Luzerne County, PA Cannot Be Liable in Corruption Scandal, Judge Rules

A federal judge has ruled that Luzerne County cannot be held liable in the kids-for-cash corruption involving two of the county’s ex-judges because no county officials with policymaking authority played any role in the alleged scheme. In an opinion handed down on Friday, US District Judge A. Richard Caputo concluded that Luzerne County must be dismissed from a spate of civil rights suits filed by juveniles who claim their custodial terms were tied to a bribery scheme in which former Judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. allegedly took payments in excess of $2.8 million in return for promising to sentence juvenile offenders to for-profit detention centers. Under the separation of powers in Pennsylvania government, Caputo found, county judges are always considered state actors, not county officials. As reported in the Legal Intelligencer (7/14, Duffy).

Other allegations in this scandal involved collusive selection of lawyers hearing underinsured motorists cases. At Liever, Hyman & Potter, these are important cases for our clients injured in automobile accidents. When someone is severely injured, we can often not only pursue money damages against the other driver’s insurance but also claim substantial payments from our own clients’ insurance policies based on the fact that the other driver did not have enough liability insurance. Make sure that your auto/truck/motorcycle policies have adequate underinsured motorist coverage (at least the same amount as your bodily injury liability coverage).

John Badal is an auto, truck, and motorcycle accident lawyer with more than 30 years of experience at the personal injury law firm of Liever, Hyman & Potter, Reading, PA, serving Berks County and Schuylkill County.