Liggetts must show cause to transfer case again
A judge has issued an order requiring the defendants in a civil suit brought by Monroeville developer Ernest Liggett and his wife, Marilyn, to show cause why the case should be transferred into the federal court system for a second time. Earlier this year, the Liggetts sued, claiming their efforts to revitalize downtown Brownsville over the past several years were intentionally curtailed. The suit alleges borough officials and agencies targeted the Liggetts by filing unfair enforcement claims against their numerous properties for allegedly violating maintenance ordinances.
A federal judge initially tossed the suit out because the Liggetts’ attorney failed to respond to court notices, but the Liggetts refiled it in Fayette County Court.
It was transferred to federal court in Pittsburgh, under the jurisdiction of U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy Bissoon
To have the complaint removed, the defendants will have to show a judge that federal claims are the essence of the suit.
If the defendants cannot do so, the case will be remanded to the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas.
Defendants named in the suit are Tracy Sheehan Zivkovich, director of Project B.R.I.G.H.T. Tomorrow; Norma J. Ryan, former borough mayor; Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp.; the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority, its director Andrew P. French and former director Raymond C. Polaski; and code enforcement officer Donald A. Baugh.
The defendants have until mid-August to respond.