to an evidentiary hearing to address his claim alleging the Commonwealth used its peremptory challenges to strike African-American women from the jury in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 , 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). Respondents filed a supplemental...
MEMORANDUM ROBERT F. KELLY, Senior District Judge. Presently before the Court are two Motions for Summary Judgment. Plaintiffs Roofers Local No. 30 Combined Pension Fund, and its Board of Trustees and fiduciary Michael O'Malley (collectively, the "Fund") move for summary judgment against Defendant D.A. Nolt ("Nolt") and to dismiss all counterclaims in this action. Nolt filed a Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment against the Fund seeking to enforce a March 5, 2009 Opinion and Award ("...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER RUFE, District Judge. On November 17, 2010 Plaintiff R.B., acting through her mother ("Parent"), brought this action against Mastery Charter School ("Mastery") and The School District of Pennsylvania ("District"), appealing the decision of a Due Process Hearing Officer who refused to return R.B. to Mastery during the pendency of due process hearings conducted pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"). Presently before the Court is...
ORDER R. BARCLAY SURRICK, District Judge. AND NOW, this 23rd day of December, 2010, upon consideration of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 26), and all documents submitted in support thereof and in opposition thereto, it is ORDERED that Defendants' Motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as follows: 1. Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's hostile work environment claim. 2. Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED as...
ORDER RE: MOTION TO DISMISS OR ALTERNATIVELY FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT MICHAEL M. BAYLSON, District Judge. AND NOW, this 23rd day of December, 2010, upon consideration of Defendant's Motion to Dismiss or Alternatively for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff's Complaint (ECF No. 5), and a hearing held on December 16, 2010, it is hereby ORDERED that Defendant's Motion is DENIED as to the motion to dismiss and is GRANTED as to summary judgment. Final judgment is ENTERED in favor of Defendant and...
MEMORANDUM TUCKER, District Judge. Presently before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction (Doc.6) and Defendant's Response in Opposition thereto (Doc. 24). For the reasons set forth below and upon consideration of the parties' submissions and oral argument held before this Court on December 7-10, 2010, this Court will grant Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND The instant action arises out of allegations of breach of contract,...
MEMORANDUM EDUARDO C. ROBRENO, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION Before the Court are Plaintiffs' written Motion for Emergency Temporary Restraining Order and Defendant Taitz's oral motion for a temporary restraining order. The Court read the parties' papers, reviewed the documentary evidence, and held a hearing on the matter on December 20, 2010. For the reasons set forth below, both motions will be denied and the Court cautions the parties, especially the attorneys in the case, as to the...
MEMORANDUM McLAUGHLIN, District Judge. The plaintiffs are a group of indirect purchasers of Wellbutrin XL, a once-a-day antidepressant, who are suing the producers of Wellbutrin XL, Biovail Corp., Biovail Laboratories, Biovail Laboratories International (together, "Biovail"), and its distributors, SmithKline Beecham Corp. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (together, "GSK"), for illegally conspiring to prevent generic versions of Wellbutrin XL, or buproprion hydrochloride, from entering the American...
ORDER M. FAITH ANGELL, United States Magistrate Judge. AND NOW, this 24th day of May, 2010, after hearing argument on pending Daubert motions, and for the reasons stated in the accompanying memorandum, it is hereby ORDERED that: (1) Defendant Georgia Pacific LLC's Motion To Exclude Testimony Of Plaintiffs' Experts Under Federal Rule Of Evidence 702 [Docket Entry No. 19] is DENIED. (2) Defendant Bondex International, Inc., RPM, Inc., And RPM International, Inc.'s Motion To Strike The...
MEMORANDUM EDUARDO C. ROBRENO, J. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 499 II. BACKGROUND ................................................................... 499 III. MOTION FOR A JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL UNDER RULE 29 ............................. 501 A. Legal Standard ............................................................ 501 B. Discussion ................................................................ 501 1. Import of...
MEMORANDUM DuBOIS, J. I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Yasmin Mack ("Mack") alleges in this action that she sought help to avoid foreclosure on her Philadelphia home, only to have the house stolen by those who promised to assist her. Presently before the Court are three motions to dismiss Mack's First Amended Complaint: defendant Samuel Price's ("Price") Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted; defendant Regina J. Brown's ("Brown") Motion to Dismiss for Lack...
MEMORANDUM JAMES KNOLL GARDNER, District Judge. This matter is before the court on the objections 1 of petitioner Donnell Robinson, pro se, to the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Arnold C. Rapoport filed July 1, 2008 in this habeas corpus action. 2 For the reasons expressed below, I overrule the objections of petitioner to the Report and Recommendation, approve and adopt the Report and Recommendation, dismiss the petition for habeas corpus without a hearing, and...
