Case Number: 180603829

Court: Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas

Client: Bucks County Courier Times

Background: In 2016, 14-year-old Grace Packer was raped and murdered by her adoptive mother and her mother’s boyfriend. In a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against three child welfare agencies in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, the administrator of Packer’s estate alleged the organizations had evidence that Packer was being abused yet failed to ensure her physical safety and emotional wellbeing. 

In 2020, the parties reached a settlement in which the agencies agreed to pay $8.9 million to Packer’s estate, including Packer’s younger brother, then a minor. The settlement records were filed with the court because Pennsylvania rules require court approval for any settlements involving minors to ensure the agreement is fair. But the records were filed under seal without justification, leaving the public in the dark about how the settlement figure was determined and how costs were split between the three agencies. 

On behalf of the Bucks County Courier Times, Paula Knudsen Burke, the Reporters Committee’s attorney in Pennsylvania, filed a motion to intervene and unseal seven settlement records. The motion argued that the public’s First Amendment and common law right of access to the filings overrides any interest in secrecy.

The Court of Common Pleas denied the motion to intervene and unseal, reasoning that the settlement records aren’t judicial records because they were only filed with the court to satisfy procedural requirements. In an appeal brief, the Courier Times asked the Superior Court of Pennsylvania to reverse the lower court’s order, arguing it “ignores established law, stands to erode transparency, and enables the rubber-stamping of settlement agreements that courts are required to scrutinize for fairness and justice.” 

In 2025, after hearing argument from Reporters Committee staff attorney Gunita Singh, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania sided with the Courier Times, ruling the filings are judicial records subject to a common law right of access. It remanded the case to the trial court to decide whether a balancing of the factors weighs in favor of public access to the settlement records.  

On remand, the trial court judge ruled that the newspaper was not entitled to intervene or access the records. On Jan. 8, 2026, the newspaper filed a notice of appeal to the Superior Court. 

Quote: “This case … implicates matters of significant public concern — namely, the accountability of child welfare agencies when they fail to adequately protect vulnerable minors, and the distribution of public monies via settlement decrees,” the Courier Times argued in its 2023 motion to intervene and unseal.

Filings:

2023-03-24: Memorandum of law in support of motion to intervene and unseal

2024-02-23: Court of Common Pleas order

2024-12-12: Brief of appellant 

2025-10-15: Superior Court order

2025-12-05: Brief on remand

2026-01-08: Notice of appeal

2026-07-20: Brief of appellant