MEMORANDUM GENE E.K. PRATTER , District Judge . Mr. Diaz's September 23, 2019 letter to the Court suggests that reviewing his trial transcripts has led him to believe he has discovered new claims that—had he had access to his trial transcripts prior to this calendar year—he would have raised in his direct appeals or state post-conviction proceedings. He asks the Court to "remand [him] back to the lower courts so [he] can start [his] appeal process over" now that he has "all the evidence."...
ORDER WENDY BEETLESTONE , District Judge . AND NOW, this 15 th day of January 2019, upon consideration of Plaintiff's request for review, and Defendant's response, and after careful review of the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Timothy R. Rice, IT IS ORDERED that: 1. The Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED; 2. The Plaintiff's Request for Review is GRANTED; and 3. The matter is remanded to the Commissioner for further review consistent with...
ORDER MARK A. KEARNEY , District Judge . AND NOW , this 31st day of December 2018, upon considering the Defendants' partial motion to dismiss (ECF Doc. No. 5), no timely opposition from the Plaintiff, and for reasons in the accompanying Memorandum, it is ORDERED Defendants' partial motion to dismiss (ECF Doc. No. 5) is GRANTED and we dismiss Greg Pulley as a defendant.
MEMORANDUM MARK A. KEARNEY , District Judge . Pennsylvanian Dylan Kane seeks damages arising from his slip and fall in a Pennsylvania Wal-Mart. He sued Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, Wal-Mart, and Pennsylvanian Greg Pulley—the store manager at the time of the incident—in Pennsylvania state court for negligence. Defendants removed to this Court and now move to dismiss the negligence claim against Mr. Pulley arguing Mr. Kane alleges only claims of nonfeasance against Mr. Pulley, which do not...
ORDER DAVID R. STRAWBRIDGE , Magistrate Judge . AND NOW, this 31 st day of December, 2018, following upon consideration of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 62) (Def. Mot.) and Plaintiff's Response in Opposition (Doc. 63) (Pl. Resp.), and for the reasons stated in the accompanying Memorandum Opinion, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the Motion is GRANTED and JUDGMENT IS ENTERED in favor of Defendants Detectives Funk and Fitzgerald and against Plaintiff. The Clerk of Court...
MEMORANDUM OPINION DAVID R. STRAWBRIDGE , Magistrate Judge . I. INTRODUCTION This case arises from Plaintiff Jermaine O. Roberts' ("Roberts" or "Plaintiff") April 3, 2013 arrest for two robberies in south Philadelphia which the District Attorney ultimately chose not to prosecute. On December 13, 2013, after the charges against him were dropped and proceeding pro se, Roberts filed this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 (hereinafter " 1983") naming the City of Philadelphia (the...
ORDER MARK A. KEARNEY , District Judge . AND NOW, this 28 th day of December 2018, upon considering Plaintiffs Petition for Review and Brief (ECF Doc. No. 8), the Commissioner's Response (ECF Doc. No. 11), and for reasons in the accompanying Memorandum, it is ORDERED Plaintiffs Petition for Review (ECF Doc. No. 8) is DENIED. The Clerk of Court shall close this case.
MEMORANDUM MARK A. KEARNEY , District Judge . Persons seeking supplemental security income benefits based on epilepsy and anxiety must present the Social Security administrative law judge with the evidence necessary to make specific findings of disability warranting benefits. We study a challenged decision from an administrative law judge to ensure due process, he addressed all the claimant's arguments and evidence, and his findings are based on substantial evidence. We do not second-...
ORDER C. DARNELL JONES, II , District Judge . AND NOW , this 26 th day of December, 2018, upon careful and independent consideration of the record in this case, the Report and Recommendation of the Honorable Lynne A. Sitarski, United States Magistrate Judge, (ECF No. 7), and Petitioner's failure to timely file objections thereto as permitted by Local Rule 72.1 IV(b), it is hereby ORDERED as follows: 1. The Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED ; 2. The Petition for...
ORDER MARK A. KEARNEY , District Judge . AND NOW, this 27 th day of December 2018, upon considering Defendant's Motion to quash the objections to its subpoena (ECF Doc. No. 54), with no timely response under our Policies, and for reasons in the accompanying Memorandum, it is ORDERED the Defendant's Motion (ECF Doc. No. 54) is GRANTED, the subpoenaed witnesses' objections are OVERRULED, and the subpoenaed witnesses shall produce all responsive documents no later than January 4,...
