Pennsylvania seeks damages from Harrisburg council lawyer amid appeal

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, April 23 - The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania filed a motion for summary deposition and damages against Harrisburg, Pa., city council attorney Mark D. Schwartz, according to a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

In February, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania threw out for lack of jurisdiction the City of Harrisburg, Pa., city council's appeal of a Dec. 13 bankruptcy court order that struck down a previous appeal of the Chapter 9 bankruptcy case dismissal.

In a Dec. 13 opinion, judge Mary D. France said the city council was required to file its appeal of the case dismissal order by Dec. 7 but did not file its notice of appeal until Dec. 10.

The judge said the city council filed a motion to extend its time for filing an appeal on Dec. 11, four days after the deadline for an extension motion.

In the February district court ruling, judge Sylvia H. Rambo said the city council "has failed to timely file for an appeal and has failed to show excusable neglect for not doing so."

Rambo also said the city council had not acted in good faith.

In its motion filed Friday, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania called Schwartz's latest appeal "frivolous" and said the appeals court should affirm the district court's dismissal of the appeal.

The commonwealth said Schwartz has again acted in bad faith by bringing the same arguments to the appeals court as were rejected by the district court.

Despite lacking any authority to file a lawsuit on behalf of the City of Harrisburg, the commonwealth said Schwartz "has pursued multiple appeals of the dismissal of appellant's underlying frivolous claim, all the while dragging appellees along his misguided course."

The city's October petition for relief under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code was dismissed on Nov. 23 in response to objections filed in the case.

The objectors claimed Harrisburg did not qualify as a debtor, citing a Pennsylvania law that was recently amended to prohibit a third-class, financially distressed city from filing bankruptcy until July 1, 2012.

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