Matthew Santoni

@msantoni.bsky.social

146

Posts

Journalist covering Pennsylvania courts for Law360. Incipient middle-aged Yinzer. Lover of dogs, books, and transportation stuff. Opinions are my own.

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The Third Circuit said it wouldn't stop Delaware's ban on "assault weapons" & extended magazines, noting in its opinion that other courts had lowered the bar too much for granting the "extraordinary" remedy of a preliminary injunction (via @law360.bsky.social): www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

3rd Circ. Wants Higher Bar For Halting Delaware Gun Laws - Law360www.law360.com The Third Circuit held Monday that courts have lowered the bar for issuing preliminary injunctions too much, allowing Delaware to keep its ban on "assault weapons" and extended magazines because the g...

20th Century Fox says a Philadelphia events co. copied "Moe's Tavern" from "The Simpsons," right down to the "Love Tester" machine and the big jar of pickled eggs - not unlike a certain bartender who copied the "Flamin' Moe" recipe from Homer, Bonnie Eslinger reports: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Ah, Geez! Fox Sues Pop-Up For Copying 'The Simpsons' Pub - Law360www.law360.com Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. slapped a Philadelphia special event company with a federal lawsuit Thursday claiming infringement of intellectual property rights it holds in "The Simpsons" animated ...

Claiming he's been swamped since switching to solo practice, a Philadelphia attorney has missed "every deadline" since February in a race-bias case against Penn State's branch campus in Erie, a court said in sanctioning him: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Atty Fined For Missing 'Every Deadline' Since Feb. In Bias Suit - Law360www.law360.com A Philadelphia-based attorney has missed so many deadlines in a federal race bias lawsuit against a Penn State University branch campus that the senior circuit judge assigned to his case issued sancti...

Gateway Towers, overlooking Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, is split between residential & commercial condo spaces, but a lawsuit shows a rift between them as they fight over access to do HVAC repair work, Grace Dixon reports for @law360.bsky.social: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Pa. Condo Owner Group Takes Inner-Tower Conflict To Court - Law360www.law360.com The residents association of a downtown Pittsburgh condo building sued the building's commercial association in state court, alleging they have been improperly denied access to commercial sections of ...

Former Philly labor leader "Johnny Doc" Dougherty was sentenced to six years after being convicted of bribery & embezzling union funds, P.J. D'Annunzio reports for @law360.bsky.social: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

BREAKING: Ex-Union Leader Gets 6 Years For Bribery, Embezzlement - Law360www.law360.com John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty, the former business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 in Philadelphia, was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison after being conv...

One of the parents claiming Sesame Place's Muppet mascots ignored minority kids "made an incorrect statement deliberately" during his deposition, which caused a mistrial in May & just got him cut from the case for the upcoming retrial: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Depo Gets Dad Ousted From Sesame Place Race Bias Case - Law360www.law360.com The father of a child who was allegedly snubbed by costumed performers at a Pennsylvania theme park has been removed from consolidated race bias litigation after plaintiffs' counsel said the father ha...

Health insurer Cigna objected to the proposed sale of 4 Pittsburgh-area nursing homes out of the 13 currently in Ch. 11 bankruptcy, saying the sale plan didn't make clear if Cigna's contracts would carry over or if Cigna would get warning if the buyer dropped them: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Cigna Objects To Ch. 11 Sale Of Western Pa. Nursing Homes - Law360 UKwww.law360.com Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. filed an objection in Pennsylvania bankruptcy court to the proposed sale of a group of Pittsburgh-area nursing homes, seeking assurances that it will be warned if t...

A federal judge said she would OK a $3.65M settlement with loan servicer Heartland ECSI over so-called "pay-to-pay" fees tacked onto one-time student loan payments. More than 40,000 class members (out of a potential 537K) responded: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Pa. Court OKs $3.65M Deal On Student Loan 'Pay-To-Pay' Fees - Law360www.law360.com A Pennsylvania federal judge said Monday that she would give her final approval to a $3.65 million settlement of claims that loan servicer Educational Computer Systems Inc. had improperly charged paym...

The NTSB says Norfolk Southern tried to interfere in its investigation of the East Palestine derailment, and the "vent-and-burn" that sent dark clouds of smoke over Ohio & PA was unnecessary, Linda Chiem reports for @law360.bsky.social: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Norfolk Southern Torched In NTSB Final Derailment Findings - Law360www.law360.com Norfolk Southern used "reprehensible" tactics to interfere with the investigation into last year's derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and pushed for an "unnecessary" controlled vent and burn of highl...

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court said a lawsuit over Pittsburgh's 2015 rental registry was moot because a newer version was passed in 2023, but two justices dissented over whether they should've issued an opinion on a city's regulatory power anyway: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Split Pa. High Court Finds Rental Registry Suit Moot - Law360www.law360.com The Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed out landlords' appeal of Pittsburgh's 2015 ordinance requiring them to list their rental units in a public registry, because it had been replaced by a newer, narr...

