Aleeza Furman More from This Author Litigation Reporter
What You Need to Know
A group of 11 Jane Does allege a former Gawthrop Greenwood attorney mishandled their sexual harassment claims against a university.
The plaintiffs filed suit against the firm and attorney John Larkin on Wednesday.
Larkin and a representative of the firm declined to comment.
West Chester law firm Gawthrop Greenwood is facing a legal malpractice lawsuit from a group of Jane Doe plaintiffs who accuse the firm of mishandling sexual harassment claims they brought against a university.
The 11 Jane Does filed their complaint Aug. 9, alleging then-Gawthrop lawyer John Larkin misled and pushed them to approve unfavorable settlements. The plaintiffs are represented by Elizabeth Bailey, of counsel at Grant & Eisenhofer in Wilmington, Delaware.
Larkin, now a lawyer with communications company Catalyst Experiential, declined to comment on the suit, as did a media representative for Gawthrop Greenwood.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs retained Gawthrop to represent them in their Title IX, employment and state law tort claims against a university where they were each students or employees. The university is not named due to confidentiality provisions in the settlement the parties eventually reached.
Larkin was the only attorney assigned to the case against the university, the complaint said.
The plaintiffs said in the complaint they told Larkin they wanted to maintain the ability to speak publicly about their allegations against the university and wanted the university to institute policy changes. They claimed Larkin expressed that any settlement would not require them to keep quiet about their experiences.
But instead of properly litigating the Jane Does’ cases, the plaintiffs assert, Larkin “pushed for fast and early resolution of the case, without regard for the impact that approach would have on each plaintiffs’ case values or whether the settlement ultimately reflected plaintiffs’ desires.”
Here is Larkin’s bio on Radnor Township’s website and if he has been with Catalyst as in yes that Catalyst the billboard company for over a year, why isn’t his Radnor Township politician/commissioner bio updated? He was formerly president of Radnor Commissioners, yes?
This is all very curious and very sad if true. This will be a get out the popcorn situation. And I have to tell you I was honestly surprised that Larkin left Gawthorp Greenwood for the billboard baron. Oh and you can look up the case in Chester County, but as of this afternoon sloppy prothonotary work meant a name misspelling.
Also again curious as to which University and are they local? OK People, I have absolutely nothing left to add except The School for Scandal is in Session in Radnor Township yet again…..
Many many years ago in another lifetime, family members of those who once called the Willows home in Radnor sent me photos. As well as photos that were lent by The Radnor Historical Society back then. For an article I wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer August 1, 2012 for their now defunct Neighbors section.
The photos showed up in photo memories today so I am sharing them. It was a marvelous estate and house once upon a time. A country house to be sure, but still never a “mansion” per se.
Enjoy a float back to the past. Here’s hoping she continues to survive.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ! Gotta love Savvy and the perfect, yes perfect turn of phrase!!! But remember, she lives her life accordingly, right? We’re still trying to figure out according to what, however….
Remember the splashy Wayne boutique owner, Hillary White Jean, whose dodgy business dealings we revealed in our last issue? Well, her legal woes are mounting.
For starters, her latest bankruptcy filing – her 8th filing in 12 years – was a bust. U.S. Bankruptcy Court dismissed her claim on March 23 after she failed to file the required documentation and skipped out on the Zoom call with the bankruptcy judge and creditors.
Also, shortly after our story ran, Jean’s current Wayne landlord filed charges against her for $3,000 in unpaid rent. By law, that case had to be put on hold while her bankruptcy claim was pending, but with the bankruptcy dismissed, it can now go forward if her landlord so chooses.
And Jean has a few new court dates. The Commonwealth filed a criminal complaint against her on March 13 for her behavior in Delaware County District Court in February, officially charging her with harassment, disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a recording device (per her arrest by Newtown Township Police). A preliminary hearing on those charges is set for April 20.
On Monday of this week, she was due back in criminal court for a pretrial conference in one of the bad checks/theft by possession cases.
