For more than 20 years, a substantial part of Alan's practice has involved constitutional and other public law litigation, professional liability litigation, defamation litigation, employment litigation, business contract litigation, and insurance coverage opinions and litigation (governmental, professional, and business liability policies).
Alan practices in the federal and state courts of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Before joining Marshall Dennehey in 2003, he was a practicing litigation attorney in Cleveland, Ohio (1979-1981, 1983-2003), where, in addition to trial court litigation, he handled more than 25 appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the Ohio Courts of Appeals. He was an editor at The Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company in Rochester, New York, from 1981 to 1983, where he made substantial contributions to the publication Federal Procedure, Lawyers Edition.
Significant Representative Matters
Defended many EEOC and Ohio Civil Rights Commission administrative complaints. Recently defended a fast food franchise against an Ohio Civil Rights Commission administrative complaint and settled the matter for $500.
Currently defending a business entity against a defamation claim brought by its former president who was discharged for violation of his noncompete agreement.
Won summary judgment against a claim brought by a police officer under the Pennsylvania Police Tenure Act.
Prevailed on summary judgment in a federal case brought by a county nursing home administrator who alleged a violation of his constitutional rights.
Won defense verdict in a defamation suit by a general contractor against a construction manager for a Pennsylvania school district.
Won defense verdict in a federal Fair Housing Act case against Ohio municipalities (affirmed on appeal).
As a result of Alan's qualified immunity appeal from a denial of a municipal officials' motion to dismiss, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals formulated a new, pro-defendant procedure for municipal officials' qualified immunity motions to dismiss.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania granted Alan's Motion for Summary Judgment on the basis of statute of limitations in a case in which a female middle school student had disappeared for ten years, secretly moving in with a school security guard employed by the client security company.
Obtained summary judgment in favor of the president of a condominium association who was sued for defamation, invasion of privacy, and ethnic intimidation by a condominium unit owner.
Obtained dismissals of two related cases alleging federal constitutional claims against a nonprofit telecommunications emergency dispatch company (and certain dispatchers) used by Pennsylvania political subdivisions where a discharged employee shot and killed the plaintiffs' decedents. The first case was dismissed on statute of limitations. After extensive discovery and briefing, summary judgment was granted on the merits to the defendants in the second case (affirmed on appeal).
Obtained summary judgment in a case in which the plaintiffs alleged that defendant attorneys committed legal malpractice in connection with a manufacturing company's credit transactions with a bank.
Obtained summary judgment on the basis of res judicata in a federal lawsuit alleging that a Pennsylvania municipality and its council members violated a construction contractor's constitutional rights when the council decertified the contractor (affirmed on appeal).
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio granted Alan's motion to dismiss a First Amendment case brought by an adult cabaret dancer against an Ohio municipality.
Obtained the dismissal of a federal court substantive due process case against an Ohio municipality for failing to approve a concrete recycling plant, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal.
Motion to Dismiss was granted in a federal case against an Ohio municipality and its officials where the plaintiffs alleged violations of the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and RICO.
After obtaining dismissals of repetitive lawsuits filed by a pro se plaintiff against an Ohio municipality, obtained a frivolous conduct judgment against the plaintiff under an Ohio statute ($10,000.00 judgment against the pro se plaintiff affirmed on appeal).
Obtained summary judgment in a case by a municipal firefighter alleging constitutional claims against an Ohio municipality and its mayor arising out of employment issues (affirmed on appeal).
Obtained summary judgment in favor of an Ohio township on the plaintiffs' takings claim (affirmed on appeal).
Summary judgment was granted in favor of an Ohio mayor, city council members, and a public service director on the basis of Alan's argument that an ordinance passed by initiative (which abrogated earlier city council legislation for the construction of a reservoir) violated the Contracts Clause of the United States Constitution (affirmed on appeal)
