News and Events

May 31, 2012

Firm clients granted motions to dismiss in employment discrimination suit

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania recently granted two motions to dismiss filed by McQuaide Blasko attorneys James Horne and Katherine Allen on behalf of the defendants in a suit alleging employment discrimination.

The case involved an employee of a public institution who raised claims of discrimination and retaliation under the First Amendment right to petition, Second Amendment right to bear arms, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Notably, the court applied a 2011 Supreme Court ruling in Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri and dismissed the First Amendment claim with prejudice, finding that the plaintiff's complaints about her personal employment issued did not merit consideration as a petition on matters of public concern.

Mr. Horne and Ms. Allen are civil litigators in McQuaide Blasko's State College office, focusing on the area of employment law.