I think she’s due in court this week in general isn’t she? What a lot of people have noticed after she vented her spleen, and tried to Doxx people and was generally obnoxious and implied that she got caught by the law because it was a racist thing, and that is still one of the craziest things we’ve ever heard, right? And then she was kind of playing peek-a-boo on social media wasn’t she?
And where’s the “exclusive showroom” anyway?
Hillary White Jean or Hillary White Joseph or Jean White Hillary or whatever she is calling herself has created her life, including what is happening at present. Who knows what the future holds, but she is the captain of her own ship isn’t she? This has nothing to do with race or class bias or whatever the excuse du jour is does it? It’s a simple case of right and wrong.
File under GIRL BYE?
Make sure you check out the entire new edition of Savvy Main Line. There’s all sorts of great stuff in it!
I can’t tell you how many people told me I didn’t know what I was talking about when I wrote the post recently about the old Wayne Bed and Breakfast Inn.
March 10, 2023
Well, one of my readers contacted me this afternoon and told me that she was being destroyed beginning today. A little while ago I was sent a picture which is the first one on this post.
Demolition has begun. Truly a goddamn waste.
This beauty is going with barely a whimper from Radnor Township. A property of historic import, which also had been lovingly and meticulously restored. In the place of this great house will be some soullessMcMansions, probably front and loaded to boot.
Also, now gone are so many of trees, and the beautiful gardens. And those gardens had some very old plantings. I think it was an ash tree that was very very old on this property and they didn’t even take cuttings from it. It survived when many of its species did not. Radnor Township pays lip service to being good environmental stewards and tree tenders too, in my humble opinion.
This is a waste. It is purely a waste. And I hope the ghosts of that bed-and-breakfast haunt that new development and future residents. This place could have had an adaptive reuse that could have been worked into this brand new development.
This is why I urged Radnor Township residents to start going back to meetings. And something you should start with sooner rather than later is Fenimore Woods. If you think Fenimore Woods should be left as woods, you know the way it was originally intended, don’t depend on an old politician to be your sole voice who has been commissioner so many times throughout the years that he can’t not act like a commissioner even when he’s not in office.
Get involved in your township before it’s too late. And get yourselves a new manager too. Maybe it’s time for all of you to start adding up all the crazy stuff that has happened under his watch. Are you really better off with him? Or don’t you deserve better? And yes, you can question who governs you and you should. You also deserve a manager who is accessible to residents and you don’t have that.
If any of you take photos of the demolition in process, or have old photos of this place, feel free to send them I will post them.
RIP Wayne Bed and Breakfast Inn at 211 Strafford Avenue in Wayne, PA.
……Radnor politicians, former and current, always amusing.
Yesterday I wrote a post about Radnor Township. Yes, I know there are some in Radnor Township, especially politicians present and former who still hate (yes, hate) when I write about Radnor, or speak about Radnor. (Actually, over the years a lot of Radnor government and a fair amount of the politicians have always hated when anyone dares talk about Radnor.)
I have been getting the special treatment for years. It actually amuses me, because I have done some good for Radnor over the years.
After I wrote the post, it was shared. Hey well, blogging happens, right? Well, not in Radnor. Shock and horrors. Officials perceive themselves as running the Shangrila of Delaware County, and a lot of Delaware County just shakes their heads. (Well I say shakes their heads, it’s more polite that repeating the choice words I have head over the years, but I digress.)
Do not misunderstand me, I love Radnor Township. It is a beautiful place with amazing history but if they don’t start looking for reasons to reduce the footprints of development plans (for example), it is going to look not so fabulous and will lose it’s character. (Which of course is why they should not mess with Fenimore Woods.)
North Wayne in particular is a favorite of mine. I first became a fan of North Wayne when I was a kid. The fanciful Victorian architecture in particular had me at hello, just like Cape May, NJ.