Two medical cannabis patients & a PA county housing agency can't sue HUD over its threats to pull funding if the patients get housing benefits, since HUD hadn't taken official action yet and may never do so, given the federal push to reclassify marijuana: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

HUD Freed From Pa. Pot Patients' Suit Over Housing Rebuff - Law360www.law360.com Unless the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development fulfills its threat to withhold a Pennsylvania county housing agency's funding for complying with a state court order to admit licensed medi...

A Philadelphia jury weighing whether UberBlack drivers are contractors or employees seemed deadlocked after a short deliberation yesterday, & the judge warned that he might not allow a third trial. They resume today, and PJ D'Annunzio is there for @law360.bsky.social. www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Third Pa. Uber Trial Unlikely As Deadlock Again Looms - Law360www.law360.com With a second deadlocked jury appearing imminent in the Philadelphia UberBlack employment classification trial, a Pennsylvania federal judge on Monday told attorneys he was skeptical a third trial is ...

Tesla lawsuit accuses Pittsburgh-based Matthews International of stealing trade secrets gleaned from work refining metals for its EV batteries, then applying for patents using the secrets, Bonnie Eslinger reports for @law360.bsky.social: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Tesla Slaps Supplier With $1B EV Battery Trade Secrets Suit - Law360www.law360.com Tesla is accusing one of its suppliers of corporate espionage in a $1 billion California federal lawsuit, saying that Matthews International has even tried to claim it invented the stolen trade secret...

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal from a Pennsylvania contractor and weigh whether falsifying how much of a job is done by minority-owned businesses (on a project w/ minority-participation requirements) deprives the government of "property" in a fraud case: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

BREAKING: Justices Will Hear Philly Bridge Project Fraud Case - Law360www.law360.com The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation contractor's false promise to give a certain share of its business to minority-owned subcontractors rises to the ...

The family-owned media co. behind the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette & Toledo Blade says it has the power under Ohio law to oust CEO Allan Block, & legally did so when he sued over the co.'s potential sale, PJ D'Annunzio reports: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Publishing Exec's Family Says Ohio Law Allowed His Ouster - Law360www.law360.com The board of an Ohio-based media company have said state law empowered them to oust former CEO Allan Block from his family's namesake company and urged an Ohio state court to dismiss the suit he broug...

Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner lost his bid to block a law calling for a "special prosecutor" in the AG's office who gets first dibs on crimes "within" SEPTA, after a 4-3 Commonwealth Court said the legislature can do that for a state agency like SEPTA: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Pa. Court Allows 'Special Prosecutor' For Philly Transit - Law360www.law360.com Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner cannot stop the Pennsylvania Legislature and the state attorney general from appointing a "special prosecutor" to handle crimes within the Southeastern Pen...

Pennsylvania's county-level funding of public defenders creates inequities & leaves some defendants w/ basically no representation, in violation of their constitutional rights, a suit by the ACLU says: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Pennsylvania Gov. Sued For More Public Defense Funding - Law360www.law360.com Defendants facing charges in Pennsylvania sued Gov. Josh Shapiro and the state Legislature Thursday over their alleged failure to ensure that people who can't afford an attorney in their criminal case...

The Puerto Rico Convention Center District wants to name a sports district for Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente - funded by fees & memorabilia w/ his image - and urged the 1st Circuit to uphold dismissing the Clemente family's TM suit, Brian Dowling reports: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Pa. Nursing Home Creditors OK With $43.7M DIP Loan - Law360www.law360.com Creditors of a Pittsburgh-area nursing home network indicated Thursday they were open to $43.7 million in debtor-in-possession financing as the group prepares to potentially sell off a portion of its ...

13 Western PA nursing homes under the umbrella of Comprehensive Healthcare Mgmt Systems will take out millions in additional loans to stay open during bankruptcy and the possible sale of some: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

The Heinz Endowments say a longtime employee embezzled nearly $1M by steering work to a company he secretly owned, farming what got done out to others, then trying to cover his tracks once he learned of an investigation: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Heinz Charity Says Ex-Adviser Stole Almost $1M Via Sham Co. - Law360www.law360.com A technology adviser for the Pittsburgh-based Heinz Endowments embezzled nearly a million dollars by steering payments to a company he secretly owned for work it never did, then tried to cover his tra...

Fulton County, PA was barred from giving embattled pro-Trump attorney Stefanie Lambert the data that inspectors copied off Dominion voting machines in violation of court orders, with a judge threatening further sanctions if the data is leaked: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Pa. County Can't Give Voting Machine Data To Mich. Atty - Law360www.law360.com A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday blocked Fulton County commissioners from giving data copied from the county's Dominion Voting Systems equipment to an attorney and Donald Trump ally facing criminal cha...

