Former Pennsylvania Justice Pomeroy Dies at 94

Pennsylvania - New Jersey - New York - Nationwide

December 23, 2002
By Tom Namako
Special to The Legal Intelligencer

Thomas W. Pomeroy, a former state Supreme Court justice and founder of the Pittsburgh law firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, died Dec. 17. He was 94.

Justice Pomeroy served on the state's highest court from 1968 to 1978 and was remembered by colleagues and former clerks as one of the state's legal giants of the 20th century.

"During his decade on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, he was an intellectual leader with a tremendous influence in legal development during that era," said Thomas Kline, a partner at Kline & Specter and former clerk to Justice Pomeroy.

Several landmark cases highlight his time on the bench. Justice Pomeroy's decision, Hamil v. Bashline, formed the basis for medical malpractice litigation in Pennsylvania. In Hamil, Justice Pomeroy held that in order to flesh out a cause of action, the plaintiff must prove that a defendant doctor's "acts or omissions . . . have increased the risk of harm to another."

Once that evidence is produced at trial, Justice Pomeroy continued, it "furnishes a basis for the fact-finder to go further and find that such increased risk was in turn a substantial factor in bringing about the resultant harm; the necessary proximate cause will have been made out if the jury sees fit to find cause in fact."

Justice Pomeroy handed down another landmark opinion in 1978, in the desegregation case of Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission v. School District of Philadelphia and School District of Pittsburgh. Justice Pomeroy opined that the two cities should be allowed to establish magnet schools, open enrollment, voluntary transfer programs between public and parochial schools, and the creation of new and expanded programs.

"The most lasting impression of Justice Pomeroy was his total dedication to the law and meticulous attention to detail in the crafting of legal opinions," Kline said. "He was most concerned with making sure that the final decision and its reasoning was correct. He had a keen sense of stare decisis - making sure opinions could be used in the future."

Other former law clerks remembered the influence the former justice had on their careers.
"To the extent that I can write a sentence that anyone can understand was due to my clerkship with Judge Pomeroy," said Jim Young of Christie Pabarue Mortensen & Young.
"When writing opinions, he looked to do the right thing. That is what people should expect from judges - intelligence, diligence, and interpreting the law they way they understand it to be," he said.

Justice Pomeroy was born and raised in the Pittsburgh suburbs. He graduated from Lafayette College in 1929 and Harvard Law School in 1933. He joined Reed Smith Shaw & McClay after graduation.

He left the firm during World War II to served in the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Navy, where the attained the rank of lieutenant commander.

Upon returning from the war in 1946, Justice Pomeroy and six other attorneys broke from Reed Smith in 1946 and formed Kirkpatrick Pomeroy Lockhart & Johnson, now known as Kirkpatrick & Lockhart.

Justice Pomeroy was an advocate of several charities and civic organizations, such as the United Way, YMCA and elder and Sunday school teacher at Ben Avon Presbyterian Church. He also served on he World Affairs Council and the Harvard-Yale-Princeton Club.
Gov. Raymond Shafer appointed him to the bench in 1968 to replace Justice Michael A. Musmanno. Pomeroy had to sacrifice many of his community service positions due to potential conflicts of interest.

Although Justice Pomeroy was a staunch Republican, many claimed he was never inclined to let political predispositions enter his opinions. When disagreeing, colleagues recall his willingness to state clearly, but courteously, where he believed others were wrong.
"He was a first-rate lawyer and an excellent writer as a judge," said Thomas Nelson, a partner at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart. "His opinions reflect his outstanding manner."
Pomeroy received Herbert Harley Award from the American Judicature Society in 1998 for his lifelong dedication to the effective administration of justice and his distinguished service as a jurist and legal scholar.

In 1935, Pomeroy married Mary Frances Whitten, who passed away in 1994. He is survived by two daughters, two sons, 11 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.