Category: Uncategorized

$250,000 Settlement (plus legal fees)

In March 2021 about 25 people were attending a private party in Brooklyn when several dozen police officers, some of whom were heavily, arrived and arrested everyone present. No guns or drugs were recovered and nothing illegal was happening. Yet, even though two of our clients had a written lease for the space, the police arrested everyone there and charged them with trespassing.

We are pleased to announce that our firm has recently reached a settlement on behalf of the 21 people we represented. The City of New York will pay these plaintiffs a total of $250,000 and, in addition, will pay our legal fees and costs in an amount to be determined.

There was simply no basis for the police to arrest our clients. Even though the plaintiffs were only in custody for a few hours and did not suffer any physical injuries, the police misconduct was inexcusable. We are glad we could help our clients obtain fair compensation for what they experienced.

Conviction Vacated and Civil Case Settled

We are happy to announce that we have helped our client, CJ, overturn his conviction and settle his excessive force case. CJ was arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at trial of multiple charges. He was violently assaulted by the police during his arrest. The officers denied beating him at his criminal trial and denied that there was any video footage of the arrest.

During our civil case, we discovered that the NYPD did have video of the arrest and that this video clearly established that CJ was punched, kneed, and kicked several times while he lay on the ground with his hands clasping his wounds. The video directly contradicted the officers and should have been turned over before trial. Because it was not, CJ’s conviction was vacated. As a result, CJ shaved years off of his sentence. The officers settled CJ’s excessive force claim for $125k.

Firm COVID-19 Update

To our clients, friends, and colleagues, while we had to close our physical office due to the COVID-19 emergency measures in effect, please be assured that we are open and working remotely. You can still contact us at 212-566-5060 or by email. If you are having trouble reaching someone, leave a voicemail, with the best numbers and times to contact you, and we will return your call.

We understand that these are difficult times and you may have questions about how this emergency is impacting your case or how you should proceed at this time. We urge you to stay in contact with us, and be assured that we will keep you informed as we go along. You can always check back here or our Facebook page for further updates. Stay healthy!