Our Municipal Liability Practice Group is centered in the firm’s Pittsburgh office with a cohesive group of attorneys who have over 80 years of combined legal experience. The municipal liability group has handled the full spectrum of issues that face all municipalities at large, and other entities that may be within a certain municipality’s structure, such as zoning boards, police and fire departments and sewage/water authorities.

The Municipal Liability Practice Group has extensive trial experience in a variety of jurisdictions, including state and federal courts, and administrative tribunals throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. Additionally, our group is well-versed in effective and meaningful representation in all forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution, including mediation and arbitration, which is mandatory in the federal courts. Our municipal attorneys have handled the full range of claims facing municipal entities including:

• Civil Rights (§1983) including but not limited to Fourth Amendment excessive force claims, Eighth Amendment prisoner claims, Fourteenth Amendment procedural and substantive due process claims, Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection claims and First Amendment retaliation claims;
• Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation - based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, age, sexual orientation, transgender, and national origin;
• Wage and Hour Claims;
• False Arrest and Malicious Prosecution;
• Personal injury - including premises liability, recreational liability claims, road and street defects, automobile liability, and animal control;
• Utility and Sewage related claims;
• Building and zoning disputes;
• Breach of Contract, Development Agreements, Disputes over TIF Bonds;
• Civil RICO; and,
• Other State Torts – including claims of negligent supervision and hiring, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery, stalking, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation, invasion of privacy, fraud, theft, embezzlement, conversion, and wrongful discharge.

Our attorneys understand the issues that face municipalities in the 21st century, including the escalating nature of suits against governmental entities and the real costs to municipalities in terms of high insurance deductibles, lost productivity of municipal employees, and use of tax dollars when faced with litigation.

To that end, our attorneys provide comprehensive legal advice to assist municipal governments in avoiding litigation where possible, and efficient but diligent skill and experience to prevail when litigation is unavoidable.