North Wayne has grand Victorian homes with sweeping porches, tree lined streets, and smaller homes of a more fanciful bungalow style. Many of these homes have been lovingly restored. You see Queen Anne, Second Empire, Tudor, shingle style, stick style, craftsman, and colonial revival homes dotting the streets neatly laid out on a grid pattern. I actually wrote an op-ed in 2011 about this when the Wayne Bed & Breakfast Inn was being discussed. A beautiful old house at 211 Strafford Avenue. Of course the sin of that location now is the proposed development with the preposterous name, correct? Old growth trees and gardens will also disappear, won’t they?
Anyway, so my writing about something Radnoriffic is not so unusual, but because I don’t live there, according to some dinosaur aged local politicians desperately seeking new relevance I am a bad, bad girl:
The Chester County Ramblings is mean-spirited and reflects on a larger problem in the country: divisiveness bolstered by personal attacks. Tammy Cohen and Bill White are decent people and don’t deserve this treatment.
~ old politician who doesn’t like bloggers
And old politicians generally speaking, often have equally old and odd cheerleaders, so here comes a 70-ish babe with her comment about me:
Dreadful! Mind your own business CHester Co whiner!
~another wayne fan, cheerleader to old politician (lovely message copied exactly, warts and all.)
Oh my goodness! I might never recover! The nerve!
Now I am no stranger to blog critics in Radnor. This sad old politician (who has been a commissioner more than once in Radnor’s first ward starting in like the 1980s, right?) wanted to muzzle the blogs in 2009, right? He doesn’t like bloggers, right? He heads up this group called (I think) “Friends of Fenimore Woods Coalition.” They have no website or Facebook page or any kind of presence online, which is their choice, but he can’t say that others, even outside of Radnor Township, can’t comment on this issue. Even me. It makes people feel they are like a secret society, the Shakers of North Wayne or something.
Opinion and First Amendment rights. To take pot shots at me essentially because you are outraged that I am not following the prescribed method of dealing with a local issue? It’s a bit ridic. It’s your local issue, I am just talking about it because I stumbled upon a PUBLIC meeting on cable. It was just fate that brought us back together so you could say I was terrible, etc, etc.
They don’t like it that I have expressed my opinions on this topic in Radnor and others. Ok so that hasn’t changed with any of you over the years. You’re still there, I am still here, why do I need your approval? Do I actually need you to stamp a passport of sorts when entering Radnor Township?
I am going to remind my “fans” of things I did for North Wayne, ironically.
Example 1, an editorial written in February , 2009 by me for then Main Line Suburban Life. The end result of this was North Wayne got a little stormwater management under the Wayne, PA train station parking lot adjacent to the train station. How do I know this? Because the lead engineer who then became Septa’s general manager, contacted me after I wrote the editorial and said “Hey we have room in the budget for a little stormwater remediation.” And Septa back then, did that and also a couple of other things right there.
Example 2, the Wayne Natatorium Historical marker. Here is the video from Radnor Historical Society:
Now I am sure my Radnor critics don’t like it when I write about ANYTHING Radnoriffic, yes? Like when I reminded them about the history and back story in Garrett Hill in August, 2022?
Radnor Township has a lot of overly entitled people. Always has. And they have always had a lot of ideas about who can say what, when, and how. But damn Radnor, you sure have had lots of politicians with issues in general, haven’t you? 2017 was a particularly bad year for Radnor Democrats in particular, correct? (Hey just READ HERE. and HERE) And 2016? Also bring the popcorn (READ THIS. ALSO THIS. ) I could further back, I could more a little forward. You breed interesting politicians with interesting ideas of how to treat the public, don’t you? (Don’t answer, you know I am not making it up.)
So yes, now I have acknowledged once again that the gloriously self righteous of Radnor Township still don’t like my blogging. And as I said in 2009, the thing about blogs and bloggers is they are a catalyst for community conversation. But open community conversation and engagement has always been hard for Radnor, hasn’t it?
Again, going back to 2009 when this came up with this politician the last time I said that in Radnor, those who advocate for real change need to realize one thing: none of you will ever move forward until you learn to let go of the past, learn from the past, and try new things. For some of you it means trying to learn to understand how social media works. (Still does.) Back then a lot of this tempest in a teapot started because of a blogger who went by the handle “Chicken Sandwich.” I didn’t know who they were for real then, still don’t today. But they upset the status quo in Radnor. Like Radnor Coyote on Twitter a few years ago. Never knew who that was either, but they were also pretty darn funny.
