James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse, which houses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in downtown Philadelphia, PA, on April 3, 2021. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALMFederal Judge Rejects Firm's Counterclaims Against Former Legal Secretary, Citing Lack of Jurisdiction
"Defendant essentially seeks to attach a causal connection between plaintiff’s non-profit work and defendant’s decision to terminate her employment, when no such connection was known to exist at the time of the termination. The contract-based counterclaims are therefore permissive rather than compulsory, and because they arise out of state law with no independent basis for federal jurisdiction, they should be dismissed," U.S. District Judge Elizabeth T. Hey for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania wrote in a case against Larry Pitt & Associates.
December 10, 2024 at 10:38 AM
6 minute read
A federal judge in Pennsylvania sided with a law firm's former legal secretary and shot down the firm's breach of contract counterclaims, concluding the allegations weren't sufficiently related to the former employee's employment discrimination suit.
In a Friday decision, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth T. Hey for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania determined Larry Pitt & Associates' breach of contract counterclaims against its former legal secretary Edna Garcia-Dipini lacked standing. The court vacated a previous judge's decision entering judgment in the firm's favor as to liability on the counterclaims, agreeing with the plaintiff that the counterclaims arose under state law with no independent federal jurisdiction.
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