Atlantic Richfield Co. v. City of Bethlehem

Opinion by

Judge MacPhail,

Atlantic Richfield Company (Arco) has appealed to us from an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County which sustained a preliminary objection “concerning res judicata” and dismissed Arco’s complaint in mandamus. Judgment was entered in favor of the “defendants.”1

Before the merits of this matter can be addressed, it is necessary to review the rather tortured procedural history of this case.

In 1978, Arco, through a named individual identified as its agent, applied for a special exception to expand its lawful nonconforming use of its property as a service…