The estate of the former chairman of the Martz Group bus company in Wilkes-Barre is appealing a ruling dismissing a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from his suicide in 2018, according to court documents.

Scott E. Henry, who had a history of drug and alcohol addiction in addition to depression and impulse control problems, killed himself with a gunshot to the head in December 2018, according to the lawsuit.

His wife, Maryjane Henry of Shavertown, sued Nicholas F. Colangelo, an addiction-treatment professional, and Colangelo’s employer, Clearbrook, alleging they were negligent for failing to prevent the suicide.

The defendants countered that Colangelo is not a licensed healthcare professional and merely met Scott Henry in Alcoholics Anonymous, becoming an “acquaintance” who referred Henry to licensed doctors for medication.

Last month, Luzerne County Judge Fred A. Pierantoni III granted a motion for summary judgment by the defendants and dismissed the case.

Court records show that Maryjane Henry, via the Philadelphia law firm Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig, subsequently appealed the decision.

In a filing docketed this week, attorneys Mark W. Tanner and Bethany R. Nikitenko wrote that Pierantoni’s basis for dismissing the case “cannot be discerned” from his order but that they believe the case should move forward because of multiple erroneous rulings.

In particular, they wrote that Pierantoni erred by ruling that the defendants cannot be held liable for Henry’s death because he killed himself and because he opined that a jury could not find them a factual cause of Henry’s death.

They attorneys also argue that Pierantoni disregarded well-qualified plaintiff’s experts and that he incorrectly ruled there is no genuine issues of fact to be decided.

The matter will now proceed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court for further action.