Court Rules for Travelers in Penn. Kickback Case

A federal appeals court said recently Travelers Property Casualty Co. doesn’t have to pay $1.75 million in damages as part of a settlement involving privately owned juvenile detention facilities in Pennsylvania.

Travelers has claimed it was free from paying damages under a policy held by developer Robert Mericle in a juvenile justice scandal that landed two former Luzerne County judges in jail.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed in June that Travelers didn’t have to pay Mericle’s damages because he knowingly committed the acts that led to the suit. Mericle built detention centers associated with kickbacks paid to two former judges. He pleaded guilty to charges in the case.