MEMORANDUM OPINION NITZA I. QUI ONES ALEJANDRO , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Heathland Hospitality Group, LLC, and Heathland Hospitality Group, LP, (collectively, "Defendants" or "Heathland") filed a motion (for this Court) to decline jurisdiction over a declaratory judgment action filed by Transportation Insurance Company ("Transportation") and Continental Casualty Company ("Continental") (collectively, "Plaintiffs"). [ECF 9]. Plaintiffs oppose the motion. [ECF 10]. The parties...
ORDER NITZA I. QUI ONES ALEJANDRO , District Judge . AND NOW, this 3 rd day of December 2015, upon consideration of Defendants' motion to decline jurisdiction, [ECF 9], Plaintiffs' opposition thereto, [ECF 10], and the allegations contained in Plaintiffs' complaint, [ECF 1], it is hereby ORDERED that the motion is DENIED. Defendants shall file an answer to the complaint within fourteen (14) days of this Order.
OPINION WENDY BEETLESTONE , District Judge . This case arises out of an encounter between Plaintiff Mark Mazza and a Tredyffrin Township police officer, in which Plaintiff was arrested for allegedly violating a civil court order. Plaintiff brings this suit against Officer Russell Hittle ("Officer Hittle") alleging claims for false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution under 42 U.S.C. 1983, and related state-law claims for false arrest, false imprisonment, abuse of...
ORDER JEFFREY L. SCHMEHL , District Judge . AND NOW, this 7 th day of December, 2015, upon conducting an in camera review of a list containing 12 emails from defendant Paul Baxendale-Walker to the Chartwell Law Offices, LLP from January 1, 2015 through April 20, 2015, it is hereby ORDERED that: 1. The law firm of Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell and Hippel, P.C. shall, within 5 days of the date of this Order, turn over to plaintiff's counsel the list containing the 12 emails that Obermayer...
MEMORANDUM OPINION JEFFREY L. SCHMEHL , District Judge . Defendant Paul Baxendale-Walker ("PBW") continues to take every action he possibly can to avoid paying a $229,693.25 judgment by default entered against him and co-defendant Sharokh Mireskandari on April 10, 2014. (ECF 18). Based in part on this Court's finding that defendants willfully evaded service in this action for unpaid legal fees, the Court denied defendants' motion to vacate the default judgment. (ECF 52, 53). The Court also...
ORDER JOEL H. SLOMSKY , District Judge . AND NOW, this 29th day of December 2015, upon consideration of Defendants' Motion to Transfer Venue (Doc. No. 4), Plaintiff's Answer to Defendant's Motion to Transfer Venue (Doc. No. 7), Defendants' Reply Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Transfer Venue (Doc. No. 8), and in accordance with the Opinion of the Court issued this day, it is ORDERED as follows: 1. The Clerk of Court shall substitute Dell Marketing, L.P. as the named...
OPINION JOEL H. SLOMSKY , District Judge . I. INTRODUCTION Before the Court is Defendant Dell Systems, Inc.'s ("Dell") Motion to Transfer Venue of this case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. (Doc. No. 4) The case arises out of Defendant's termination of Plaintiff Mary Jane Vesey as an employee. 1 Plaintiff alleges employment discrimination on the basis of both gender and age, in violation of 42 U.S.C. 2000(e) ("Title VII") and 29 U.S.C. 621 et...
ORDER MARK A. KEARNEY , District Judge . AND NOW, this 29 th day of December 2015, upon consideration of Defendant's Motion to Dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue (ECF Doc. No. 9), Plaintiffs Opposition (ECF Doc. No. 24), Defendant's Reply (ECF Doc. No. 29), and as described in the accompanying Memorandum, it is ORDERED Defendant's Motion to transfer (ECF Doc. No 9) is GRANTED as, applying the first filed rule requires transfer of this case under 28 U.S.C....
MEMORANDUM MARK A. KEARNEY , District Judge . The parties, centrally involved in the rite of passage for lawyers known as the Law School Admission Test, posit a federal jurisdiction and venue question with an overlay of deference to a prior filed action between them. Our study confirms we must first ascertain personal jurisdiction and venue, and then consider venue transfer based on a prior filed pending action. After testing applicable principles, we exercise personal jurisdiction over...
MEMORANDUM GENE E.K. PRATTER , District Judge . Defendants Jewell Transport, Inc., and Nathan Pelletier have moved to exclude two of Plaintiffs' experts, both of whom opine on Mr. Pelletier's drug addiction at the time of the motor vehicle accident giving rise to this suit. 1 The Leisters oppose the motion, arguing that their experts will aid the jury. The Court agrees with Defendants that Dr. Cyril Wecht's testimony should be excluded, but agrees with Plaintiffs that Dr. Frederic Baurer'...
