The attorneys representing Lancaster Township and former Police Chief David Sitler argued Wednesday in county court that his alleged actions against a township couple did not violate their civil rights and cause emotional distress.

Attorneys representing the four defendants named in a lawsuit filed by Amy and Richard Wallace of Lancaster Township made objections and asked Judge Marilyn Horan to dismiss the lawsuit. Horan did not say when she would issue a ruling.

The lawsuit, filed in 2016 and amended in 2017 to include Sitler and Lancaster Township, alleges that Robert Boback, founder and former CEO of Pittsburgh cybersecurity firm Tiversa, traumatized the family through assault, battery and breach of contract.

Richard Wallace formerly worked for Tiversa and the lawsuit claims that Boback threatened him at gunpoint while trying to coerce him into lying at a deposition that was part of a federal investigation into Tiversa. It also alleges that Boback sexually assaulted Wallace four times, attempted to force him to perform a sex act and failed to pay a $30,000 commission.

The lawsuit also alleges that Sitler, acting in collusion with Boback, conducted unconstitutional surveillance of the family and inflicted emotional distress by engaging in “extreme” conduct such as driving by their house 10 times per day, pulling their daughter out of school and parking at the bottom of their driveway or in neighboring driveways to watch their house.

One objection to the complaint raised by the attorneys for each of the defendants was that the alleged crimes took place more than two years before the complaint was filed, meaning they are outside the statute of limitations.

Attorney Al Lindsay, representing the Wallaces, countered that Boback and Sitler engaged in an “ongoing course of conduct.” Wallace was fired from Tiversa in 2014, but Boback still had contact with Wallace until he testified in 2015, Lindsay said.

Sitler's alleged contact with the family continued until October 2016, less than two years before he was added to the lawsuit, when he was fired from his position after allegedly using excessive force when arresting a township man.

Kyle McGee, defense attorney for Lancaster Township, and Maureen Barber, defense attorney for Sitler, argued that Sitler and the township had not committed violations of the 4th and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which provide protection from unreasonable search and seizure and the right to privacy, respectively.

The complaint does not allege that Sitler performed any searches or seizures against the family, McGee said. His alleged actions did not violate their reasonable expectation of privacy, he said.

“What we have is alleged actions of the officer in public. He was observing the house from the outside,” he said.

Lindsay cited a Pennsylvania Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that homeowners should have a reasonable expectation of privacy from the “curtilage,” or area surrounding a house.

Lindsay also argued that Sitler's ongoing course of conduct, allegedly at the behest of Boback, should make him liable.

“The question is would a jury find it outrageous that for about two years, until he was fired by the township, that he would drive by the house 10 times per day?” Lindsay said.

Barber cited a court case that established that a municipality can only be sued for actions of an employee, when that employee's actions stem from a municipal policy or ordinance.

Lindsay argued that Sitler's actions should be considered municipal policy.

“He is the officer in charge. He is the policymaker,” he said.

In objecting to the claims against Boback and Tiversa, attorney David Berardinelli said that Richard Wallace signed a severance agreement after he was fired.

The agreement included a payment of $14,000 and “hundreds of thousands” of dollars in stock options, that he has not returned, Berardinelli said.

The plaintiffs have not made a request to void that severance agreement, he said.

He called the claims of sexual assault “unfounded.”

The attorneys for Sitler and Boback also requested that potentially defamatory statements be stricken from the record.