We are pleased to announce that our client, EL, has recently settled his claims of malicious prosecution and denial of a fair trial against members of the NYPD for $150,000. EL was driving a rental car when he was stopped by officers in the Bronx, who–acting on a tip from an informant–asked to search EL’s trunk. EL, who believed he had nothing to hide, readily consented. The officers then stated they found a handgun in the trunk. EL, who always denied any knowledge or connection to the gun, was acquitted at trial and then hired LLG to sue for compensation. The case ended with a settlement in the amount of $150,000.
Tag: false arrest
Trial Verdict for False Arrest and Malicious Prosecution
We are pleased to announce that our client TM recently obtained a jury verdict following atrial in federal court in Manhattan in December 2019, leading to a final award of $260,000. The defendant officers, including detectives Jeremy Ramos and Shelby Jones, claimed they personally witnessed TM participate in a drug sale, and they and members of their narcotics team, wrongly arrested plaintiff and caused him to be criminally prosecuted. He was later acquitted at his criminal trial.
These criminal charges were fundamentally false, as plaintiff was not present at, and had no involvement in, the drug transaction, as the officers fully understood. We then helped TM sue the officers responsible. The jury in the civil case agreed with plaintiff, finding specifically that he was not involved in the drug sale, and that he was wrongly arrested, maliciously prosecuted, and denied his right to a fair trial. The jury awarded TM $40,000 in compensatory damages, and an additional $30,000 in punitive damages, which were assessed against detectives Ramos and Jones.
In January 2020, the City of New York agreed to pay plaintiff $85,000 (which is $15,000 more than what the jury had originally awarded him), as well as $175,000 more to cover his legal fees and costs to fully resolve the action.
$120k Trial Verdict
LLG just obtained a substantial verdict for our client, TH, following a jury trial in a Brooklyn federal court on TH’s civil rights claims. TH was wrongly arrested during a search warrant execution on Valentine’s Day in 2015. He was jailed for five days and then brought to court, where prosecutors promptly dismissed all charged.
The arresting detective, Essence Jackson, provided a fundamentally falsified version of events to prosecutors to justify TH’s arrest. The jury rejected Jackson’s trial testimony, which was directly contradicted by his own partner, and, on October 30, awarded plaintiff $90k in compensatory damages for his false arrest and denial of fair trial claims, as well as $30k in punitive damages against Detective Jackson. The defendant is also liable for all of TH’s legal fees, the amount of which will be determined by the court.
Michael Lumer was co-counsel for TH at trial with Robert Marinelli, Esq.
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.