New York

Love Canal toxic waste is subject of new round of suits

Six families who moved into the Love Canal neighborhood in Niagara Falls after a chemical cleanup have filed lawsuits claiming they suffered health consequences because the remediation was inadequate. Notice has been given that an additional 1,100 claims could be filed, the Associated Press reports. “Thirty-five years after Love Canal’s…

Nov 8, 2013 5:17 PM CST

Punished in custody battle after nixing son’s demand for Mickey D’s meal, law grad sues psychologist

David Schorr says he thought he was doing the right thing by refusing to give in when his 4-year-old son threw a temper tantrum because they weren’t going to have dinner at a McDonald’s restaurant in New York City. The New York University law graduate and former corporate attorney says…

Nov 8, 2013 4:30 PM CST

Stop-and-frisk judge fights her removal from case; brief says she was ‘completely blindsided’

Judge Shira Scheindlin is fighting her ouster from the New York stop-and-frisk case with some help from a team of high-profile law professors. In a brief (PDF) filed Wednesday on behalf of Scheindlin, New York University law professor Burt Neuborne claims the judge was “completely blindsided” when the New York-based…

Nov 7, 2013 2:01 PM CST

Higher retirement age for NY judges is rejected by voters

New York voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure that would raise the mandatory retirement age to 80 for judges. The state constitutional amendment would have applied to judges on New York’s Supreme Court and the state’s top court, the Court of Appeals, but not to lower-level judges, the New…

Nov 6, 2013 1:05 PM CST

Psychics convicted in two separate cases; what is the line between fraud and free speech?

Psychics who charged large sums for their services were recently convicted in separate trials in Florida and New York, raising questions about the line between free speech and fraud. The Associated Press reports on the two trials and on state laws aimed at curbing abuses. In one trial, psychic Rose…

Nov 4, 2013 3:34 PM CST

2nd Circuit stays NYC ‘stop-and-frisk’ ruling, boots judge from case

A federal appeals court has stayed U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin’s ruling restricting and requiring monitoring of the city police department’s stop-and-frisk program and ordered that she be replaced in the case, the New York Times (reg. req.) reports. Meanwhile, the appeal is expected to proceed on the merits.…

Oct 31, 2013 9:00 PM CDT

NYC agrees to ban tobacco sales to those under 21

A planned New York City ban on supersize sugary drinks was nixed by the judicial branch. However, the city council on Wednesday passed what was described as life-saving legislation to ban sales of tobacco products to those under 21. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has said he will sign the bill,…

Oct 31, 2013 8:15 PM CDT

$50K in car service rides leads to suspension for former Sidley partner

A former partner at Sidley Austin has been suspended for a year for improperly charging clients for $50,000 in car services rides taken by himself and his family. Ralph Lerner was accused of improperly billing clients for 448 car rides over a 10-year period, according to the Oct. 29 opinion…

Oct 30, 2013 12:32 PM CDT

Osborne Clarke opens New York office

A rapidly expanding international law firm has opened an office in New York City, its second in the U.S. Osborne Clarke expects to rotate in partners from elsewhere to staff the outpost, which will focus on North American companies looking to invest in Northern Europe, Legal Week reports. The firm,…

Oct 29, 2013 9:55 PM CDT

Graffiti artists win TRO blocking NYC building demolition

Gerald Wolkoff and his G&M Realty firm may own the New York City land on which they plan to construct a 1,000-unit luxury apartment project. But the Visual Artists Rights Act grants 16 artists a copyright in a landmark collective graffiti project there known as 5Pointz, a federal district court…

Oct 29, 2013 7:55 PM CDT

Civil rights probe launched against Barneys and Macy’s by state attorney general

The state attorney general has launched a civil rights probe of Barneys New York and Macy’s Inc. following claims by several black customers that they were stopped by New York City police after making expensive purchases. In letters sent to top executives for both stores, Kristen Clarke, the chief of…

Oct 29, 2013 3:40 PM CDT

Another famed NY retailer faces ‘shop and frisk’ allegations in suit by black actor

It isn’t just after shopping at Barneys New York that black customers claim to have been detained by city police due to legally making expensive purchases. Treme actor Robert Brown, who is a 2008 graduate of Amherst College, says in a lawsuit against Macy’s that he was handcuffed and “paraded”…

Oct 28, 2013 4:50 PM CDT

Reports: Orrick and Pillsbury on verge of mega-merger, deal could be announced as soon as next week

A new megafirm may be about to be born: Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman are in advanced merger talks, and an agreement to combine the two law firms could be reached as early as next week, the New York Times’ DealBook blog reports. Reuters was the…

Oct 25, 2013 10:10 PM CDT

Barneys hires civil rights expert, CEO says no customer of store should be accosted by cops

The chief executive of Barneys New York has apologized following claims by two black customers that they were detained by police after making purchases and retained a civil rights expert to review the upscale department store’s policies and procedures. CEO Mark Lee said a member of the U.S. Commission on…

Oct 25, 2013 6:40 PM CDT

2nd black shopper plans Barneys suit, says she was stopped by cops after buying a $2,500 purse

A second black shopper is planning to file suit against New York City and Barneys, claiming that she, like a black engineering student who filed suit earlier this week, was targeted for police inquiry after making an expensive purchase at the upscale retailer. Nursing student Kayla Phillips, 21, used a…

Oct 24, 2013 10:05 PM CDT