LLG’s client, TJ, was arrested in a bodega in July 2015 for a crime he did not commit. Although TJ did not resist arrest, and certainly did nothing to threaten the two arresting officers in any way, NYPD officers Pearce Martinez and Lenny Lutchman repeatedly punched and struck TJ with their fists and a retractable baton, slamming his face on the counter of the store where the arrest occurred. Although the officers told their colleagues and supervisors that they had not used any force, this lie was quickly uncovered when surveillance video was found that captured the arrest. The video can be seen here. The case settled recently for $325,000.
Category: Verdicts and Settlements
Trial Verdict of $445,000
We are happy to report that on April 3, 2019, we helped obtain a sizable verdict for our client following a trial on damages for excessive force. The trial was in federal court in the Eastern District of New York and lasted three days. The jury returned a verdict of $90,000 for a broken nose, and $355,000 in punitive damages against three police officers.
$3 Million Excessive Force Verdict
On April 23, 2014, Thomas Jennings was brutalized and subjected to excessive force by several members of the NYPD. He subsequently sued. On June 1, 2018, following a three-day trial and five hours of deliberation, a jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York returned a verdict for Mr. Jennings for $3,000,000, finding that that three NYPD officers had deliberately used excessive force against him. Michael Lumer was c0-counsel for Mr. Jennings at trial, along with his long-time attorney Amy Rameau, Esq. The jury found that PO Andrew Yurkiw had, without justification, struck plaintiff in the face several times, and that his colleagues, POs Amber Lagrandier and Joseph Solomito had also beaten and struck plaintiff after Yurkiw’s blows had knocked Mr. Jennings to the ground. Plaintiff suffered a bi-lateral nasal fracture with a displaced septum, and other injuries to his face, head, and body. The verdict was reported recently in the Daily News.
In reaching this verdict, the jury expressly rejected the officers’ testimony that plaintiff had swung at Yurkiw, attempted to flee, or resist arrest. Rather, the jury found that the officers lied repeatedly and collectively about how and why they used force against Thomas Jennings, and went so far as to deny that he was actually hurt, even though his medical records fully documented his injuries. In response, the jury awarded Mr. Jennings $500,000 in compensatory damages, and assessed punitive damages against Yurkiw, Lagrandier, and Solomito, for $1,000,000, $750,000, and $750,000, respectively.
We are grateful that the jury recognized the officers’ initial misconduct, and that these officers had lied and covered up their actions by falsifying claims against Mr. Jennings. Perhaps more importantly, the jury made that the officers’ refusal to admit to their misconduct and their years of lying and fabricating were unacceptable. It is hopefully a message that will be heard at One Police Plaza.
LLG Obtains $240k False Arrest Settlement
In early December 2017 we were able to help bring about a favorable settlement for five young men who were wrongly arrested and jailed for a day by the NYPD. In April 2014 dozens of people convened in the Bronx to pay their respects at a memorial service. As the attendees dispersed, members of the NYPD arrested a man for possession of a handgun and narcotics. For reasons the officers could never properly articulate, they also arrested five other young men, whose only crime was being on the same street as the first man. The five men were arrested and left sitting on the sidewalk on handcuffs in their home neighborhood for some 30 minutes. Eventually they were brought to a local police station, and then Central Booking. The Bronx District Attorney interviewed the arresting officer and immediately concluded that there was no basis for these arrests. All five were then released.
The men brought suit. In December 2017, on the eve of trial, the City of New York, on behalf of the defendant officers (Edwin Espinal, Ryan Gillis, Eric Healy, and Jeremy Scheublin) agreed to pay $240,000 to settle the matter. We are happy to have played a part in bringing about a measure of justice for these men, who should never have been arrested.
Prison Assault Settlement
We are happy to announce that LLG was able to secure a $187,500 settlement for a client who was violently assaulted while in the custody of the City of New York’s Department of Corrections at its Metropolitan Detention Center in lower Manhattan. Our client, who we represented along with Amy Rameau, Esq., had complained to DOC guards that another inmate was threatening him. Nothing was done and shortly thereafter, the other inmate struck our client from behind, and then viciously beat him. The case was filed and litigated in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and was formally dismissed by the court following the settlement on December 4, 2017.
Inmate-on-inmate assaults are difficult cases to successfully pursue. A plaintiff has to demonstrate not only that he or she was the victim of an attack (and not participants in a fight), but that the DOC had advance notice that the plaintiff was particularly vulnerable, and failed to take reasonable steps to protect the inmate. Here, we were able to establish that the guards saw and heard the initial threats by the attacker, and made no effort to separate plaintiff and the other inmate. We are proud of this result and the work that we performed that helped bring about the settlement.