ELR Citation: ELR 20237
No(s). 71-143 Civ (M.D. Pa. May 12, 1971)

The Secretary of Transportation's disbursement of federal funds for highway construction through a Harrisburg public park enjoined and the matter remanded to the Secretary for more explicit findings under the Parklands Statutes, 49 U.S.C. §1653(f) and 23 U.S.C. §138. The Secretary's determinations under §102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act also remanded so that strict compliance with current DOT and CEQ regulations could be effectuated. The court encouraged the Secretary to comment upon plaintiffs' extensive allegations of non-compliance with the public hearing requirements of the Federal Aid Highway Act. The suit is not barred by laches, because the filing of this action was not unreasonably delayed past the effective dates of federal and state legislation and regulations upon which the suit is premised. The contractor's monetary losses due to possible future delay are recoverable from the state under existing law. Plaintiffs' claim that the state denied equal recreational opportunities in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment dismissed as not supported by the evidence.

Counsel for Plaintiffs:
Robert J. Sugarman
Dechert, Price & Rhoads
1600 Three Penn Center
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 568-1600

Edward Finkelstein
2917 North Front Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110
(717) 232-0506

Counsel for Federal Defendants:
Thomas McKevitt
David E. Wells
Joseph J. Leahy
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC
(202) 737-8200

S. John Cottone United States Attorney
Post Office Building
Scranton, PA 18501
(717) 344-7111

Counsel for State and Municipal Defendants:
Robert H. Raymond, Jr. Assistant Attorney General
(Department of Transportation)
Robert W. Cunliffe Deputy Attorney General
(Department of Highways)
J. Shane Creamer Attorney General
State Capitol
Harrisburg, PA 17120
(717) 787-2121

Francis Haas, Jr.
100 Pine Street
Harrisburg, PA
(717) 236-9341

Edward W. Rothman Assistant City Solicitor
Law Bureau, Room 303
Municipal Building
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 238-7101

Joseph H. Jones
William Hutchinson
Schuylkill Trust Building
Pottsville, PA 17901
(717) 622-5933