Businesses, politicians want $135,000 for legal fees in federal case
Business owners and politicians who prevailed in a federal case against Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of health, did not seek monetary damages, but they have asked that the court order the losers to pay a $135,000 legal bill.
The Butler County firm of lead attorney Thomas W. King III spent 776 hours preparing the case between May and September in U.S. District Court, Pittsburgh. Paralegals also worked on it.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV ruled in favor of the businesses and politicos, saying Wolf and Levine violated their constitutional rights by imposing shutdown orders during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The businesses questioned the waiver system that allowed some, but not others, to operate, and the politicians claimed they were denied the opportunity to campaign door-to-door and hold fundraisers and rallies.
Stickman declined to order a stay of his declaratory judgment, and the Wolf administration has appealed his decision to the federal Third Circuit.
The business owners and U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly and state Reps. Marci Mustello, Daryl Metcalfe and Tim Bonner, all Republicans, want a decision on their motion by the last week of October or within 30 days of an adjudication by the appeals court.
Wolf, the defendant in the suit, is a Democrat.
Business plaintiffs in the case are Cathy Hoskins, Classy Cuts Hair Salon of Waynesburg; Skyview Drive-In LLC of Carmichaels; Nancy and Mike Gifford of Double Image Styling Salon; Prima Capelli Inc.; Paul F. Crawford, doing business as Marigold Farm in the vicinity of Buffalo, Washington County; R.W. McDonald and Sons Inc. furniture store; Starlight Drive-In Inc.; and Steve Schoefel, who trains and races horses at The Meadows.
The motion for payment of legal fees point out that Stickman dismissed the plaintiff counties of Greene, Fayette, Washington and Butler from the litigation, and they are not seeking the relief requested.