Blog
SENATOR JOE SCARNATI: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S BAG MAN
For most responsible lawmakers, casting a vote for reform of Pennsylvania’s child sexual abuse laws is the easiest vote they will make all year. So one should naturally wonder why Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati is so intent on protecting child predators at the expense of Pennsylvania’s children? It turns out that Senator Scarnati’s ties to the Catholic lobby and its insurance industry allies run marrow deep. In fact, Long Nyquist & Associates, a lobbying firm that was hired by the Catholic Conference was co-founded by Michael Long, who previously worked with Scarnati, according to the firm’s bio page and Politicspa.com. In addition, the firm’s vice president is married to Scarnati’s chief of staff, J. Andrew Crompton. Is it any wonder, then, why Sen. Scarnati can’t find it within himself to back this needed legislation? It’s time that Sen. Scarnati’s close ties to the Catholic lobby are made known to all Pennsylvanians. Call your state Senator and tell him or her that you back these needed reforms. Let’s shame Sen. Scarnati into doing the right thing for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Photo Credit: AP file Photo/Matt Rourke
SENATOR SCARNATI’S “FUND” IS JUST A CONTINUATION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH COVER-UP
Yesterday, Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (whose ties to the Catholic lobby run marrow deep), proposed the creation of a fund to provide “relief” to victims of child sexual abuse. This purported solution is woefully inadequate and is, in fact, just a continuation of the Church’s decades-long cover-up as described in stunning detail by the Grand Jury’s lengthy report. First, a fund will allow the Church to continue to conceal the identities of the perpetrators and the men who continue to protect them. Only through the discovery tools afforded by civil litigation will the public ever know the names of the criminals who continue to pose a clear and present threat to our children. Therefore, a fund will do nothing to keep today’s children safe. Only through a litigation process can the identities of the wrongdoers become known. Don’t be fooled by the propaganda the Church and its allies continues to put out there. These are the same arguments the Church trotted out in California and elsewhere. They were rejected by lawmakers there and the Pennsylvania legislature should do the same. Pennsylvania’s survivors deserve justice not more cover-up. Scarnati’s cynical proposal must be rejected.
TIME IS NOW TO CHANGE LAWS TO PROTECT PENNSYLVANIA’S CHILDREN
In the ten days since the Grand Jury released its stunning report on child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, media all over the world have focused their attention on Pennsylvania. It is a sobering reality to consider that the last time such worldwide media attention was focused on our state it was also as a result of a child sex abuse case, the disgraced former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky.Yet despite all of the coverage and rightful outrage here and abroad, Pennsylvania state lawmakers – and particularly those within the Republican party – have been eerily quiet on the Grand Jury’s four key recommendations. Unless these lawmakers can be shamed into taking action, nothing will change.That is why it is critical that all Pennsylvanians take the 5 minutes to call or email their state representative and senator TODAY. Let your voice be heard not only for the countless children, present and future, who will continue to be placed in peril if the laws are not changed.The Church, including Bishop Zubik of Pittsburgh, claim they support the Grand Jury’s four recommendations. We commend these verbal demonstrations of support. Yet reports also make clear that, at the same time, groups aligned Read More...
IT’S TIME TO CHANGE THE LAW TO STOP PROTECTING CHILD PREDATORS.
After months of legal maneuvering by the Catholic Church to block its release, the Fortieth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury report on clergy sex abuse has finally been released. And its contents are shocking. In 884 pages laid out in plain-spoken yet firm language, the Grand Jury sets forth the breathtaking breadth and depth of the Church’s culpability in silencing, covering up and overlooking decades of criminal sexual behavior against children by those in positions of authority. It painstakingly details the Church’s “circle of secrecy” which sought to bury evidence, discredit victims and, ultimately “re-assign” and harbor the guilty priests rather than protect children. In all, more than 300 priest-abusers are named in the Grand Jury report. If other abuse scandals are instructive, many more are likely guilty as well, with the total number of victims totaling many thousands. Tragically, as the Grand Jury Report laments, nearly all of these criminal acts are immune from prosecution under current Pennsylvania law due to the expiration of the criminal statute of limitations. Enough is enough. It is time for action. The Grand Jury offered four common sense reform recommendations, all of which should be enacted into law immediately: First, the legislature must stop Read More...
CARLSON LYNCH WINS $24 MILLION DOLLAR AWARD ON BEHALF OF CERTIFIED CLASS OF MORTGAGE BORROWERS FOLLOWING 13 DAY FEDERAL COURT ARBITRATION
On March 24, 2017, a three judge panel awarded $24 million dollars to a certified class of mortgage borrowers represented by Carlson Lynch. The award followed a 13 day arbitration trial conducted in the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh. The panel of arbitrators included a former judge from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and two former litigation department heads at AmLaw 100 law firms. Bruce Carlson was co-lead counsel for the class and Carlson along with his partner Gary Lynch led the Carlson Lynch trial team that tried the case. This arbitration award represented the culmination of more than ten years of litigation, including three trips to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the certification of a RICO class which was affirmed by the Third Circuit. Judge Arthur Schwab was the presiding judge in the District Court.
Target Credit and Debit Card Breach Lawsuits
A massive data breach occurred when credit and debit card information from about 40 million Target shoppers was stolen. The Target Corporation announced that the track data was stolen as payment cards were swiped in its stores between November 27 and December 15, 2013. The Target breach resulted in millions of stolen credit and debit card account data allegedly being sold on the black market. Target has said hackers stole the personal information, including names, email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses of as many as 70 million customers. A number of banks, credit unions and other entities that issued debit and credit cards, several of which are represented by Carlson Lynch, are now suing Target for the cost of canceling and reissuing cards, closing transactions or accounts, refunding or crediting cardholders for unauthorized transactions, and notifying customers of the data breach. The Target data breach has forced these institutions to pay millions of dollars to reissue compromised cards and repay customers whose accounts were struck with fraud. The banks and credit unions who have brought suit also seek damages for business lost as wary customers avoided making card purchases. The class action suits brought by Carlson Lynch allege Read More...
