Castellani & Cocoran v. Scranton Times, etal
Castellani & Cocoran v. Scranton Times, etal
Concurring Opinion
concurring.
This interlocutory appeal is part of the same defamation case recently addressed in Castellani v. Scranton Times, L.P., 633 Pa. 230, 124 A.3d 1229 (2015) (“Castellani II”), as referenced in the present Order.
Nevertheless, I was in the minority in Castellani II and, as such, I agree that precedent requires vacation of the Superior Court’s order in the present appeal. Furthermore, since the
As part of my responsive expression in Castellani II, I noted that bifurcation of the trial could “go a long way toward eliminating any unfair prejudice that the Newspaper would otherwise suffer from introduction of the [Garb and Peudale] opinions.” Id. In response, the majority suggested that any bifurcation request would be “appropriate for the trial court upon remand if requested by the Newspaper.” Castellani II, 633 Pa. at 256 n. 13, 124 A.3d at 1245 n. 13. I would observe, however, that: the Newspaper previously requested bifurcation at the trial court level; the request was denied; and the Newspaper’s challenge to such denial was one of the issues it raised before the Superior Court in the present appeal. See Castellani v. Scranton Times, No. 1145 MDA 2012, slip op. at 15-20, 2014 WL 10917594 (Pa.Super. June 10, 2014). Notably, that tribunal chose not to reach the merits of the issue based on its determination that the articles had to be substantially redacted. See id. at 24. On remand, therefore, the bifurcation issue will again be pending before the Superior Court. In this regard, to the extent the Castellani II majority’s expression can be read to indicate that a second request for bifurcation must now be made by the Newspaper and ruled on initially by the trial court, it was dicta, as the bifurcation question was not before the Castellani II Court.
. In Castellani I, see Castellani v. Scranton Times, L.P., 598 Pa. 283, 956 A.2d 937 (2008)—also part of the same litigation—the Court considered whether the identity of the Newspaper's confidential source had to be disclosed.
Opinion of the Court
AND NOW, this 3rd day of March, 2016, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is GRANTED. The Superior Court’s decision is VACATED, and the matter is REMANDED to the Superior Court for further proceedings consistent with our decision in Castellani v. Scranton Times, L.P., 633 Pa. 230, 124 A.3d 1229, 1231 (2015).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.