A former Office of Attorney General agent’s defamation claims against ex-Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane will not be revived, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The court let stand a ruling that Kane was protected by absolute immunity when she made allegedly false statements that a corruption investigation she shut down in 2013 was racially motivated.
The justices issued an order Tuesday denying allocatur in Thomas v. Kane, which originated in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. In an October opinion, the Commonwealth Court ruled in favor of Kane and co-defendant Kevin Wevodau, a special agent in charge at the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, denying Claude Thomas’ tort claims tied to Kane’s comments. The court also rejected Thomas’ bid for a name-clearing hearing, killing the only claim that had remained at the trial court level.
