Posts in Category ‘Max Selver’

Article

ECBAWM Client Hoboken Defeats Big Oil Companies’ Petition in U.S. Supreme Court

On May 15, 2023, ECBAWM secured an important victory in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the City of Hoboken, New Jersey.

In September 2020, Hoboken sued ExxonMobil, several other big oil companies, and the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s largest lobby, to hold them accountable for more than a half-century of deception about climate change, which has led to devastating impacts on Hoboken. The oil company defendants recently filed a petition in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to remove Hoboken’s case from New Jersey state court to federal court. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition. The case will now proceed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson Vicinage.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision leaves in place an August 2022 decision in Hoboken’s favor by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which affirmed an earlier decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, denying the defendants’ attempt to remove the case to federal court.

ECBAWM attorneys Matthew D. Brinckerhoff, Jonathan S. Abady, Vivake Prasad, and Max Selver, along with Gerald Krovatin of Krovatin Nau LLC, represent the City of Hoboken.

Press
“U.S. Supreme Court declines case, so Hoboken climate lawsuit against Big Oil to remain in state court,” NJ.com
“In Another Win for NJ, Delaware, SCOTUS Won’t Hear Arguments on Climate Change Case Jurisdiction,” The National Law Journal
“Justices Turn Away Another Climate Change Suit Forum Fight,” Law360
“Supreme Court tosses 2 more Big Oil requests,” Politico / Greenwire

Article

19 ECBAWM Attorneys Named to 2023 Super Lawyers Lists

The firm is pleased to announce that 18 of its attorneys have been named to the 2023 Super Lawyers lists.

Firm partners Jonathan S. Abady, Matthew D. Brinckerhoff, Andrew G. Celli, Jr., Richard D. Emery, Debra L. Greenberger, Daniel J. Kornstein, Julia P. Kuan, Hal R. Lieberman, Ilann M. Maazel, Zoe Salzman, Sam Shapiro, Earl S. Ward, and O. Andrew F. Wilson were named 2023 Super Lawyers.

Associates David Berman, Nick Bourland, Andrew Jondahl, Vivake Prasad, Max Selver, and Emily Wanger were named 2023 Super Lawyers Rising Stars.

The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters. A description of the selection methodology can be found on the Super Lawyers website.

Article

New York State Will Pay ECBAWM Client Anthony Broadwater $5.5 Million for Wrongful Conviction

Anthony Broadwater served 16 years in prison and decades on the sex offender registry for a rape he did not commit. Now, New York State has agreed to pay Mr. Broadwater $5.5 million to settle his wrongful conviction claims.

Mr. Broadwater, who is Black, was convicted in a 1981 bench trial of raping author Alice Sebold based on a questionable eyewitness identification and a lineup in which Ms. Sebold, who is White, identified a different Black man. The only other purported evidence against Mr. Broadwater was a microscopic hair analysis, which has since been deemed unreliable junk science by the FBI.

Mr. Broadwater was exonerated in 2021 after his attorneys David Hammond and Melissa Swartz exposed multiple errors that occurred during Mr. Broadwater’s trial. “I’m not going to sully this proceeding by saying, ‘I’m sorry.’ That doesn’t cut it,” said Onondaga District Attorney William Fitzpatrick in 2021 when he agreed to the overturning of Mr. Broadwater’s conviction. “This should never have happened.”

Mr. Broadwater was represented in his lawsuit against the State of New York by ECBAWM attorneys Earl Ward, Andrew G. Celli, Jr., and Max Selver, along with Mr. Hammond and Ms. Swartz.

Press
“New York to pay Anthony Broadwater $5.5M for wrongful conviction in rape of Alice Sebold,” Syracuse.com

Article

17 ECBAWM Attorneys Named to 2022 Super Lawyers Lists

The firm is pleased to announce that 17 of its attorneys have been named to the 2022 Super Lawyers lists.

Firm partners Jonathan S. Abady, Matthew D. Brinckerhoff, Andrew G. Celli, Jr., Richard D. Emery, Debra L. Greenberger, Daniel J. Kornstein, Hal R. Lieberman, Ilann M. Maazel, Zoe Salzman, Sam Shapiro, Earl S. Ward, and O. Andrew F. Wilson were named 2022 Super Lawyers.

Associates David Berman, Nick Bourland, Andrew Jondahl, Vivake Prasad, and Max Selver were named 2022 Super Lawyers Rising Stars.

The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thompson Reuters. A description of the selection methodology can be found on the Super Lawyers website.

