Caroselli Beachler McTiernan & Conboy and Cefalo and Associates have announced that a partial settlement with a second set of defendants has been reached in the Luzerne County juvenile-court civil litigation. The settlement, which must receive court approval, is between defendants PA Child Care, LLC, Western PA Child Care, LLC, and Mid-Atlantic Youth Services Corp., and counsel representing the plaintiff juveniles and parents of juveniles who appeared before former juvenile court judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr.  The civil lawsuit is continuing against, among others, the former judges.

Representing the juveniles and parents since early 2009, Caroselli Beachler attorneys William R. Caroselli, David S. Senoff and Lauren C. Fantini are co-counsel with Cefalo and Associates and its attorneys Michael J. Cefalo and James Albert.

To read the full release issued by the parties to the settlement, please click here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2009

“KIDS FOR CASH” CIVIL CASE SURPASSES 350 PLAINTIFFS; MORE THAN 200 ATTEND MEETING WITH ATTORNEYS

Wilkes-Barre, PA – Today, Michael Cefalo and William Caroselli, the attorneys for the victims of the notorious “Kids for Cash” judges announced that their consolidated civil action now includes 350 plaintiffs, including 224 children who suffered at the hands of Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan.

Caroselli and Cefalo’s civil case takes a different approach than the others that have been filed. Caroselli and Cefalo’s consolidated approach lists all of the plaintiffs individually, rather than present them as a class. By listing them individually, Caroselli and Cefalo preserve the plaintiffs’ individual rights, which means they can have their cases assessed individually and pursue individual damages.

In addition, last night, in an effort to provide information and answer questions, Cefalo and Caroselli held a meeting with more than 200 children and parents at the Wilkes-Barre Township Volunteer Fire Department Building.

“More and more families have signed on to our case and we wanted to gather everyone in a comfortable setting to discuss the different aspects of the case,” said Caroselli of Caroselli, Beachler, McTiernan & Conboy. “These are individual cases to us and every one of these people deserves to have an opportunity to be heard.”

Last night’s meeting was the first of a series of informational gatherings Cefalo and Caroselli plan to hold as the civil action progresses. The meeting was open to the clients and attorneys only.

“We want to do everything we can to make sure the children and the parents we are representing have all the information they need as our civil action moves forward,” said Michael Cefalo of Cefalo and Associates. “We are going to hold periodic meetings like this because their comfort is important to us and we want to make sure they are aware of all available resources.”

Families who have already signed up with the “Kids for Cash” civil action or families who have not yet retained an attorney can visit kidsforcash.com or call 570-655-5555.

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View last week’s segment on ABC’s 20/20 titled Kids Jailed for Cash? here.

Today, Attorney Mike Cefalo and two victims of Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan were featured on CNN American Morning. Video below: