Pa. judge combines lawsuits into class-action in kids-for-cash juvenile justice scandal

SCRANTON, Pennsylvania — A judge in northeastern Pennsylvania has combined a series of civil lawsuits into a class-action case in the so-called "kids for cash" scandal involving for-profit juvenile detention facilities.

The Times-Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/12b5p6r ) Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo made the decision Tuesday. He'd previously scheduled jury selection in the cases for December and January 2014.

The claims seek damages from former Luzerne County judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan, who are serving lengthy sentences for racketeering. They also seek damages from the companies that operated the facilities.

Caputo says each of the lawsuits involved a common set of facts and legal questions. He says the number of plaintiffs, more than 4,000, made individual cases and trials impractical. He's divided the plaintiffs into two classes, one of which he subdivided.

Information from: The Times-Tribune, http://thetimes-tribune.com/

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