A New Castle man filed a federal lawsuit yesterday claiming his free-speech rights were violated last year when he was cited for using an obscene gesture at a construction worker.

Thomas Burns had been frustrated by a traffic delay during road work on April 27, 2005, on Broadhead Road in Center Township, Beaver County. As he passed by construction workers operating the "Stop-Go," sign, he flipped them his middle finger.

That was enough to raise the ire of the workers, who radioed the incident to Center Township Police Officer Samuel J. Johns, who was parked down the road, the lawsuit said.

The officer pulled Mr. Burns over and issued him a citation for obscene disorderly conduct, which he said would arrive by mail.

In his lawsuit, Mr. Burns said he never received the ticket, and in July, a constable showed up at his home to arrest him for failing to appear at a hearing.

Mr. Burns later appeared in magistrate's court to plead not guilty, and the charge was ultimately dismissed when neither Officer Johns nor the victim showed up at a hearing in October.

Yesterday, Mr. Burns filed his lawsuit, claiming his First Amendment right to free speech was violated, as were his 14th Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure and malicious prosecution.

Mr. Burns' lawsuit, which names both the township and Officer Johns, was filed by the same lawyer, Harlan Stone, who won a $9,000 settlement in a similar case in 2004.

In that case, an Ambridge man flipped off the Sewickley fire chief -- again after being stuck in traffic. The fire chief had stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road to speak to Sewickley police officer, Robert McNatt, who was headed in the opposite direction.

David R. Dickinson gave Fire Chief Jeff Neff the finger as he drove by, and Chief Neff reported it to Officer McNatt, who followed Mr. Dickinson to his destination and issued him a citation for disorderly conduct.

The $9,000 settlement was reached when the borough's insurance agreed to pay that amount to end the lawsuit.

"The gesture, albeit insulting, had no sexual meaning, did not appeal to anyone's prurient interest, and did not create a public disturbance or breach of the peace," wrote Stone in both the old lawsuit and the new one.