Attorney for 2d L. Merion webcam suit wants out

The attorney for a former Lower Merion student who accused the district of spying on her via a laptop camera - the same accusation that won her brother a big settlement from the district - has asked a judge for permission to leave the case.

Mary Elizabeth Bogan stated in her U.S. District Court filing Tuesday "that counsel has irreconcilable conflict with the client."

Last week, Bogan filed a complaint on behalf of Paige Robbins, 19, asserting that, according to a 2010 deposition given by Lindy Matsko, Harriton High School's assistant vice principal, the school district "remotely accessed the webcam feature on the laptop issued to the plaintiff while she was in the bathroom, or in the nude, or partially dressed or sleeping or in her bedroom in a compromised state."

The school district responded by calling the case "the epitome of an attempted money-grab and a complete waste of tax dollars."

Robbins' younger brother Blake made a similar accusation in his 2010 breach-of-privacy suit in which he alleged that his laptop automatically took hundreds of secret photos of him over a two-week period at home. He won a $175,000 settlement.

The school denied any active spying, saying that security software activated for laptops suspected of being stolen kicked in automatically and took photos every 15 minutes. That defense could not account for the school's possession of more than 56,000 webcam shots.

Bogan could not immediately be reached for comment. A call to a number listed for Robbins' mother, Holly, was not returned.