Matthew Santoni

@msantoni.bsky.social

770 Followers 792 Following

Journalist covering Pennsylvania courts for Law360.com. Incipient middle-aged Yinzer. Lover of dogs, books, and transportation stuff. Opinions are my own.

A large gray cat embracing a man’s arm while sleeping on a desk. His paws, which have white toes, are wrapped over and under the arm. He has neither cares nor thoughts; a Holy Fool.

Cover art for a collection of cartoons titled “Challenge of the Gobots,” a Tonka-owned series of toy robots that turn into cars and other vehicles, which debuted earlier but became an also-ran compared to the Transformers. A guy who looks like a cartoon Ryan Stiles is cowering in the foreground as something blasts the rampaging Gobots.

Capt. Kirk, Dr. McCoy & Spock from the original Star Trek

A rectangular slice of pizza from Beto’s in Pittsburgh, where “Ohio Valley style” pizza is a cooked crust and sauce with cold cheese and toppings thrown on top just before serving. This particular slice has pepperoni on both sides, and half also has peppers and large half-slices of tomato like you’d find in a salad.

Screenshot from “Untitled Goose Game,” with the (un)titular Horrible Goose standing in front of all five of the “no geese” signs that the game’s human characters have made in response to the player’s antics.

Selection from a court opinion (citations & footnotes removed): “Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought.” Here, Plaintiff examined well-established court rules and Supreme Court precedent, and crafted an argument claiming the opposite. While creative, this Court disagrees with Plaintiff’s interpretations. This Court entered judgment in the instant case in favor of the Defendant and Intervenor-Defendant on July 16, 2024. On August 15, 2024, Plaintiff RBVetCo (“RBCG” or “Plaintiff”) filed a Motion for Recommendation of Partial Attorney’s Fees.
This Court disagrees with Plaintiff’s broad interpretation of the Tucker Act and holds that 28 U.S.C. § 1491(b)(2) does not grant the ability for the Court to award attorney’s fees under the circumstances here. Nor may the Court repudiate established Supreme Court precedent to award attorney’s fees to a losing party. Finally, this Court cannot find any legal basis for issuing a nonbinding recommendation for partial attorney’s fees. Plaintiff’s Motion is therefore DENIED.

The "butter robot" from the TV show "Rick and Morty," self-aware that it was created for a mundane purpose. A Pittsburgh robotics co. pre-sold versions of this robot that were never delivered, and possibly never even got permission to recreate it, according to a new lawsuit.

Press release from the Newsguild: "Law360 Union wins contract deal, ending weeklong ULP strike"

Black and red text on a white background: "Don't click, don't read, don't comment, don't publish Law360 until workers get a fair contract."

Black and white text on a red background: "Don't click, don't read, don't comment, don't publish Law360 until workers get a fair contract."

A lunch note with the text “Did you know? Because Gummi Worms are made with gelatin and gelatin is made of processed bones, Gummi Worms technically have more bones than real worms!” It is accompanied by a hand-drawn cartoon of a worm screaming at another worm behind an “x-ray” screen with a cartoonish skull and a line of bones in its body.

Tweet from journalist @RyanDeto about J.D. Vance's visit to a Pennsylvania VFW: "Vance shoutouts Sean Parnell, a decorated combat veteran and Pittsburgh- area native who ran for Congress and Senate. He said Parnell has been victim of media smears. Parnell dropped out of a senate race in 2021 after losing a custody battle that his ex-wife accused him of abuse"

Court document: Upon information and belief, unless the continuation or repetition of the above described unfair labor practices is restrained, a serious flouting of the Act will continue with the result that enforcement of important provisions of the Act and of public policy will be impaired before PPG can be placed under legal restraint through the regular procedures of a Board order and enforcement degree. Unless injunctive relief is immediately obtained, it may fairly be anticipated that PPG will continue its unlawful conduct during the proceedings before the Board and during subsequent proceedings before a court of appeals for an enforcement decree with the result that PPG’s employees will continue to be deprived of their rights guaranteed in the Act.

Here, Act 40’s reference to crimes occurring “within” SEPTA is impermissibly vague in prescribing the extent to which the Special Prosecutor may preempt the DA’s jurisdiction. SEPTA is an agency. It is an entity. It is not a specific place or a tangible thing. The meaning of “within” in relation to SEPTA conveys no concrete impression to the ordinary person; it is simply incomprehensible…. Act 40 does not define whether “within” SEPTA includes any or all of SEPTA headquarters, stations, trains, buses, bus stops, bus routes, train tracks, and rights-of-way. Similarly, Act 40 does not specify whether crimes in locations such as property leased to SEPTA, crimes on property subject to easements in favor of SEPTA, crimes commenced in one location and completed in another, or crimes where alleged perpetrators act in one location and flee to another, are crimes committed “within” SEPTA.

Still of Groundskeeper Willie from "The Simpsons," saying "Willie hears ya. Willie don't care."

First paragraph of a court filing: Plaintiffs and Norfolk Southern Railway Company and Norfolk Southern Corporation (“Norfolk Southern”) are pleased to report they have reached an agreement in principle to resolve this putative class action lawsuit, including all consolidated cases before this Court, against Norfolk Southern and the Railcar Defendants (GATX Corporation, General American Marks Company, OxyVinyls LP, and Trinity Industries Leasing Company). Subject to this Court’s approval, this $600 million settlement would resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius from the derailment. It follows extensive fact discovery, expert development, and three days of mediation before former federal district judge Layn Phillips.

After the verdict, POM and its erstwhile partner, Pennsylvania Skill Games LLC, negotiated a settlement of the damages and what to do with the trademarks for the games that the latter company had gotten from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. On Wednesday, the parties asked the court for an order making the results of those negotiations official and canceling Pennsylvania Skill Games' registration.

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