One of the people hurt in the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse also sued Pittsburgh Regional Transit for medical bills, lost wages & "underinsured motorist" coverage of any damages the other tortfeasors can't afford; PRT responded that at best she can get $5K for bills: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Pa. Bridge Collapse Victim Can Only Get $5K, Court Told - Law360www.law360.com Pittsburgh Regional Transit wants to trim claims brought by a passenger aboard a bus that was on the Fern Hollow Bridge when it collapsed in 2022, telling a Pennsylvania court that as a self-insured s...

A few days after plaintiffs claimed Cozen O'Connor was sabotaging their suit by belatedly joining & forcing the judge to recuse over his ties to the firm, the judge kicked the firm off the case (at least officially; they can stay as advisors & do appeal prep): www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Cozen O'Connor Booted From Pa. Equal Pay Case - Law360www.law360.com Cozen O'Connor has been booted off a Pennsylvania school district's equal-pay lawsuit that was being overseen by a judge with personal ties to the firm, according to an order the judge issued Monday.

The Sixth Circuit revived investors' claims that Leech Tishman lawyers negligently or fraudulently didn't realize that "Clean Energy Advisors" was a Ponzi scheme, since they had a tolling agreement on their malpractice claims & fraud had a longer window to sue: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

6th Circ. Revives Investors' Suit Over Leech Tishman Advice - Law360www.law360.com A Sixth Circuit panel has revived a group of investors' claims that Pittsburgh-based Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl's lawyers gave fraudulent and negligent advice about clean energy investments th...

The old saying goes, "a good lawyer knows the law; a great lawyer knows the judge," but what about when the lawyer who knows the judge (and treated him to a Phillies game in the box seats) joins the case weeks before trial and touches off questions of recusal? www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Teachers Want Cozen O'Connor Kicked Off Equal-Pay Case - Law360www.law360.com Rather than having a Pennsylvania federal judge who has presided over their equal-pay case for years recuse himself over having a son-in-law who's a shareholder at Cozen O'Connor, a class of female te...

Monsanto got a blockbuster $2.25B verdict linking Roundup to a plaintiff's cancer cut down to a measly $404M by a Pennsylvania federal judge, Dorothy Atkins reports for @law360.bsky.social: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Monsanto Gets $2.25B Roundup Verdict Slashed To $404M - Law360www.law360.com A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday slashed a $2.25 billion verdict awarded to a cancer patient who claimed Monsanto's glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup contributed to his lymphoma, reducing the jury's ...

At the start of a bench trial over possible penalties for PPG Industries' long delay cleaning up a "slurry lagoon" in Armstrong County, PPG argued enviro groups & regulators wouldn't approve plans that didn't include fixing lead & arsenic, which PPG called too hard: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

PPG Blames Enviro Groups For Pa. Site Cleanup Delay - Law360www.law360.com PPG Industries told a Pennsylvania federal judge Monday that the company shouldn't be fined for delaying its cleanup of an industrial waste site outside Pittsburgh because it was ready to start work i...

A DC attorney ethics panel agreed that Rudy Giuliani's efforts to undo Pennsylvania's 2020 election results - without evidence that ballots were being stuffed or improperly replaced - justified disbarment, @law360.bsky.social's Alison Knezevich reports: www.law360.com/articles/184...

Disbarring Giuliani Would 'Protect The Public,' DC Panel Says - Law360www.law360.com A Washington, D.C., attorney ethics panel agreed Friday that Rudy Giuliani's role in former President Donald Trump's attempt to overturn Pennsylvania's presidential election in 2020 amounted to misconduct "of the utmost seriousness," and that disbarring him would "protect the public, the courts, and the integrity of the legal profession."

The PA Department of Health's 2022 effort to recall medical cannabis vapes because the FDA hadn't approved their terpene additives was a "de facto regulation" that should've gone through the rulemaking process, a state court ruled Thursday: www.law360.com/pennsylvania...

Pa. Court Blocks State's Recall Over Cannabis Vape Additives - Law360www.law360.com The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has permanently blocked the state Department of Health from enforcing a 2022 recall of medical cannabis products containing certain additives, on the grounds that t...

A $100M apartment complex in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville got its permits last month after suing to build a "sky bridge" across an alley, now the PWSA is suing to claw back more access to that alley & the 42-in. water main below (via Nate Beck for @law360.bsky.social): www.law360.com/real-estate-...

Pittsburgh Agency Sues Over Utility Acces On $100M Complex - Law360 Real Estate Authoritywww.law360.com The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority sued a developer and other city officials to maintain its ability to service a water and sewer main underneath a $100 million apartment complex after a city at...