Paul D. Krepps

Significant Representative Matters

• Successfully defended a case in which two police officers Tasered a suicidal man a total of seven times before he could be disarmed. Summary judgment was granted as to the entire case.

• Successfully defended two separate death cases brought under the State Created Danger Theory. In one case, brought in state court, the decedent left the scene of a minor traffic accident and, upon arriving home, committed suicide. In the other, filed in federal court, a police officer stopped a suspect leaving the scene of a domestic incident. Twenty minutes after leaving the scene of the traffic stop, the suspect died in a one-car accident. His blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. Both suits were dismissed by way of summary judgment.

• Selected as lead defense counsel for all litigation arising out of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Conference (“G20”) which occurred in Pittsburgh on September 24 and 25, 2009. Cases filed thus far include numerous First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment claims.

• A jury returned a defense verdict in a case in which a corrections officer was accused of using excessive force to break up a fight between inmates.

• A jury returned a defense verdict in a case in which a logger was accused of unlawful timbering practices.

• Successful defense of a mandamus action against a sewer authority in which the authority was accused of imposing arbitrary standards for sewer hook-up in a case that had the potential of effecting 28,000 customers.

• A jury returned a defense verdict in a case in which a dog track was accused of negligence in the deaths of racing dogs and in which the dog owners were permitted to present damages in the amount of $3.6 million.

• A jury returned a defense verdict in a case in which a police officer was involved in a police pursuit which ended with the death of the individual being pursued and where the plaintiff, an innocent third party, suffered the loss of a leg and catastrophic brain injuries. This was the second defense verdict in this case, the first verdict rendered at the close of a summary jury trial.

• A district court judge granted defendants' motion to dismiss at the close of plaintiff's case in a matter in which a police officer accidentally shot and killed plaintiff's decedent. The appeal of the dismissal was upheld by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in which the court focused on whether a prima facie case existed as against the municipality for failing to require its officers to carry less than lethal weapons.

Education

• Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1994 J.D.

• Pennsylvania State University, 1979 B.S.

  Honors: American Criminal Justice Association (Honor Society)
  Major:  Administration of Justice

• Allegheny County Police Training Academy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1980

Published Works

• "Palsfraf Revisited - Brisbine v. Outside Inn School of Experiential Education," Lawyer's Journal, Vol. 5 No. 3, February 7, 2003

• "Implications of Scott v. Harris on Police Pursuits and Beyond," Lorman Education Services

Representative Cases

• Tonya L. Carswell, et ux. v. Borough of Homestead, et al, 381 F.3d 235 (3rd. Cir. 2004)

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Development of a Critical Incident Protocol - City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh Law Department, various Chiefs of Police Organizations

• Effective Law Enforcement Through Police Accountability - City of Pittsburgh and various municipal law enforcement agencies

• Police Rights and Liabilities - Various Chiefs of Police Organizations

• Police Accountability - Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors and various police departments

• Effective Witness Preparation - Continuing Legal Education for in-house lawyer training

• Section 1983 Civil Rights - Continuing Legal Education, Pennsylvania Bar Association

• Terrorism and An Analysis of the Events of 9/11 - American Inns of Court and University of Pittsburgh

• Workplace Violence - Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh

• Disability of Deriliction? - Claims Management Advisory Board Seminar for a major municipal insurance carrier

• Litigating an Uninsured Auto Case in West Virginia - Maryland Auto Insurance Fund

• Civil / Criminal Forfeiture and RICO - University of Pittsburgh

• Police and Drug Enforcement - University of Pittsburgh

• Immigration and Law Enforcement - University of Pittsburgh

• Crime Scene Investigation - University of Pittsburgh and various law enforcement agencies

• Property Crimes - University of Pittsburgh

• Organized Crime; Asian and African American - University of Pittsburgh

• Organized Crime; Russia - University of Pittsburgh

• Community Consideration of Policing Immigrant Populations - University of Pittsburgh

• Probation and Parole - St. Vincent College

• Crime Prevention and Property Crimes - St. Vincent College

• Introduction to Criminology - Beaver County Community College

• Assisted the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission, Pennsylvania State Police - preparation and training to training officers (2006, 2008)

Past Employment Positions

• Certified I.A.I. Crime Scene Analyst

• Florida State Certified Police Field Training Officer