Pennsylvania International Aca v. Fort Leboeuf School District


NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 17-1715 _____________ PENNSYLVANIA INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY, LLC v. FORT LEBOEUF SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellant _____________ No. 17-1762 _____________ PENNSYLVANIA INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY, LLC, Appellant v. FORT LEBOEUF SCHOOL DISTRICT ______________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (D.C. No. 1-16-cv-00251) District Judge: Hon. Arthur J. Schwab ______________ Argued January 24, 2018 ______________ Before: HARDIMAN, VANASKIE, and SHWARTZ, Circuit Judges. (Filed: February 13, 2018) Bryan G. Baumann, Esq. [ARGUED] Alexander K. Cox, Esq. [ARGUED] Knox, McLaughlin, Gornall & Sennett, P.C. 120 West 10th Street Erie, PA 16501 Counsel for Appellant/Cross-Appellee Thomas A. Pendleton, Esq. [ARGUED] Dominick A. Sisinni, Esq. MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton LLP 100 State Street, Suite 700 Erie, PA 16507 Counsel for Appellee/Cross-Appellant ______________ OPINION* ______________ SHWARTZ, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Pennsylvania International Academy, LLC (the “Academy”) brought this action against Defendant Fort LeBoeuf School District (the “School District”), asserting that 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 13-1361(1) (the “busing statute”) required the School District to provide free bus transportation to its students. The School District asserts that federal immigration law preempts the statute. We agree with the District Court that the immigration law does not preempt the busing statute and will affirm its order granting summary judgment on the Academy’s claim for subrogation, but we will vacate its order declining to rule on the Academy’s remaining claims and remand for further proceedings. * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and, pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7, does not constitute binding precedent. 2 I The Academy operates a residential boarding facility for high school students (the “Students”) who are F-1 visa holders1 attending private school at Mercyhurst Preparatory School (“Mercyhurst”) in Erie, Pennsylvania. For the six years prior to the 2016-2017 school year, the School District provided free bus transportation to the Students to and from Mercyhurst. Then, in June 2016, the School District notified the Academy that, because the Students were F-1 visa holders, the School District would charge the Students for their school transportation, at a cost of $765 per Student for the 2016-2017 school year. Rather than pay the approximately $87,975 the School District would have charged the Academy, the Academy arranged to provide transportation for the Students for that school year at a cost it originally estimated as $26,207. The Academy filed this lawsuit against the School District in the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County, Pennsylvania, and the School District removed the case to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The Academy sought: (1) a mandamus in the form of a permanent injunction requiring the School District to provide free transportation to its students (Count One); (2) subrogation of the $26,207 the Academy paid during the 2016-2017 school year to transport the Students to Mercyhurst (Count Two); and (3) damages in the amount of $26,207 for the School District’s alleged deprivation of the Students’ property right to free school bus 1 ...

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