This was a high exposure, highly publicized matter initiated by seven (7) plaintiff-families, who filed claims against Lehigh Valley Hospital Network, a number of individual doctors, and Jefferson University Hospital Network (collectively, the LVHN Defendants) claiming they were wrongfully accused of child abuse, which resulted in having their children taken, some families faced criminal charges, among other damages to their reputation and claims for emotional distress. The LVHN Defendants then filed joinder claims against a number of County Children and Youth Services Agencies, including our client, blaming the County Agencies, at least in part, for the claims asserted by the Plaintiff-families.
The parties exchanged a significant amount of discovery early in the case, while contemporaneously having to file responses to numerous amended complaints and amended joinder complaints. After the filing of Plaintiffs’ Fourth Amended Complaint and LVHN Defendants’ Fourth Amended Joinder Complaint and the Counties’ Preliminary Objections thereto, the Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge requested supplemental briefing on the County Defendants’ arguments that they are each respectively immune from the claims against them. After oral argument on the same, Judge Cohen dismissed all claims against the County Defendants with prejudice on the grounds that they are immune from liability.
This case was handled by Philadelphia attorneys Meghan Wynkoop, Anastasia Shubert-Baranowski, and Alexandra Lynch.
