Plaintiffs

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A judge has dismissed five of seven plaintiffs in a federal civil rights lawsuit against Berkeley County Sheriff Ronald E. Jones. Four of the seven plaintiffs were current or former deputies with the sheriff's department. Two others were unpaid volunteers and one was not affiliated with the department, according to court records. The plaintiffs accused Jones and other unnamed members of the sheriff's department of sexual harassment, racial discrimination and favoritism.

HAGERSTOWN A group of people who once led the fight against Washington County Hospital's proposed move turned on each other Monday in Washington County District Court. J. Michael Nye sued the five litigants still active in a court battle to prevent the hospital from moving near the Robinwood Medical Center, saying he was owed money he paid in legal fees. District Judge Mark D. Thomas ruled Monday that Nye was owed no money from the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Those plaintiffs included Robert and Sally Hatch, Gordon and Janet Bartels, and Chuck Hongell.

HAGERSTOWN - A group of people who once led the fight against Washington County Hospital's proposed move turned on each other Monday in Washington County District Court. J. Michael Nye sued the five litigants still active in a court battle to prevent the hospital from moving near the Robinwood Medical Center, saying he was owed money he paid in legal fees. District Judge Mark D. Thomas ruled Monday that Nye was owed no money from the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Those plaintiffs included Robert and Sally Hatch, Gordon and Janet Bartels, and Chuck Hongell.

A judge will hear arguments on May 21 in a pair of lawsuits filed against the Waynesboro Area School District in which the plaintiffs are seeking almost $3.5 million in damages. Contractors who worked on the Waynesboro Area Senior High School renovation and expansion project three years ago are suing for breach of contract and other complaints. General contractor Lobar Inc. is asking for $2.9 million in damages, saying it incurred additional labor, material and overhead costs associated with a deficient and defective design for the building's steel structure.

By DON AINES Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Three Hedgesville High School Band members attending a band camp were forced to pose in sexually explicit positions, according to allegations in a suit filed in U.S. District Court. The suit was filed on Oct. 16 against the Berkeley County Board of Education, and present and former school officials. It was filed four days before the school board approved an update of its policy on harassment and violence. The suit, filed by attorney Richard Douglas, does not name the plaintiffs, except to identify three sets of parents by their first names and the victims by their initials, according to court records.

Response filed in band hazing suit By DON AINES Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Hedgesville High School's band director destroyed film of an alleged hazing incident at the request of one of student's parents who later sued him and other school officials, according to a document filed Monday in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit was filed Oct. 16 by the parents on behalf three band members who were reportedly harassed at a band camp in Hardy County in August 1996.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Representatives from the West Virginia Department of Transportation announced Friday that the U.S. Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in Martinsburg has dismissed the case brought against federal and West Virginia officials concerning the Charles Town to Virginia state line section of W.Va. 9. Judge W. Craig Broadwater found in favor of the Department of Transportation in ruling against the Route 9 Opposition Legal Fund and six other plaintiffs on Aug. 2, according to a WVDOT press release.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A second federal lawsuit has been filed over the proposal to widen W.Va. 9 to four lanes, claiming the state did not obtain proper approvals to build a bridge that will carry the new freeway across the Shenandoah River, one of the plaintiffs in the suit said Monday. Pat Fiori of Charles Town, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, said the action revolves around a requirement contained in a federal environmental impact statement for the project.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- A trial date has been set in the fight over pension funds that led 15 War Memorial Hospital employees to sue the hospital for more than $1 million. At Tuesday's status hearing, 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge John C. Yoder scheduled the trial to begin at 9:30 a.m. June 16 date in the courtroom at the Board of Education office on Harrison Avenue. Oral arguments will be heard by Yoder on March 4 at 3 p.m. in Magistrate Court. The suit, which was filed in June 2007 in Morgan County, names the hospital and its board of directors, hospital President John H. Borg and Valley Health Systems, the firm that manages the hospital.

Pangborn retirees suing company By ANDREW SCHOTZ andrews@herald-mail.com Four retired Pangborn Corporation employees and their union are suing Pangborn, saying the company plans to halt retirees' benefits next month. Former employees Warren G. Fish of Williamsport and Ronney L. Renner, Douglas Shepley and Robert T. Shank, all of Hagerstown, are listed as plaintiffs, representing a class of an estimated 100 retirees and their spouses, court papers say. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local 842, is also a plaintiff.