MEMORANDUM MARK A. KEARNEY , District Judge . A police chief defending a claim he violated a criminal defendant's civil rights through excessive force must be able to access the plaintiff's criminal file to the extent discoverable in this excessive force case. He may subpoena these records from the prosecutors. While we are unsure how the plaintiff's criminal file for the underlying charge may help the police chief defend the excessive force charge relating to the arrest before the charge,...
ORDER GERALD J. PAPPERT , District Judge . AND NOW , this 28th day of December, 2018, upon consideration of Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (ECF No. 32), Defendant's Response (ECF No. 41), Plaintiff's Reply (ECF No. 43), Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 34), Plaintiff's Response (ECF No. 40), Defendant's Reply (ECF No. 42) and after hearing oral argument (ECF No. 53), it is hereby ORDERED that 1. Plaintiff's Motion is DENIED ; 2. Defendant's Motion is...
MEMORANDUM GERALD J. PAPPERT , District Judge . Deanna Pierce is a Native American woman who has worked in the City of Philadelphia's Department of Prisons ("PDP") since 2002. This litigation emanates from the City's promotion of two PDP employees—one Latina and one African American—over Pierce for separate positions in the PDP. Pierce believes the PDP promoted the other employees in an effort to satisfy the City's goal of building a diverse municipal workforce that "looks like the City...
ORDER DAVID R. STRAWBRIDGE , Magistrate Judge . AND NOW, this 27 th day of December, 2018, upon consideration of Ryan Paddick, Esq.'s Motion for Contempt (Doc. 393), Sandra Thompson, Esq.'s Response in Opposition (Doc. 406) and Brief in Opposition to the Motions for Contempt (Doc 406-5), Paddick's Pre-Hearing Memorandum (Doc. 444), Thompson's Pre-Hearing Memorandum (Doc. 443), Paddick's post-hearing Summary of Costs and Time (Doc. 445), and Thompson's Reply thereto (Doc. 447), and for...
MEMORANDUM OPINION DAVID R. STRAWBRIDGE , Magistrate Judge . Movant Ryan Paddick, Esq. seeks the entry of a civil contempt order against Sandra Thompson, Esq. for her failure to comply with a valid court order we entered June 18, 2018. By that order, we compelled Ms. Thompson to disburse a portion of a settlement fund to which we determined he was entitled. 1 Paddick presently seeks the entry of an order that she be found in civil contempt and must compensate him for attorney time...
ORDER NITZA I. QUI ONES ALEJANDRO , District Judge . AND NOW , this 27 th day of December 2018, upon consideration of the evidence presented during the non-jury trial in this matter, as well as Plaintiff's Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, [ECF 119], Defendants' Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, [ECF 120], Plaintiff's Post-Trial Memorandum of Law, [ECF 123], Defendants' Post-Trial Brief, [ECF 125], Plaintiff's Reply, [ECF 129], and Defendants' Sur Reply, [...
MEMORANDUM OPINION TIMOTHY J. SAVAGE , District Judge . Matthew Beishl alleges that his former employer, the County of Bucks (the County), retaliated and discriminated against him and failed to make reasonable accommodations for him in relation to his disability. He brings five counts under three statutes: retaliation under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq. (Count I), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq. (Count III) and Pennsylvania...
MEMORANDUM OPINION 1 NITZA I. QUI ONES ALEJANDRO , District Judge . INTRODUCTION This matter was filed pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 201, et seq. (the "FLSA"). Based upon the evidence presented at the non-jury trial and stipulated to, the following pertinent facts are undisputed: Victor and Vittoria Perez own and operate Las Margaritas, Inc., which does business as a Mexican restaurant named Las Margaritas, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Las...
ORDER GENE E.K. PRATTER , District Judge . AND NOW , this 20th day of December, 2018, upon consideration of Plaintiff's Brief and Statement of Issues in Support of Request for Review (Doc. No. 7), the Commissioner's Response to Request for Review (Doc. No. 11), the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Marilyn Heffley (Doc. No. 12), and Plaintiff's Objections to the Report and Recommendation (Doc. No. 13), it is ORDERED that: 1. The Report and Recommendation is...
ORDER RICHARD A. LLORET , District Judge . AND NOW this 21st day of December, 2018, upon careful consideration of the parties' submissions, it is ORDERED that: 1. Plaintiff's Request for Review is GRANTED . 2. The final decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED , and the matter is REMANDED to the Commissioner for an immediate award of benefits to Plaintiff, Jonathan Angelo Trotta, consistent with the accompanying Memorandum Opinion. The calculation and payment of benefits will...