I am out there in multiple communities. Always have been as a blogger and people do talk to me. There are also just things I am interested in.
And why do people talk to me? Because when I have time, I take that minute to listen, and try to see the good in people. Sometimes I don’t see that good. That’s life.
At present, I don’t see the good in old political war horses who wish to steer something the way they want it to be steered, period end of story. Why steer me? Why not simply say thank you for talking about the importance of Fenimore Woods and helping raise awareness? But instead y’all have to ramble on about how I don’t help your cause and I have an inflated sense of self importance.
Inflated sense of self importance? Moi? If that’s what these people think, I can’t dissuade them of their foolishness, anymore than I can not feel that out to pasture politicians seeking new political relevance are sad creatures, right?
It’s a big world out there. These people don’t have to like me, and in some cases I have never liked them. That’s fine. But when you have a community issue that every time someone thinks it is settled, it ends up it is not and someone raises awareness to this plight just because it is not phrased or said exactly the way you would say it, it doesn’t mean it’s wrong or the person is bad.
That phrase God don’t like ugly and you aren’t all that and a bag of chips comes to mind.
Allow me to bottom line it for you: I am not going to pitch a tent in Fenimore Woods or move to Radnor. I would not wish to live in Radnor or Lower Merion today. It’s far too crowded for me for one thing. And the issues are too plentiful to ignore. But for God’s sake, as a community at large, Radnor Township residents need to wake up and participate where they live.
Completely by accident last night when channel surfing on FiOS, I ended up at the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners meeting. Good lord.
I even sucked my husband in on this meeting and he literally said to me “Do these people really run that township?”
Sadly yes.
The whole meeting had issues, but the thing that drew me in and kept me watching was the Fenimore Woods of it all.
Start at the 1:37:00 mark (approximately.) Try not to be distracted by Tammy the Parks and Recreation Twinkie. She was wearing a shirt that you could see her bra through. And of course Madame President Mulroney speaks very nasally and her outfit was Escape from Harry Potter.
Fenimore Woods is just that, woods. And the parks and recreation Twinkie seems to want to spent a lot of OPM (Other People’s Money) to create a vision for this space that Radnor residents don’t even want!
The amount of money that the parks and rec Twinkie wants to spend is astounding! I’ll let you watch the meeting to listen for yourselves. But if she got her way, it would be well over $2 million! Basically it’s beg, borrow, and steal to get the money? Including potentially taking from Township reserve funds?
And public comments indicate that this project has been going on for a few years but the actual public has not exactly been part of the process all along? Talked about 2016 but the public not part of it until like 2021?
Fenimore Woods discussion from August 16, 2021 (starts at about 3:18:00)
120 plus trees being taken down in plans and more? Residents don’t want Fenimore tatted up municipal-style. Literally to destroy the tree canopy. Old growth woods. And look at that park in Garrett Hill, Clem Macrone? How many mothers will tell you how hot the playground equipment is because there are no longer enough trees?
Paul Road and Walnut in Wayne has an 18 acre subdivision planned. Where there once were trees and wildlife habitats? Naked acres with planned McBoxes? Valley Forge Military Academy has also been selling land off apparently including 500 feet from the entrance of Fenimore Woods which will be an assisted living facility? Added traffic, light pollution, loss of habitat in a part of Radnor Township that was so pretty. According to resident Matt Marshall that is 43 acres of tree removal and loss of habitat, traffic and light pollution already scheduled for the next 5 to 7 years before we get to the Fenimore Woods of it all, right? Matt Marshall used to serve on both the planning commission and as an interim commissioner. So he actually knows what he’s talking about and he’s asking them WHY are they doing this now? Why not just hit the pause button? Realize that this is a treasure without overbuilding? Good question right? Along with why is this plan SO far ahead without true and meaningful taxpayer input?
