County to pay $1,000 in punitive damages per class member

PHILADELPHIA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–On Tuesday, May 28, 2019 a jury in the United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that Bucks County and the
Bucks County Department of Corrections (collectively, Bucks County)
willfully violated Pennsylvania’s Criminal History Record Information
Act (CHRIA) by unlawfully disseminating the Criminal Record History of
66,799 individuals that were booked in the Bucks County Correctional
Facility between 1938 and 2013. As such, members of a class action
lawsuit, Taha v. County of Bucks, No. 12-06867, have been awarded
$1,000 in punitive damages per class member. The precise number of class
members eligible for this award will be determined by the court at a
later date.

The case, filed in 2013, involved the question of whether Bucks County
broke the law when it disseminated criminal history on an “inmate lookup
tool” located on Bucks County’s website from 2011-2013. The District
Court granted summary judgment for the Plaintiff on liability, finding
that the inmate lookup tool violated CHRIA’s prohibition against
disclosing to the public confidential information about individuals who
had been processed by the Bucks County facility, Taha v. County of
Bucks, 2016 WL 1182095 (E.D.Pa. 2014). The court also certified as a
class action for trial to determine whether Bucks’ conduct was willful
under CHRIA. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
affirmed the trial court’s certification ruling prior to trial, Taha
v. County of Bucks, 862 F.3d 292, 303 (3d Cir. 2017).

“We are gratified by the jury’s verdict,” said Jonathan Shub of Kohn,
Swift & Graf, P.C., Co-Lead Counsel for the Class. “This case has always
been about Bucks’ conduct in protecting the privacy of almost 68,000
people. The evidence at trial overwhelmingly proved that they dropped
the ball in a reckless manner and the jury’s verdict sent a clear
message to Bucks that this conduct will not be tolerated.”

The case, Taha v. County of Bucks, No. 12-06867, lasted five days
before the Honorable Wendy Beetlestone, United States District Court
Judge.

Theodore M. Schaer of Zarwin, Baum, DeVito, Kaplan, Schaer, Toddy, P.C.,
served as lead trial counsel. Jonathan Shub of Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C.
and Alan Denenberg of Abramson & Denenberg, P.C. served as additional
trial counsel. Robert J. LaRocca, Zahra R. Dean and Aarthi Manohar of
Kohn, Swift also assisted at trial.

More information about the case can be found at www.chrialitigation.com.

About Kohn Swift & Graf

Kohn, Swift & Graf (KSG) is a national leader in class actions,
including complex consumer litigation. With experienced attorneys and a
competent support staff, the firm strives to provide the highest quality
of service to clients. Each case is treated with careful attention to
ensure that consumers get the justice they deserve. KSG is centrally
located in Philadelphia, PA and handles class actions nationwide. For
more information visit www.kohnswift.com.

Contacts

Jonathan Shub
[email protected]
(610)
453-6551