Judge Tosses Cozen O'Connor Suit Against Ethics Board
A Court of Common Pleas judge has rejected a lawsuit filed against the Philadelphia Board of Ethics by the law firm Cozen O'Connor, which was seeking to lift campaign contribution limits from last year's mayoral race.
Judge Tosses Cozen O'Connor Suit Against Ethics Board
Chris Brennan
A Court of Common Pleas judge has rejected a lawsuit filed against the Philadelphia Board of Ethics by the law firm Cozen O'Connor, which was seeking to lift campaign contribution limits from last year's mayoral race. U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, who came in third in the seven-way Democratic primary, ran up a $448,648 legal bill with Cozen O'Connor to successfully fend off a ballot challenge from Tom Knox, who finished second in the primary.
City law limited campaign contributions to $2,500 for individuals and $10,000 for law firms, political-action committee and unincorporated businesses. Those limits were doubled because Knox, a millionaire, was running a self-financed campaign. Knox challenged Brady's place on the ballot because of information left off the congressman's nominating papers. Cozen O'Connor's lawsuit said the contribution limits made it difficult to get paid for the Brady legal work.
Judge Gary DiVito on Friday dismissed the lawsuit, based on preliminary objects from the Board of Ethics. Attorneys for the Board of Ethics argued that Cozen O'Connor lacked standing to sue because the contribution limits impacted Brady's campaign, not the law firm. Brady asked the Board of Ethics after the primary for a ruling on whether he could exceed the limits. The board turned him down in September and he did not file an appeal within 30 days.
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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