Upper Darby Council Vice President Noah Fields filed a lawsuit against a 66-year-old resident over an Oct. 27, 2025, Facebook post \u2014 a few weeks before voters elected him to the council.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The filing by Bochetto & Lentz said Shellie Siegel Hoyt Zollo had \u201cdisseminated a sealed juvenile matter \u2013 identifying Mr. Fields by his full name, date of birth, and alleged charges from a juvenile incident resolved in 2016 \u2013 and falsely asserted that this incident reflects on his character as an adult and as a community member.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zollo \u201cmade these statements in a political context, in retaliation for Mr. Fields\u2019 participation in protected public discourse,\u201d the civil complaint alleged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The complaint went on to say that Zollo had violated the law against \u201cunauthorized disclosure\u201d of juvenile records; that \u201cexpunged or sealed records are deemed nonexistent as a matter of law; for \u201cpublic disclosure of private events; and for defamation by \u201cfalsely implying that juvenile allegations \u2013 never adjudicated as offenses and legally nullified \u2013 reflect ongoing criminality or moral unfitness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The lawsuit, filed in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia, said the juvenile matter was \u201cresolved by consent decree on Feb. 11, 2016 and automatically terminated and expunged on Feb. 11, 2017.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, \u201che was never adjudicated delinquent and never convicted of any offense,\u201d the suit said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It also claimed that Zollo\u2019s Facebook post damaged Fields\u2019s reputation and caused \u201cemotional distress and humiliation,\u201d and that it was \u201cinterference with civic participation and unlawful voter intimidation \u2026 when statements are used to mislead the public in connection with an election.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n