Pa. Paramedic Asks Court to Reconsider Civil Suit After Dismissal

Feb. 07--A Wilkes-Barre paramedic who claimed Mayor Tom Leighton wrongly accused him of running a satirical Facebook page mocking Leighton and his administration asked a federal appeals court to reconsider a judge's decision to dismiss a civil lawsuit claiming First Amendment retaliation.

In his lawsuit filed in September 2013, paramedic Tyler Hammond claimed the city attempted to discipline him based on suspicion he was behind the Facebook page. He alleged he faced an employment disciplinary hearing in September 2013 and claimed Leighton had city police open a criminal investigation the following month to determine whether he was impersonating the mayor online, saying Leighton "would be the only person concerned about someone impersonating him."

Both the employment hearing and criminal investigation were retaliation for a previous 2009 lawsuit he and his wife filed against Leighton regarding alleged "corrupt dealings" behind the sale of the Old River Road Bakery, he claimed.

Because Hammond never alleged he was disciplined -- by either employment or criminal actions -- the city and Leighton motioned for the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Malachy Mannion of the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Scranton dismissed the lawsuit Jan. 6, saying Hammond "failed to sufficiently allege the second element of the claim, that he suffered any retaliatory action sufficient to deter him from exercising his rights" to free speech. He wasn't charged or arrested, and attending a hearing was "not a sufficient adverse action to sustain a First Amendment retaliation claim."

Attorney Cynthia Pollick, of Pittston, on Tuesday appealed Malachy's decision to the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

jseibel@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2110, @cvseibel

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