A federal judge has ruled that the lead plaintiffs in a proposed class action stemming from the “kids-for-cash” scandal will be allowed to show a mediator confidential settlement agreements previously reached with other defendants as a means of aiding in determining the value of defendant Robert Powell’s exposure in the case. It will then be up to the mediator to decide whether to disclose those agreements to Powell and his counsel.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, ruling on Powell’s motion for a special mediation procedure, said the plaintiffs could disclose to the mediator—Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit—their settlement agreements with defendants Robert Mericle and his construction company, along with PA Child Care, Western PA Child Care, and Mid-Atlantic Child Youth Services.
