New York

Law requiring Airbnb to turn over detailed data likely violates Fourth Amendment, judge says

A federal judge in Manhattan has issued a preliminary injunction blocking a New York City ordinance that requires websites such as Airbnb and HomeAway to turn over what he termed “voluminous data” about their customers. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled Thursday that the law likely violates the Fourth Amendment,…

Jan 4, 2019 9:54 AM CST

Is ‘spoliation in droves’ defamatory? Comments by Kramer Levin and its partners are protected, court rules

A litigant who claimed he was defamed by Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel and two of its partners has failed to win reinstatement of his defamation suit. The New York Supreme Court’s First Judicial Department in the Appellate Division ruled on Dec. 13 that the some of the alleged defamatory…

Dec 20, 2018 9:33 AM CST

Trump Foundation agrees to dissolve after suit claimed its assets promoted campaign, business

The Donald J. Trump Foundation on Tuesday signed a stipulation agreeing to dissolve and disburse its assets to charities approved by the New York attorney general’s office. A judge will supervise the dissolution, according to the stipulation and a press release by New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood. Underwood’s office…

Dec 18, 2018 2:00 PM CST

Town justice accused of neglecting email for more than 3 years resigns after ethics complaint filed

A town justice in Harmony, New York, has resigned after an ethics complaint accused him of failing to monitor his court email account for more than three years while also eschewing other required technology. Justice Bruce Scolton’s resignation is effective at the end of this month, according to a press…

Dec 17, 2018 7:55 AM CST

When judges get angry, the most vulnerable suffer; one judge sees his behavior as reminder

Trial judges should be “a model of dignity and impartiality” who are able to control their tempers and emotions, according to ABA standards on special functions of trial judges. Too often, however, judges exhibit anger and unprofessional behavior, Rewire News reports. And the targets of their wrath often are the…

Dec 17, 2018 7:00 AM CST

Town justice resigns after he’s accused of making homophobic remarks

A LeRay, New York, court justice who was accused of making homophobic and inappropriate remarks has agreed to resign and to never again seek or accept judicial office. Judge John Hallett’s resignation is effective at the end of the month, report the New York Law Journal, the Albany Times Union,…

Dec 13, 2018 12:13 PM CST

Law school grad sues hotel for $100M after discovering she was secretly videotaped in shower

A law school graduate has filed a $100 million lawsuit that claims she was secretly taped with a hidden camera while taking a shower at a hotel where she was staying during the New York bar exam. The plaintiff, identified only as “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit, is a law…

Dec 6, 2018 8:15 AM CST

Another court rules against Trump administration’s grant restrictions to sanctuary jurisdictions

A federal judge in New York City has ruled that the Trump administration did not have the authority to withhold public safety grants from sanctuary jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate in immigration enforcement.

Dec 3, 2018 1:34 PM CST

Lawyer accused of creating fake candidate pages on Facebook and Twitter to influence elections

A New York City lawyer who once proposed settling a lawsuit with a duel has been charged with trying to influence elections by creating fake Facebook and Twitter pages in the names of local politicians. The lawyer, Richard Luthmann of Staten Island, was charged with falsifying business records, identity theft,…

Dec 3, 2018 9:14 AM CST

Mystery writers group withdraws award to former prosecutor because of controversial case

A novelist’s role as a supervisor during the controversial prosecution of the so-called Central Park Five came back to haunt her when a mystery writers group revoked an award it had given her only days before. Prosecutor-turned-novelist Linda Fairstein received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America…

Dec 3, 2018 7:50 AM CST

Judge takes first step to decide whether Happy the elephant should be released from Bronx Zoo

Happy the elephant has cleared a hurdle to possible freedom from the Bronx Zoo with a New York judge’s show-cause order. The Orleans County judge, Tracey Bannister, ordered the Bronx Zoo’s director to show cause why the elephant should not be released and transferred to an appropriate sanctuary. The Nonhuman…

Nov 20, 2018 1:20 PM CST

Judge who told litigant he ‘symbolizes everything that’s wrong with the world’ is tossed from case

A New York judge who sent a Long Island man to jail for four months for failing to pay child support has been tossed from the case because of his courtroom comments. The Nassau County judge, Thomas Rademaker, “took an adversarial stance toward the father and made numerous improper remarks,”…

Nov 20, 2018 7:30 AM CST

Former Dewey CFO released from jail after his current firm pays his $1M fine

Updated: The former chief financial officer of Dewey & LeBoeuf spent the night in jail after missing the first of three payments on a $1 million fine, but was released early Friday morning when his current law firm paid the entire $1 million. Joel Sanders left a New York City…

Nov 15, 2018 12:09 PM CST

El Chapo trial begins amid heavy security; one juror is dismissed because of anxiety

Opening arguments were delayed in the trial of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera on Tuesday after one of the anonymous jurors was dismissed because of anxiety. The female juror said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan of New York City that she has been anxious and upset…

Nov 14, 2018 8:30 AM CST

Suit claims competitors lured away legal clients with payments from ‘briefcase full of cash’

A $30 million lawsuit filed last Monday alleges a personal injury firm had its clients stolen by two competitors who sent case runners to a pain clinic where they enticed the patients to switch firms. The law firm Ginarte Gallardo Gonzalez & Winograd, with offices in New York and New…

Nov 5, 2018 8:15 AM CST