A judge will hear arguments on May 21 in a pair of lawsuits filed against the Waynesboro Area School District in which the plaintiffs are seeking almost $3.5 million in damages. Contractors who worked on the Waynesboro Area Senior High School renovation and expansion project three years ago are suing for breach of contract and other complaints. General contractor Lobar Inc. is asking for $2.9 million in damages, saying it incurred additional labor, material and overhead costs associated with a deficient and defective design for the building's steel structure.

Plaintiffs trying to preserve a new Maryland law granting in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants have narrowed their legal challenge to an opposition petition drive. However, the opponents still allege that the in-state tuition law cannot be the subject of a referendum. The Maryland General Assembly passed an in-state tuition bill in April, and Gov. Martin O'Malley signed it into law. To qualify, illegal immigrants must meet a series of standards, such as graduating from a Maryland high school, then attending a community college.

HAGERSTOWN -- Eric Haberkorn spent five hours on the witness stand Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court, testifying about years of confrontations and disputes with the neighbor he is suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress and several nuisance claims. Haberkorn and his wife, Mary; Arthur and Sonja Pereschuk; and James and Renee Rudolph are suing Jeffrey Lynn Hurd, of 11845 Camden Road near Williamsport, alleging threatening behavior from Hurd, as well as noise, dust and other disruptions from business operations on his property and that of his father, John Hurd.

o Use of ION Scan equipment on hold HAGERSTOWN -- Employees at Maryland Correctional Training Center south of Hagerstown were made to crouch naked and cough during strip searches Aug. 12, 2008, according to a $40 million lawsuit filed Monday in Washington County Circuit Court. The eight plaintiffs ask for $20 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages. A Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesman said Thursday the department would not comment on active litigation.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- A trial date has been set in the fight over pension funds that led 15 War Memorial Hospital employees to sue the hospital for more than $1 million. At Tuesday's status hearing, 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge John C. Yoder scheduled the trial to begin at 9:30 a.m. June 16 date in the courtroom at the Board of Education office on Harrison Avenue. Oral arguments will be heard by Yoder on March 4 at 3 p.m. in Magistrate Court. The suit, which was filed in June 2007 in Morgan County, names the hospital and its board of directors, hospital President John H. Borg and Valley Health Systems, the firm that manages the hospital.

HAGERSTOWN -- A dispute between two Fairplay neighbors over a $1 million lottery ticket brought out testimony Tuesday about a mysterious signed letter from the plaintiff relinquishing any claim to the money and alleged harassment. Frederick S. Cade, 37, filed suit in January 2007 against his former friends and neighbors, Brian and Mary Lee Kendle, claiming he and Brian S. Kendle, 38, agreed to split any proceeds from a lottery ticket that Kendle purchased in December 2006 from McNamee's Tavern.

WAYNESBORO, PA. - The stormwater system that was a hot topic at last Wednesday's Waynesboro Borough Council meeting also has the municipality involved in a lawsuit. Earlier this summer, Maple Street residents Steven and Susan Bumbaugh and Carroll and Robyn Davis, along with Russell Weikert of Cemetery Avenue, sued the Borough of Waynesboro. "Due to the Defendant's negligent management and/or construction of the stormwater management system, stormwater has routinely collected on the Plaintiffs' properties, causing extensive damage to the Plaintiffs' homes and personal possessions," the complaint states.

HAGERSTOWN - A group of people who once led the fight against Washington County Hospital's proposed move turned on each other Monday in Washington County District Court. J. Michael Nye sued the five litigants still active in a court battle to prevent the hospital from moving near the Robinwood Medical Center, saying he was owed money he paid in legal fees. District Judge Mark D. Thomas ruled Monday that Nye was owed no money from the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Those plaintiffs included Robert and Sally Hatch, Gordon and Janet Bartels, and Chuck Hongell.

HAGERSTOWN A group of people who once led the fight against Washington County Hospital's proposed move turned on each other Monday in Washington County District Court. J. Michael Nye sued the five litigants still active in a court battle to prevent the hospital from moving near the Robinwood Medical Center, saying he was owed money he paid in legal fees. District Judge Mark D. Thomas ruled Monday that Nye was owed no money from the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Those plaintiffs included Robert and Sally Hatch, Gordon and Janet Bartels, and Chuck Hongell.

CHARLES TOWN, W.VA. - The unfolding saga over who will fill the Ward IV seat on Charles Town City Council took another turn Monday when both candidates locked in a tie for the position asked for a ballot recount. The recount request effectively threw out a suit that had been filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court in an attempt to force city officials to count a challenged ballot that might have decided the race. Michael Slover and incumbent Lacie Mumaw each asked for a recount by the 5 p.m. Monday deadline, city officials said.