Legal troubles faced by Phil Godlewski

1. Defamation suits that backfired: the Scranton Times case and appeal

Godlewski sued the Scranton Times-Tribune and its reporter for defamation after the paper published reporting that relied on old court records, but the litigation triggered discovery that critics say exposed his past misconduct and led to rulings unfavorable to him; reporting and docket summaries say the defamation case was effectively undermined by those disclosures and was later tossed or materially weakened, with associated appellate filings and supplemental orders recorded in court archives ^{[1] [3] [4]}.

2. Discovery and alleged exposure of a criminal past involving a minor

Multiple outlets report that court filings and discovery in Godlewski’s defamation litigation revealed allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 15‑year‑old in 2009–2010 and that he was previously convicted or implicated in conduct described as “corrupting a minor,” allegations that the Scranton Times and other media have publicly cited from court records ^{[5] [6] [3]}.

3. Counterclaims, summary rulings and validations of assault claims

A civil action between Godlewski and Brienna DuBorgel produced a memorandum from a Lackawanna County judge and reporting that the court validated DuBorgel’s assault and battery claims arising from a relationship when she was a minor, leaving remaining issues like damages and some counterclaims for trial, according to local court reporting and blog summaries of the memorandum ^[2].

4. Accusations of courtroom misconduct and requests for fees

The newspaper’s attorneys alleged that Godlewski violated courtroom rules, solicited perjury from a witness, and engaged in other procedural misconduct; those filings also sought approximately $70,000 in additional damages and legal fees tied to alleged violations and improper litigation behavior, as reported in national outlets summarizing the paper’s motions ^{[3] [6]}.

5. Parallel federal filings and continued litigation activity

Beyond the state defamation and related tort matters, Godlewski has been an active plaintiff in other federal suits and filings, including cases listed on CourtListener and Justia such as Godlewski v. Alvear Gonzalez (a complaint and docket activity in the Middle District) and Godlewski v. Geary (a terminated December 2022 federal case among others), showing a pattern of serial litigation that remains reflected in multiple public dockets ^{[7] [8] [9]}.

6. How reporting differs, what is established, and what remains contested

Coverage of Godlewski’s legal troubles varies in tone and sourcing — mainstream outlets like Rolling Stone and Daily Beast are cited for summaries of the exposure during discovery while smaller blogs and archived court-document sites provide granular docket entries; facts consistently reported across reasonably independent sources include the defamation suit, discovery disclosures tied to past criminal records, motion practice alleging perjury solicitation, and court rulings validating at least some assault claims, while precise outcomes on damages and some appeals remain subject to ongoing litigation on the public dockets ^{[3] [1] [2] [4]}.

7. Implications and the public record

Taken together, the publicly available reporting and docket records portray a subject whose litigation strategy to clear his name has instead amplified prior criminal allegations and produced adverse rulings and fee motions against him, and the public record — as reflected in court dockets and motions — shows continuing active cases and appeals that will determine final legal liabilities and damages ^{[4] [7] [2]}.