Article

LGBTQ Students Win Right to Form Official Student Club at Yeshiva University

On Tuesday, June 14, 2022, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, ordered that Yeshiva University immediately recognize an undergraduate LGBTQ student organization, the YU Pride Alliance, and grant the YU Pride Alliance “full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of all other student groups at Yeshiva” as required by the New York City Human Rights Law.

The LGBTQ student group and four current and former students filed the civil rights lawsuit against Yeshiva University in April 2021, arguing that the university’s ongoing refusal to recognize the club was discriminatory and harmful to students. The court’s decision affirms that as an institution of higher education in New York, Yeshiva University must follow the City’s anti-discrimination law and cannot treat LGBTQ students worse or differently than other students on campus. As the Court, Justice Lynn L. Kotler, held: “What plaintiffs seek is simply equal access to the tangible benefits that Yeshiva affords other student groups on its campus.”

ECBAWM partner Katie Rosenfeld, who along with ECBAWM attorneys Max Selver and Marissa Benavides represented the Plaintiffs, said: “The court’s decision paves the way for LGBTQ students and allies at Yeshiva University to fully participate in their community as equal members, just as the New York City Human Rights Law guarantees. Now the students can move on with the true work of their organization: peer support, discussions groups, community service projects, social events, speaker series, and other positive and important student efforts. It’s fitting that the court’s important ruling comes this month, as we celebrate June as LGBTQ Pride Month.”

Documents
Decision and Order
Press Release

Press Coverage
“Yeshiva University Must Recognize L.G.B.T.Q. Club, Judge Says,” NewYork Times
“Yeshiva University LGBTQ group wins first round in fight for recognition,” Gay City News
“Push to have LGBTQ club at Yeshiva University recognized,” FOX 5 New York

Article

ECBAWM Sues Landlords and Brokers for Lying to and Ghosting Renters with Section 8 Vouchers

ECBAWM attorneys filed a lawsuit today on behalf of the Fair Housing Justice Center against the management company, owners, and real estate agents for three rental apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Queens who denied renters with Section 8 housing vouchers the opportunity to rent available apartments. The complaint alleges that Defendants lied to renters with vouchers about available apartments and repeatedly ghosted them – ignoring their calls and texts after learning they intended to pay rent with a voucher. Defendants’ “discrimination by disappearance” violates the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws, which prohibit discrimination based on renters’ source of income.

The named Defendants are E L J Management Company, Jacbay Inc., Astoria 35 Inc., Harari Realty Corp., Contact Realty Corp., and Christian Quiceno. Defendant E L J is the management company for all three buildings. It manages approximately a dozen apartment buildings with over 1,500 combined units in New York City.

ECBAWM attorneys Diane L. Houk and Max Selver represent the Fair Housing Justice Center. A link to the filed Complaint can be found here.

Article

ECBAWM and Romano & Kuan Win Federal Jury Trial for Client Rendered Quadriplegic by NYPD Officer’s Assault

On April 13, 2022, after a four-day trial, an eight-person jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York returned a unanimous verdict finding that the Defendant NYPD Officer Luis Linares assaulted and committed battery against our client Eliezer Lopez when he pushed Mr. Lopez over a railing in the Crotona Park neighborhood of the Bronx in December of 2015. After Officer Linares’s push, Mr. Lopez fell 15 feet and landed on the back of his head, rendering him permanently paralyzed from the neck down. Mr. Lopez died in May 2019 after spending the last three-and-a-half years of his life confined to a hospital bed as a result of Officer Linares’s assault.

At the trial, the jury rejected Officer Linares’s claims that Mr. Lopez jumped over the railing and that he never touched Mr. Lopez. ECBAWM and co-counsel Romano & Kuan marshaled testimony from an expert witness who testified that the nature of Mr. Lopez’s injuries was inconsistent with Officer Linares’s testimony, along with testimony from Mr. Lopez himself and an eyewitness who contradicted Officer Linares’s account. The attorneys also uncovered key discrepancies between Officer Linares’s testimony and that of his fellow officers when questioning them on the stand.

ECBAWM attorneys Earl Ward and Max Selver, together with Julia Kuan of Romano & Kuan, represent the Plaintiff Suhail Laureano, Eliezer Lopez’s wife, who is proceeding as a representative of his Estate. Following the jury’s verdict that Officer Linares committed assault and battery, the parties are preparing for a second jury trial to determine the amount of damages.

Article

$20M Administrative Claim Filed Against BOP, Marshals Service for Tragic Covid-19 Death of 30-Year-Old Mother and Federal Prisoner Andrea Circle Bear

The family of Andrea Circle Bear, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, has filed an administrative claim against the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) and the U.S. Marshals Service for her wrongful death. Ms. Circle Bear died in federal custody in Texas of complications from COVID-19 on April 28, 2020, four weeks after giving birth to her daughter. At the time of her death, Ms. Circle Bear she was serving a 26-month federal sentence for a non-violent conviction.