Jim Higgins a former commissioner with whom I have never had any love lost for also looked like he really wanted to scream and yell when making his points. He is very disturbed by the thought of this. And this is a commissioner that one of the reasons I never really loved, particularly much as he was the one who wanted to outlaw blogging or something once upon a time, crazy right? Well, last night he was spot on. Higgins reminded them Fenimore should be woods, “not a modern antiseptic commercialized place.” He called the plan “scary.”
Hence my whole thing with Radnor keep the woods in Fenimore. And truthfully, wouldn’t that make a great T-shirt or lawn sign?
Commissioner Maggy Myers was the only one who stood up for the residents. she cried bullshit on this whole thing throughout the entire meeting. As well, she should have because talk about. Oh my God, living up to the total cliché of tax and spend Democrats.
Residents want Fenimore to be as it is. Exactly as it is. Yes fix the pavilion and stables, but not some grandiose plan that the residents DO NOT WANT. Residents want a natural park. Care for the pond. Consider park as a whole. It’s not supposed to be Disneyland. There already are parks with lots of big playground spaces.
Can we talk about how Radnor got here? Can we talk about how Radnor doesn’t maintain the park land they have now much like a lot of other Main Line municipalities? Can we talk about how Radnor has left the stables which are supposed to be historic structures rot much like they’ve wasted the potential of the Willows Cotrage a second time? Can we talk about how Radnor supposedly was starting 2023 with a deficit and why would they even bring a plan like this forward now? And is there an actual deficit, if so, how much and why?
And what is the former finance guy now manager actually doing? Can you also say it’s a little hard to talk to your township manager when he’s got the pit bull running point in his office and if you don’t meet her sniff test you can’t talk to your manager and you pay for all of their salaries if you live in Radnor Township, don’t you? Bill White was a good finance guy but he is not a good manager. He did a lot of fast talking during this meeting last night, but I can’t get over the whole thing that it seems like certain inmates are running the asylum over there in Radnor, and why is that? And last time that got bad, they ended up with the Bashore of it all, didn’t they?
And let’s talk about the board of commissioners. Do they really know what’s going on within the entirety of Radnor Township? It seems to me that a lot of them not only don’t know the literal history of the township, they are painfully unaware of the political history, and shady ass past, aren’t they?
Fenimore Woods is but the latest example.
So Radnor, let’s make it simple, OK? Your residents pay the taxes, right? They don’t want Fenimore Woods to change the way the Parks and Rec Twinkie presented the plan last night. They quite literally want to KEEP THE WOODS IN FENIMORE. They can’t keep being a Tree City USA if they keep taking down the trees.
Patch has a rudimentary article up. But it doesn’t capture all the nuances of taking the time to watch the meeting. Radnor residents need to get busy with this or they will literally pave paradise and put up a parking lot.
Radnor Township is a hot mess. Also last night? If you were watching the meeting on FiOS, it got interrupted when Matt Marshall the former planning commission member was speaking and all of a sudden it cut into another meeting that took place at another time and you’re watching that video until a correction happened and it went back to the meeting last night.
Radnor residents better wake up sooner rather than later on this one and many other things. It’s not just a slippery slope of issues in this municipality right now, it’s more like a big mudslide.
Thanks for stopping by. Even you former Commissioner Jim Higgins, as I know you peeked. Astounding as it may seem to you, people are allowed to have opinions on this travesty even if they don’t live in Radnor.
Following up on the Savvy Main Line article which set the Main Line on fire, it seems our shopkeeper without a store has seen the end of her bankruptcy case? What does this mean for her creditors? Time will tell….will she stay or will she go now?
A certain bizziness “lady” at present from Wayne (I say at present because there is always a chance for moving – New York, Delaware, Glen Mills, a quickie jaunt to Miami and more, right?) is due in court soon. Two different police departments seem to have taken issue with her. Newtown Township, Delaware County and Radnor Township, Delaware County.
She, blithe spirit that she is, has been taking to social media to air her grievances and promises doom and gloom on her website where she seems to be selling what used to be in her store. (She accepts GPay and Credit Cards, natch!) She also has to tell you how fab she is because if she doesn’t remind you, how else will you know?
