HIRA Educ. Servs. N. Am. v. Augustine involved a dispute in which three Pennsylvania state legislators took various actions (for example, writing a letter to the Governor or making public statements) in opposition to a sale of state-owned property to HIRA. After the sale fell through, HIRA sued the legislators for alleged violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the Pennsylvania Religious Freedom Protection Act, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This interlocutory appeal was filed by three of the legislators, who sought review of the District Court’s orders, denying them absolute legislative immunity and qualified immunity. The Third Circuit reversed the District Court’s order denying Legislator Vogel and Sainato’s motions to dismiss based on absolute and qualified immunity. The Third Circuit held that Legislator Bernstine was entitled to absolute immunity for some, but not all, of the allegations made against him.