ORDER LEGROME D. DAVIS , District Judge . AND NOW, this 31st day of December 2015, upon careful and independent consideration of Petitioner Brian Sauerwine's petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the response to the petition and appended exhibits, Petitioner's correspondence and other statements submitted to the Court and docketed, and available state court records, and after review of the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge David R. Strawbridge, Petitioner's...
ORDER RONALD L. BUCKWALTER , District Judge . AND NOW, this 8th day of Dec. 2015, upon consideration of the plaintiff's request for review, the Commissioner's response, and plaintiff's reply, and after careful review of the Report and Recommendation of United States Chief Magistrate Judge Linda K. Caracappa, IT IS ORDERED that: 1. The Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED; 2. Plaintiff's Request for Review is GRANTED; 3. The case is REMANDED in accordance with the fourth...
ORDER JOEL H. SLOMSKY , District Judge . AND NOW, this 30th day of December 2015, upon consideration of the Motion to Dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) filed by Defendant Jay Jenkins (Doc. No. 17), the Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) filed on behalf of Defendants City of Allentown, Allentown Police Department, Officer Ryan Koons, Officer Damein Lobach, Sergeant Peter A. McAfee, and Chief Joel Fitzgerald (Doc. No. 20), Plaintiff's Response...
OPINION JOEL H. SLOMSKY , District Judge . I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Michael McHugh is a state prisoner at the Lehigh County Jail in Allentown, Pennsylvania. On December 17, 2014, Plaintiff filed an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. (Doc. No. 1.) On January 25, 2015, his Application was granted (Doc. No. 6) and a Complaint (Doc. No. 7) was filed. The Complaint alleges various claims relating to a vehicle stop that led to Plaintiff's arrest on July 10, 2014. The following...
ORDER JOHN R. PADOVA , District Judge . AND NOW, this 30th day of December, 2015, upon consideration of Petitioner Ronald Wheeler's Motion for Reconsideration (Docket No. 145) and for the reasons stated in the accompanying Memorandum, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion is DENIED.
MEMORANDUM JOHN R. PADOVA , District Judge . Ronald Wheeler has filed a Motion for Reconsideration of our July 20, 2015 Memorandum and Order denying his to Motion Reopen Habeas Proceedings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6). He seeks relief from that portion of our Memorandum and Order in which we denied his request that we reopen his August 12, 2005 Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and decide certain claims raised in that Petition on the merits. For the...
ORDER GERALD J. PAPPERT , District Judge . AND NOW, this 30th day of December 2015, for reasons stated in the Court's corresponding Memorandum: 1. The following motions are DENIED : a. ECF No. 76—Gratz Motion to Seal Document ECF No. 77; b. ECF No. 80—Gratz Motion to Seal Documents ECF Nos. 78, 79; c. ECF No. 83—Gratz Motion to Seal Document ECF No. 81; d. ECF No. 84—Synergis Motion for Leave to File Documents Under Seal ECF Nos. 85, 86, 87; e. ECF No. 95—Gratz Motion to Seal...
MEMORANDUM GERALD J. PAPPERT , District Judge . On March 4, 2015, the parties filed with the Court a Stipulated Protective Order ("the Protective Order," ECF No. 18) which the Court approved the next day (ECF No. 19). The Protective Order seeks to prevent "potential third parties" from obtaining access to discovery materials containing "trade secrets or other proprietary business information." (ECF No. 18 at 1.) The document's stated purposes are, inter alia, to expedite the flow of...
ORDER J. CURTIS JOYNER , District Judge . AND NOW, this 30 th day of December, 2015, upon consideration of the Plaintiffs Request for Review, Defendant's Motion to Remand, and Plaintiffs Response thereto, and after careful review of the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Marilyn Heffley, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 1. The Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED. 2. Plaintiffs Request for Review is GRANTED IN PART. 3. Defendant's Motion to Remand is...
ORDER GERALD J. PAPPERT , District Judge . AND NOW, this 29th day of December, 2015, upon consideration of the Motion for Reconsideration filed by Defendants ArcelorMittal USA, LLC and ArcelorMittal Plate LLC (collectively "Defendants"), (ECF No. 88), responses in opposition filed by Plaintiffs Matthew McNeal, Sean Flood, and Mark Tarloski, (ECF Nos. 89, 91), and Defendants' replies (ECF Nos. 90, 92), it is hereby ORDERED that Defendants' Motion for Reconsideration is DENIED.
