January 21–28, 1999

hit and run

Spoke Too Soon

Two weeks ago, attorneys representing two firefighters injured in a 1995 gas explosion in Norristown were so giddy at the prospect of deposing PECO CEO Corbin McNeill that they put out a press release.

Looking back, that might have been a mistake.

"It is interesting to note that Mr. McNeill's deposition will take place as President Clinton's trial in the Senate is set to begin," read the release from the Center City law firm of Pansini & Lessin. "President Clinton is accused of having committed perjury… With that backdrop, Mr. McNeill's deposition will be closely scrutinized for any perjurious statements after the close of his deposition on Wednesday, Jan. 13."

Needless to say, PECO's attorneys were not amused. Citing "inflammatory and slanderous statements" allegedly made by Michael Pansini, attorney for the four plaintiffs, PECO's attorneys filed a motion for a protective order—or gag order—and for a stay of McNeill's deposition. Both were granted pending a hearing.

A comment allegedly made by McNeill in 1995 is at the heart of several ongoing suits against PECO related to a December 1995 gas explosion in Norristown that killed two people. The plaintiffs—the firefighters and two Norristown residents who reported a gas leak before the incident—allege in their complaints that McNeill was aware that staff reductions at PECO were increasing the likelihood of a catastrophe. A few months before the Norristown explosion, McNeill allegedly responded to such warnings by saying, "That's why we have insurance."

In court documents, PECO has denied this charge. (The ongoing legal battles were the subject of City Paper's July 31, 1998 cover story, "Explosive Charges." The story can be read online at www.citypaper.net/ articles/073098/cover.shtml.)

Pansini said last week that PECO's motion prevented him from commenting. He has not returned calls since.

PECO's attorneys requested that their motions be filed under seal, and apparently they were successful; the motions were not available at the Montgomery County court house in Norristown on Tuesday.

But another recent motion, to compel discovery, was there. In it, PECO alleges that Pansini has "neither answered nor objected to PECO's interrogatories and requests for documents… " In the past, Pansini has complained of PECO's attempts to delay the discovery process. (The recent press release even described McNeill's impending deposition as "long-awaited.")

The status of PECO's recent motions could not be learned before press time. The last time he was reached, Pansini promised to talk about the case as soon as the issue of his speaking to the press was resolved.

-Frank Lewis