Paige Robbins' Attorney Asks to Quit Lower Merion 'Spycam' Case
Mary Elizabeth Bogan filed the request Tuesday, citing "irreconcilable conflict(s) with the client."
The attorney for Paige Robbins—the former student accusing Lower Merion School District of spying on her via laptop camera, an argument her brother used to win a six-figure settlement—asked a judge Tuesday for permission to leave the case, according to a U.S. District Court filing.
In her Motion for Permission to Withdraw as Counsel (attached to this article as a PDF file) Philadelphia attorney Mary Elizabeth Bogan states, "It has become clear, during the representation of Plaintiff, that counsel has irreconcilable conflict(s) with the client which, in turn, has resulted in the filing of the immediate Motion."
It was unclear whether U.S. District Court Judge John R. Padova granted Bogan's motion. A call Tuesday night to a listed phone number for the Robbinses, who live in Penn Valley, returned a message that the number is not in service.
Bogan did not immediately respond to phone and email messages from Patch. The motion indicates Bogan told her client she intended to withdraw. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 11.
Bogan's motion to withdraw comes six days after she filed the initial complaint on Robbins' behalf. In that filing, Bogan asserted that, according to a 2010 deposition given by Lindy Matsko, Harriton High School’s assistant vice principal, the school district “remotely accessed the webcam feature on the laptop issued to the Plaintiff while she was in the bathroom, or in the nude, or partially dressed or sleeping or in her bedroom in a compromised state.”
In a Dec. 8 statement, the school district reacted with outrage to what they call “the epitome of an attempted money-grab and a complete waste of tax dollars.”
Bogan responded by commenting, in an article the Philadelphia Inquirer published Friday, “Who did the wrongdoing here? The school district is attempting to shift the focus to ... a 19-year-old woman standing up for her constitutional rights, when the school district has a track record of wrongdoing.”
Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, LMSD spokesman Doug Young said the district would likely not release a statement on Bogan's Tuesday filing.
Attorney Mark Haltzman represented Blake Robbins, Paige's younger brother, in his 2010 breach-of-privacy lawsuit that resulted in an eventual $175,000 settlement. That complaint, too, was spurred by photographs taken automatically and surreptitiously by his school laptop, and it brought worldwide scrutiny to the school district and its practices.
Cement Mixer
9:08 pm on Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Greed pure & simple. I applaud the attorney for leaving this leech.
Walter Ebmeyer
6:30 am on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
See "Strunk and White": form the plural possessive of nouns by adding " 's" whether they end in "s" or not. So write "Charles's" or, in this case, "Robbins's".
michael
6:47 am on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
greed is right - maybe she needs new implants - kids from that school say they are one wacked out family.
Kim
8:07 am on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Mary Elizabeth, too little, too late, reputation already tarnished.
Kitty
8:56 pm on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Lawyer's are not responsible for their clients behavior and not all clients fully disclose all aspects of their case with their lawyers. It would be unfair to the client if a lawyer was not behind them as well as it is not fair for the lawyer to build a strong case for their client if there are conflicts between themselves and the client. Please keep in mind, none of this would have happened if the school district didn't spy on people. For some reason, people today seem to forget the importance of liberty granted to us by our constitution. Gradually, our liberties are being taken away and no one seems to care because the reasons are masked as 'security' and victims are judged for personal reasons. Who's happy to get a full body scan at the airport or that the government can now legally tap our phones? Hell, maybe people should just come in our homes whenever they want to search for illegal aliens or terrorists that might be hiding in our closet. Attorney Bogen legally can ask to be removed from a case. That alone is just and should not tarnish her reputation.
roy johnson
10:59 pm on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The Robbins Family unloaded Mary Elizabeth Bogan. Not the other way around.
roy johnson
12:00 am on Thursday, December 15, 2011
Read the deceptive complaint she wrote and you can see why she dropped out.
Jim Whitby
5:15 pm on Saturday, December 17, 2011
Perhaps we should just have an extra $100 a year tax levy on our Lower Merion School Taxes to support the Robbins family? They are an unfortunate band of grifters, but they are our grifters!