Notable Cases

This matter originated with a right to know request to Wilmington Township for the Solicitor’s invoices. The Township appealed the Office of Open Records” Final Determination, and on appeal to the Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas, counsel for the requester and the Township Solicitor worked out a settlement agreement to provide certain redacted documents. Nearly one year later, the requester filed a frivolous motion in the Court of Common Pleas, seeking to relitigate issues which had already been dismissed by the Court with prejudice. The Township successfully argued a Motion to Strike the requesters Petition and the matter was dismissed. However, the requester appealed this to the Commonwealth Court. After briefing and argument, the Commonwealth Court remanded the matter for a hearing on whether the requester’s counsel had authority to enter into the settlement agreement. The Township was again successful and the requesters petition was denied after an evidentiary hearing. The requester again appealed this matter to the Commonwealth Court a second time. On this second appeal, the Township was again successful, and the appeal was denied. Having lost again at the Commonwealth Court, the requester attempted to appeal this matter to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. However, the Township filed an answer to the requester’s Petition for Review and the Supreme Court ultimately denied her request for review, resulting in a victory for the Township after years of frivolous litigation.

HIRA attempted to purchase the former YDC property in Shenango Township through a bidding process run by the Commonwealth Department of General Services. Due to financial questions about HIRA and its management, the Township opposed the sale before the Commonwealth Department of General Services, filing an objection before the Commonwealth Board of Claims. Ultimately the sale fell through and HIRA subsequently sued the Shenango Township Supervisors, along with other state ad local, elected officials arguing these elected officials had engaged in religious discrimination against HIRA, a Muslim educational consulting company. The Township was able to successfully defend against this meritless claim, filing a Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). Before the Court could rule on the Township’s Motion , HIRA, acknowledging the strength of the Township’s position, voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit. Due to the dismissal, there was no liability on the part of the Township, and the former YDC property was subsequently sold to Lawrence County Community Action Partners (LCCAP) for Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00), with plans to develop and revitalize the facility which had been previously closed and abandoned by the Commonwealth.

This matter involved an application for special exceptions filed by Metro Treatment to operate a methadone clinic on New Butler Road in Shenango Township, as a medical treatment clinic. At a hearing on the application, public comment was received in opposition to the proposed use, focusing on the hours of operation and the increased vehicle traffic to be generated by the proposed use. The application was denied by the Shenango Township Zoning Hearing Board, and the clinic appealed this matter to the Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas, arguing the proposed methadone clinic was a use comparable to a medical clinic. The Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas ruled in favor of the Township and denied the appeal. the clinic then appealed this matter to the Commonwealth Court. The Township was again successful in the Commonwealth Court arguing that the proposed use was not similar to or comparable to a methadone clinic.

The Township filed a Petition for Review with the Commonwealth Court, challenging the sale of the former New Castle Youth Development Center (YDC) property by the Commonwealth Department of General Services. The Department of General Services (DGS) issued an invitation to bid for the purchase of the YDC property, which was assessed in excess of Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00). DGS ultimately declared HIRA Educational Services of North America (HIRA) as the winning bidder, with the bid of Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($400,000.00). The Township filed a Petition with the Commonwealth Court pursuant to the Commonwealth Procurement Code, challenging the extremely low winning bid, raising issues of collusion between HIRA and its CEO who also submitted a separate bid under his own name, failure to comply with the bidding requirements, and that the award of the bid was contrary to law. The sale of the YDC property to HIRA fell through, and the Township withdrew its Petition. Subsequently, the property was re-bid by DGS, ultimately selling to Lawrence County Community Action Partners (LCCAP) for Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00).