In a lawsuit filed on December 12, 2013 in the Southern District of New York, Zayas v. City of New York et al. (SDNY 13-cv-8808), plaintiff – photojournalist Angel Zayas – alleges that he was “forced out of the subway for trying to photograph police performing a stop-and-frisk and was then arrested for complaining about…
Read More Photojournalist’s False Arrest Lawsuit Against the City of New YorkIn Meadors v. Ulster County, the Northern District of New York held in favor of plaintiffs, county corrections officers, on various employment discrimination claims. Here we summarize the court’s holdings on plaintiffs’ sexual harassment, disparate treatment, retaliation, and pregnancy discrimination claims. Hostile Work Environment The court held that plaintiffs presented “barely” just enough evidence to survive…
Read More Court Rules in Favor of Corrections Employees on Sexual Harassment, Sex Discrimination, Retaliation, and Pregnancy Discrimination ClaimsThis week in Litzman v. City of New York, Southern District of New York Judge Harold Baer largely sided with plaintiff, Probationary New York City Police Officer Fishel Litzman, in his lawsuit alleging religious discrimination. Plaintiff follows the rules and traditions of the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish community, and his Orthodox Jewish faith prohibits him from…
Read More SDNY Holds That NYPD Failed to Reasonably Accommodate Jewish Officer’s Religious BeliefsIn a lawsuit captioned Thomas v. City of New York, EDNY 13-cv-6139 (filed 11/6/13), plaintiff Justin Thomas – a School of Visual Arts senior – alleges that he was unlawfully arrested while filming the exterior of the NYPD’s 72nd Precinct station house for his senior class video project. Here is the Gothamist article with embedded video footage…
Read More Visual Arts Student Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Following Arrest for Filming NYPD PrecinctRecently, in Askins v. NYC, the Second Circuit explained the relationship between the liability of individual police officers, on the one hand, and that of a municipality (such as the City of New York), on the other. Specifically, it held that the dismissal of claims against individual police officers on qualified immunity and statute of…
Read More Second Circuit: Plaintiff Can Assert Municipal Liability Claims Even if Officers Have Qualified ImmunityHere and below is the letter recently filed by the attorney for plaintiffs Victoria Burhans and Chloe Rivera in their sexual harassment lawsuit against Vito Lopez and Sheldon Silver. It responds to Silver’s letter in which he outlines his proposed motion to dismiss the case. As to their Section 1983 claims, plaintiffs contend, in part: Silver contends that plaintiffs’…
Read More Plaintiffs Submit Further Details and Argument Supporting Claims Against Sheldon Silver in Vito Lopez Sexual Harassment CaseAs was recently reported in the New York Post, Sandra Caroline Jones, the administrator of the Estate of Darrius Hayward Kennedy (who was fatally shot by New York City police officers on August 11, 2012) recently filed a lawsuit in New York State court against the City of New York. In pertinent part, plaintiff alleges…
Read More Darrius Kennedy Shooting Death LawsuitA recent Second Circuit decision provides guidance on the appropriate standard to be applied in cases involving deadly police force against a suspect. The case is Rasanen v. Brown et al., 12-680-cv, 2013 WL 3766538 (July 19, 2013). During a warranted search of John Rasanen’s home, defendant NYS trooper Brown shot and killed Rasanen. The administrator…
Read More Citing Flawed Jury Instructions, Second Circuit Vacates Decision Denying Plaintiff New Trial in Fatal Police Shooting CaseA recent decision from the Southern District, Wiltshire v. Williams, reiterates that acquittal of criminal charges is not inconsistent with a finding of probable cause to arrest (which, if shown, is a complete defense to a false arrest claim): In the instant case, Plaintiff has contended that the dismissal of his criminal case precludes a finding…
Read More Probable Cause to Arrest May Be Found, Even After AcquittalThe Second Circuit recently held, in Stansbury v. Wertman, that when evaluating the existence of probable cause in the context of false arrest and malicious prosecution claims, the evidence must be evaluated as a whole, and not item-by-item. In Stansbury, the plaintiff sued under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging false arrest and malicious prosecution following her acquittal of shoplifting charges. Defendant…
Read More Second Circuit: When Evaluating Probable Cause in the Context of New York False Arrest and Malicious Prosecution Claims, All Circumstances Must Be Considered