Lopez v. Bucks County

Case Number: 2:15-cv-05059-JS

Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Client: Bucks County Courier Times

Motion to Intervene and Unseal Filed: Sept. 12, 2024

Background: In September 2015, the estate of Vallia Valene Karaharisis filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Bucks County, Pennsylvania, its private medical contractor PrimeCare Medical, and other defendants. The lawsuit alleged that Karaharisis died while in custody in 2013 because the county correctional facility and PrimeCare failed to properly monitor and care for her while she was experiencing heroin withdrawal. 

In December 2016, the two sides reached a settlement agreement, which was filed under seal. The Bucks County Courier Times sent PrimeCare a letter in October 2023 asking it to provide the sealed settlement records. PrimeCare did not respond to the request. 

On behalf of the Courier Times, Paula Knudsen Burke, the Reporters Committee’s Local Legal Initiative attorney for Pennsylvania, and Heather E. Murray of the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic filed this motion to intervene and unseal the settlement records, arguing that the public and press have a First Amendment and common law right of access to them. 

Quote: “PrimeCare’s actions here impact public tax expenditures and the health and safety of incarcerated individuals. Thus, the settlement records involve important matters of public interest, health, and safety. Yet, because the settlement records were sealed, questions remain concerning PrimeCare’s portion of the settlement, even as it continues to serve as the prison’s health care contractor. To answer these questions, the Bucks County Courier Times seeks access to the settlement records to shed further light on this matter of significant public concern.”

Related: On behalf of the Bucks County Courier Times and The York Daily Record, Burke and Murray have successfully moved to unseal PrimeCare’s settlement agreements in three similar wrongful death cases. 

Co-counsel: Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic

Updates:

• On Oct. 18, 2024, the district court granted the Courier Times’ motion to intervene and ordered the unsealing of the settlement agreement.
• According to an article published by the Courier Times on Oct. 25, 2024, PrimeCare paid $250,000 to settle the wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the estate of Karaharisis. The newspaper reported that Bucks County and PrimeCare have collectively paid out $3.8 million in wrongful-death claims at the local jail over the past 11 years.

Filings:

2024-09-12: Motion to intervene and unseal

2024-09-12: Memorandum of law in support of the Bucks County Courier Times’ motion to intervene and unseal

2024-10-18: Order