Multi-million dollar case headed back to county court

May 22--WILKES-BARRE -- A legal battle over a multi-million dollar payout to the estate of a disabled woman who died following a car crash was returned to county court by order of the state Superior Court amid allegations none of the victim's family had a right to the money.

A county jury in 2012 awarded more than $3 million to the estate of Barbara Maines after finding Williamsport-based group home Hope Enterprises and an employee, William Birt, negligent in her 2009 death. The payment to the estate has since been held up by an appeals process that has lasted years.

Maines, 31, who had cerebral palsy, was a passenger in a Home Enterprises van driven by Birt that slammed into another vehicle in Bloomsburg on Sept. 8, 2009. She died three days later.

Hope Enterprises and Birt sought a new hearing in 2015, arguing evidence emerged that "strongly" suggested Maines' relatives misrepresented their relationship to her and thus weren't entitled to a bulk of the award.

In an opinion issued last week, a three-judge panel of the state Superior Court remanded the case back to Luzerne County Judge Thomas F. Burke Jr., who presided over the 2012 trial.

Hope Enterprises and Birt argued estate administrator Patricia Brittain, who during trial was purported to be Maines' aunt, was identified in subsequent court documents as Maines' sister, according to the opinion. Sharon Moyer, identified as Maines' biological mother, was also later identified as Maines' sister. Two others identified as sisters were actually aunts, the opinion states.

Additionally, they argued, Snyder County Orphan's Court records showed Maines was adopted by her maternal grandmother, Madeline Maines, terminating Moyer's parental rights.

Because Madeline Maines died and Barbara Maines had no spouse or children, no one had legal claim to the $2 million wrongful death portion of the award, they argued.

Michael J. Pisanchyn Jr., Brittain's attorney, argued there was no evidence of the adoption claim, only legal guardianship proceedings.

Moyer, he said, was Maines' biological mother but was intellectually incompetent. Since Barbara Maines and Moyer were raised together by Madeline Maines, they considered themselves sisters, he argued.

"Despite Sharon being disabled and having the intellectual capacity of a second-grader, she should not be discriminated against because her mother, Madeline Maines, raised (Barbara Maines) like she was her mother," Pisanchyn said.

The defendants' emergency application also took aim at Pisanchyn himself, claiming he took a 48 percent cut of the award without permission when it was unclear based on the questioned raised in the application whether he was entitled to anything.

"This is problematic on many levels," state Superior Court Judge Victor P. Stabile wrote.

"First, it appears (Pisanchyn) took these fees before securing court approval," Stabile wrote. "Further, it is not clear whether these fees were paid only for the wrongful death damages or for both wrongful death and survival damages. If there is merit to Appellees' Emergency Application, it is uncertain whether counsel is entitled to any fees."

Reached last week, Pisanchyn vehemently denied any wrongdoing and vowed to appeal the ruling. He suggested the defendants and their insurance company, Selective Insurance, were using their ample resources to hang the case up in appeals and keep Barbara Maines' estate from getting the money awarded by the jury.

"It is truly appalling Selective Insurance and their attorneys are trying to ruin the reputation of any attorney that takes them to the mat and shows them that they will not take only what the insurance offers but rather will seek justice before 12 people of the community," Pisanchyn said. "Despite 12 unanimous persons telling defendants what they did to Barbie was outrageous, they still use their resources to delay justice."

While it is alleged Pisanchyn took the fee without court approval, Columbia County Court records show Columbia County Judge Thomas A. James Jr. signed an order April 30, 2015, approving the fee and $72,149 in costs to Pisanchyn. The remainder was placed into the estate.

According to a transcript of the proceeding, James acknowledged the fee was high but said he didn't find it outrageous given Pisanchyn's work on the case, which included some 2,000 case notes, an eight-day trial and appeals to the state Superior and Supreme courts.

"As I understand it ... you said they kept offering $200,000 along the way and then it ended up being this (award), so I think you did a really good job," James said.

Pisanchyn said contingent fees, in which a lawyer agrees to accept a fixed percentage of an award if they win the case, ensure "big corporations are not allowed to take advantage of common persons who may not have the adequate resources to pursue the case."

"In this case, Pisanchyn (law firm) put in over $75,000 and over eight years of continuing work with no guarantee of ever recovering any of this money back should a jury have disagreed with the case."

He said the firm donated thousands of dollars to a nonprofit in Barbara Maines' name that helps intellectually challenged and physically disabled persons go see concerts they would not have otherwise.

An appeal "demonstrating the numerous factual and legal issues with the Superior Court's opinion" will be filed in the coming weeks, Pisanchyn said.

Jim Doherty, an attorney for Hope Enterprises, did not return multiple messages seeking comment.

Glenn Ricketti, attorney for Selective Insurance, declined comment.

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