Before the act limiting frivolous suits, prisoners might sue because they thought the food was cold or their cells were hot - legitimate gripes, perhaps, but rarely actionable from a legal standpoint.
By Jack Brubaker
Lancaster New Era
LANCASTER, PA — Pennsylvania’s Frivolous Inmate Lawsuit Act, passed by the Legislature in 1998, was designed to curb suits filed over minor matters.
But in Lancaster County, the law has had little effect on the total number of suits filed.
Lawsuits against the Lancaster County Prison averaged half a dozen or so each year before the act and have averaged that many since.
Except this year. Only one inmate has filed suit - in October in federal court - and another a legal complaint - in the Lancaster County Courthouse in July. But the second action has not been served on the county.
Before the act limiting frivolous suits, prisoners might sue because they thought the food was cold or their cells were hot - legitimate gripes, perhaps, but rarely actionable from a legal standpoint.
Some inmates sued the prison repeatedly. One filed 25 suits.
Frivolous suits may have been reduced in number in the past decade, but they have not ended, prison warden Vincent Guarini says. “What’s frivolous?’' he asks. “The court still has to determine that.’'
Inmates have plenty of time to “kill,’' he notes. “They spend a day in the law library. They read about a case in a law book, and all of a sudden that case becomes theirs. They manipulate it.’'
The county will settle legitimate inmate suits, he says, “but there are very few of them.’'
Copyright 2008 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.