Pa. Gov. Shapiro says dispute over security fence with Abington neighbors has no place in federal court

Abraham Gutman, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Apr 13, 2026

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While Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was showing the Dutch royal couple around Independence Mall, his general counsel was taking steps to quell a dispute that hit Pennsylvania’s first couple close to home.

Shapiro asked a U.S. District judge to dismiss a federal lawsuit filed by his Abington neighbors over a parcel of land between their residences.

Jeremy and Simone Mock accused the governor and his wife, Lori Shapiro, of illegally occupying part of their yard to build an eight-foot security fence last summer in what the Mocks claim in the lawsuit was an “outrageous abuse of power.”

On the same February day the Mocks filed their lawsuit, the Shapiros sued their neighbors in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, asking a judge to declare the disputed 2,900-square-foot strip of lawn as part of their property.

The Mocks’ lawsuit has no place in federal court, Monday’s filing contends, as a controversy over a property boundary is a common matter for state courts.

Plus, the Mocks can’t bring a lawsuit against Shapiro as governor or against the Pennsylvania State Police because the couple’s claims are against Shapiro as a property owner, not action he took in his official capacity as governor, according to the filing.

“That the Shapiros allowed (state police) to access the disputed parcel in a manner similar to that which the Shapiros access that parcel does not magically convert this private dispute to ‘state action,’” the motion says.

The motion also argues the state police is immune from litigation in federal court as a state agency.

The Shapiros have lived in the sleepy Montco neighborhood for more than 23 years, with the Mocks as their neighbors for less than a decade.

The feud began when security updates were proposed to Shapiro’s home after a man firebombed the state-owned governor’s residence in Harrisburg in April 2025 while Shapiro and his family slept inside, according to court filings.

In response, state police proposed security upgrades to the governor’s personal residence in Abington, which included the installation of an eight-foot fence along the property’s perimeter.

A land surveyor discovered in summer 2025 that the Mocks actually owned about 2,900 square feet of land that the Shapiros had believed was a part of their property since they bought the home in 2003.

The Mocks, whose property is adjacent to the Shapiros’, say in their suit that the planned location of the fence is on their property unlawfully and would violate their rights.

The Shapiros began planting arborvitae-type trees and other plants on the Mocks’ property, flying drones over it, threatening to remove healthy trees, and “chasing away” contractors who came to work in the Mocks’ yard, the Mocks’ suit says.

The complaint also accuses Shapiro of directing state police to patrol the property. Troopers instructed the Mocks to leave the area of the yard multiple times, calling it a “disputed” area or “security zone,” the suit says.

The Shapiros say they are the rightful owners of the land through adverse possession, a legal mechanism that extends a person ownership of a property they’ve actively used for at least 21 years.

The governor and his wife are asking a Montgomery County Common Pleas judge to find them the “legal and equitable owners” of the area in dispute. Until the state judge makes a determination, the federal court should abstain from considering the Mocks’ federal lawsuit, the new filing says.

Outside of court filings, Shapiro attacked the lawsuit as politically motivated.

The Mocks are represented by Wally Zimolong, a Delaware County attorney who describes himself on his website as the “‘go-to’ lawyer in Pennsylvania for conservative causes and candidates." Zimolong previously represented the political campaigns of President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick.

“The Governor looks forward to a swift resolution and will not be bullied by anyone trying to score cheap political points, especially at the expense of his family’s safety and well-being,” Will Simons, a spokesperson for Shapiro, a Democrat running for reelection, said in a statement in February.

Zimolong did not comment on the new filing, but previously said the Mocks are open to resolving the dispute outside of court.

“At base, this is a straightforward defense of the property rights of two innocent owners, who were living peacefully next to the Shapiros for over nine years,” the attorney said in a February statement.

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Staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.

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