She also has been posting comments of “supporters” which most people call sock puppets, so are they designer sock puppets?
What is a sock puppet? So glad you asked:
I am sure she will strike a pose in court. I am sure she will call anyone who objects to her behavior or has had le bounce bouncy checks, etc., etc. racist. She is pure of heart, it’s the rest of the world who is wrong. If your on her good list will she toast you with some vino from the Hamptons?
The long strange tale of a bed-and-breakfast inn located in Wayne, PA in Radnor Township is drawing to a close. The charming and impeccably restored B&B located at 211 Strafford Avenue in Wayne seems like she is to meet the wrecking ball.
This beautiful house, which was lovingly restored, getting bulldozed, is a waste, and it should be a crime. It’s so funny I remember quite clearly when they started discussing having a Wayne bed-and-breakfast. I remember all the meetings at Radnor Township, because some of the neighbors were so weird about it. They thought they would be bringing in criminals and lowlifes into town. They should be careful what they wish for because now they’re getting development.
When I went by this morning, there were big construction things in the backyard and it looks like they took down a whole bunch of trees which is yet another waste. And that contributes to the crappy environmental changes we all experience now.
Remember the Wayne Bed and Breakfast Inn for the beauty at once was
We can’t save every old house. I am a realist. But what totally gets to me is this place had been beautifully restored and could’ve been an adaptive reuse into a couple of condos within this new development. I don’t even think they’re saving the pool, which is so lovely. And the gardens. Half looked like they were bulldozed away today already.
I’m also somewhat appalled that it seems like the Radnor Historical Society said and did nothing. Makes you wonder why they gave them a historical marker a few years ago, right?
Oh my, she’s discovered me. Shockers. Give me a minute.
Then it was edited.
So. First things first. I am nobody says the woman who arrived here and expected everyone to lap up her bougie B.S. (Note I said bougie not boujee.)
Alrighty then. To her I am nobody. That’s fine. I don’t know people who do things like what Radnor Police etc. have said what she did. (Refer to Savvy Main Line article.)
Now the other day she had plenty to say about Caroline O’Halloran and someone else it seemed like. Maybe now it’s my turn, I suppose? Is she threatening me? Calling me out behind the gym? Why? Did I create her issues? It seems to me she’s a grown woman who made her current choices, oui?
Now she talks about 15 minutes of fame? Maybe just maybe that’s a little light projecting on a Saturday? You see I hypothesize that she wanted her 15 minutes of fame, but this wasn’t the 15 minutes of fame that she probably envisioned, right?
I wonder if she thought after leaving NYC, then going to Delaware, then Glen Mills, PA, that Wayne, PA was going to be the golden mile because it was the Main Line? I don’t know and none of us can get inside her head, but it seems a mite *crowded* hating on people, doesn’t it? Does hating everyone instead of owning her actions make it easier to deal with? Again don’t know, that would be a psychologist’s job.
The Main Line is a funny place. Even more today than it used to be. But one thing has never changed. You can’t just move there to belong. Much like any other affluent suburb. You have to be invited to belong, if you feel you need to sit at the ultimate popular girls table. This is a nuance that so many don’t get.
Hillary doll, I grew up on the Main Line. So I don’t need 15 minutes of anything, nor do I have to seek or do seek relevance. I am sure next you will vaguely or not so vaguely refer to me as, or call me a racist. Do you do that to everyone, I wonder? You seem to have patterns, and for a smart woman, you’re not being smart. And that is my opinion. Just like it is my opinion, that on some level this is a tragedy in many acts. You are a woman who is obviously extremely bright and attractive, so why is this the path?
And oh by the way, my blog doesn’t even have an Instagram presence. That was a fraudulent account God knows who created that was reported to Instagram a long time ago. So you probably should block it to be safe.
Also, the media and police are all watching your socials. And they read my blog. I am sorry for your troubles, but I didn’t cause them and neither did Caroline O’ Halloran.
