Zarwin Baum Attorneys Win Third Circuit Reversal Of District Court's Summary Judgment Denial

March 6, 2009

Zarwin Baum attorneys Patrick J. Wolfe, Jr. and David F. McComb recently secured a victory in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  The District Court had denied summary judgment to the Firm’s police officer clients in the case, which concerned a federal civil rights claim based on the seizure of a vehicle by the officers.  The District Court concluded that the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity because the alleged seizure occurred without the issuance of a warrant. 

Having the knowledge that such decisions are immediately appealable prior to trial, Mr. Wolfe and Mr. McComb filed the interlocutory appeal.  In briefing, Mr. Wolfe and Mr. McComb asserted that the police officers, responding to a dispute over possession of a vehicle in a public parking lot, having been presented with a summons issued based on probable cause, an insurance certificate and vehicle registration, acted reasonably in assisting in the return of the vehicle to its registered owner.  By Opinion issued March 6, 2009, the Third Circuit agreed and reversed the District Court’s denial of summary judgment and directed the District Court to enter judgment in favor of the Firm’s police officer clients.

Patrick J. Wolfe, Jr. and David F. McComb are members of the Firm’s Professional Liability and Employment Law Practice Groups.