On March 20, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic exploded around the nation and one week after the BOP had suspended all prisoner transfers that were not “required” or “mission-essential,” the federal government needlessly transferred Ms. Circle Bear, then seven months pregnant, over 800 miles from South Dakota to the FMC Carswell women’s prison in Fort Worth, Texas.

During the transfer and while at FMC Carswell, Ms. Circle Bear was confined in overcrowded and unsafe conditions that were ripe for COVID-19 transmission. The Marshals Service transported Ms. Circle Bear on a small plane with at least six other people and no masking, social distancing, pre-flight COVID testing, or any other safety measures. When she arrived at FMC Carswell, BOP housed her on the bottom bunk bed of a small cell with three other women with no masks or other PPE, one shared toilet and sink, and no soap.

Ms. Circle Bear first developed COVID-19 symptoms on March 26, 2020, six days after the transfer. BOP staff failed to provide her with prompt or adequate care for several days as her symptoms intensified. She was almost immediately intubated when BOP finally sent her to the hospital on March 31. Her daughter was born the next day by emergency c-section while Ms. Circle Bear was on a ventilator. Ms. Circle Bear died four weeks later without ever getting off the ventilator to meet her daughter.

The BOP and the U.S. Marshals Service’s indifference and recklessness in exposing Ms. Circle Bear to COVID-19 and failing to provide her adequate medical care caused her death and left her children motherless.

The BOP and U.S. Marshals Service must respond to the administrative claim within six months. If the claim is denied, Ms. Circle Bear’s family may proceed with filing a lawsuit.

Ms. Circle Bear’s family is represented by firm attorneys Katie Rosenfeld and Max Selver.

Press
“Fort Worth prison responsible for new mother’s COVID death, family says in $20M claim,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Blame the Justice Department for Andrea Circle Bear’s Death,” The New York Times

Article

Post-Release Supervision Class Action to Proceed to Damages Trial

In Betances v. Fischer, ECBAWM represents a class of over 3000 individuals who were administratively, unilaterally, and unlawfully sentenced to terms of post-release supervision (“PRS”) by New York State corrections and parole officials. The Plaintiff class was certified by the Court in 2015 and the Court subsequently granted summary judgment on liability to Plaintiffs, holding the Defendant State corrections and parole officials personally liable for violating Plaintiffs’ due process rights.

In advance of trial, the Defendant State officials moved to decertify the Plaintiff class on the basis that Plaintiffs’ general damages—which stem from the liberty Plaintiffs lost while on PRS or incarcerated for violating PRS—cannot be determined on a class-wide basis. In a March 14, 2022 decision, United States Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger denied Defendants’ motion to decertify the class and ruled that “the class should be maintained for the purposes of trial to determine damages for loss of liberty.”

In denying the Defendants’ decertification motion, the Court held that Plaintiffs’ lost liberty “is inherent in any unlawful detention and is compensable as general damages” and “can be determined on a class-wide basis.” The Court further determined that these common injuries “predominate over other, individualized issues” and can therefore be determined on a class basis at trial.

ECBAWM attorneys Matthew D. Brinckerhoff, Nick Bourland, and Max Selver, and law clerk Julian Oppenheimer represent the Betances Plaintiff class.

Article

ECBAWM Achieves $1.5M Settlement for Developmentally Disabled Individual Abused in New York State-Run Group Home

ECBAWM has obtained a $1.5 million settlement from the State of New York on behalf of M.F., a developmentally disabled resident of a New York State-run group home who experienced serial abuse by caretakers.

As set forth in the lawsuit, for years, M.F. was subjected to constant abuse by staff members while in residence at the Union Avenue IRA in the Bronx, run by New York State’s Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). Union Avenue staff testified that M.F. was constantly covered in bruises throughout their stay, and staff also witnessed colleagues subjecting M.F. to physical abuse, inhumane confinement, and forced feedings. In spite of the heinous abuse they witnessed, not one staff member or supervisor reported the abuse to law enforcement, the state’s abuse hotline, or M.F.’s family.

The lawsuit also revealed that the State failed M.F. by turning a blind eye to reports showing systemic abuse at Union Avenue and failing to train staff and supervisors on incident reporting.

The New York Times previously reported on this case and the conditions at Union Avenue in Episode 27 (“The Promise”) of The Weekly.

M.F. is represented by Ilann Maazel and Max Selver.

Press
“NY To Pay $1.5M To End Group Home Resident Abuse Suit,” Law.com

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