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Wilkes-Barre man admits to killing girlfriend’s cat

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Jurors in Luzerne County returned to deliberations Thursday morning, this time to determine punitive damages to be levied against Pennoni Associates. At least until a private settlement cut talks short.</p><p>Judge Thomas F. Burke early in the afternoon recalled jurors from a deliberation room to excuse them and announce the parties had resolved the issue.</p><p>Attorneys on both sides of the civil suit declined comment regarding the agreement.</p><p>The same jury Wednesday night found the Philadelphia-based engineering firm negligent in designing downtown Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center, and decided the negligence was 30 percent the cause of 86-year-old Edward Rehill&#8217;s death.</p><p>Rehill, of Wilkes-Barre, was killed in September 2011 when he walked behind a Luzerne County Transportation Authority bus driven by Donna Smith struck the man and came to rest on top of him while reversing from its parking stall.</p><p>The jury set compensatory damages at $350,000, of which Pennoni would be required to pay $89,250. It is unclear if the settlement affects compensatory damages.</p><p>The settlement is the third confidential agreement in the suit. Judges ordered the county Prothonotary&#8217;s Office to seal the details of both LCTA&#8217;s April 2014 settlement and the City of Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s September 2013 agreement with Rehill&#8217;s estate, court records indicate.</p><p>The office, however, sealed the entire case file only reopening it Thursday after receiving word of the trial&#8217;s end. Details of the earlier settlements remain unknown as the only available filings appear with settlement amounts redacted.</p><p>Agreement documents free from redaction could not be located Thursday.</p><p>Prior to adjourning for deliberations, the 12 men and women heard brief arguments from attorneys on either side, beginning with an apology from Pennoni&#8217;s attorney.</p><p>&#8220;I can assure you we&#8217;re not going to do this again. We heard your message. We got your verdict,&#8221; attorney John O&#8217;Rourke said.</p><p>O&#8217;Rourke described Rehill&#8217;s death as &#8220;a perfect storm,&#8221; in which five parties share blame and urged the jury to consider its distribution of 70 percent of the blame among LCTA, the City of Wilkes-Barre, Smith and Rehill himself.</p><p>He also asked jurors to assess the credibility of statements from project manager Larry Fetich, who testified earlier in trial, and to determine if they felt he was being dishonest when he denied purposeful wrongdoing in the design process.</p><p>Attorney David Selingo, representing Rehill&#8217;s estate, argued percentage of blame is irrelevant in determining punitive damages, and said instead jurors should seek to send a message of deterrence with their verdict. He urged the jury to impose damages which punish the firm without crippling it.</p><p>&#8220;This center is dangerous. A lot of people knew that already, but you made it clear,&#8221; he said. &#8220;No community should be stuck with what we&#8217;re stuck with.&#8221;</p><p>Selingo said Pennoni always was aware the design forced buses to reverse inside the facility and unreasonably required pedestrians to walk some 800 feet around the rim of the facility to reach a center island, yet pushed forward anyway.</p><p>He said the firm also used Fetich&#8217;s relationship with the city to acquire a contract to design the facility.</p><p>When weighing the extent of the harm done to Rehill, he said jurors should consider the man&#8217;s traumatic end.</p><p>&#8220;He saw death coming at him in the back of the bus. He saw death coming over him,&#8221; Selingo said. &#8220;The character of that harm is unfathomable.&#8221;</p><p>According to Judge Thomas F. Burke&#8217;s instructions, jurors in deciding punitive damages could consider the character of Pennoni&#8217;s actions, the extent and nature of harm done to Rehill and also Pennoni&#8217;s wealth to the extent it is relevant in punishing the firm&#8217;s conduct and to deter others from committing similar acts.</p><p>Attorneys stipulated Pennoni&#8217;s net worth at $34,155,000 as of Dec. 31, 2014.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">LCTA buses load and exit the intermodal center in Wilkes-Barre earlier this week. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_TTL090915LCTA15.jpg</photo0><caption0>LCTA buses load and exit the intermodal center in Wilkes-Barre earlier this week. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By James O&#8217;Malley</p><p>jomalley@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach James O&#8217;Malley at 570-991-6390 or on Twitter @TL_omalley.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Parties settle in Wilkes-Barre intermodal death civil suit