This Firm represents numerous individuals who have been subjected to housing discrimination due to their race, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, religion, family status, gender identity, age, and source of income. We also represent fair housing organizations who are seeking to remedy discrimination.

Representative Cases:

In 2023, federal District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos issued an order holding Pelican Management Company, the operating arm of Goldfarb Properties, a large New York City and Westchester County landlord, liable for disability and source of income discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act and the New York City Human Rights Law.  The Court ordered Goldfarb not to apply minimum income requirements to applicants with rental assistance for 5 years and to pay nearly $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages to a nonprofit organization. Currently, the case is on appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Fair Housing Justice Center, Inc. v. Goldfarb Properties, Inc.

In a 2022 agreement negotiated by ECBAWM attorneys, Redfin Corporation, a national realty firm, agreed to eliminate its minimum home price requirement for real estate service and to adopt new service and referral policies to ensure that the company provides real estate services, including referrals to partners brokers, to homes located in all neighborhoods.  Redfin also agreed to pay $4 million dollars to settle the lawsuit brought by the National Fair Housing Alliance and nine of its member organizations.

National Fair Housing Alliance et al v. Redfin Corporation
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ECBAWM works to protect the rights of people with disabilities and their families in a wide variety of different areas. From housing discrimination to educational discrimination to mistreatment of people living in assisted living facilities, people with disabilities face countless violations of their rights. ECBAWM’s broad experience makes it uniquely positioned to secure justice for people with disabilities.

The Firm has fought these injustices by suing landlords, employers, and educational institutions who discriminate against people with disabilities, including by refusing to make reasonable accommodations. The Firm also has a long history of protecting people facing mistreatment in institutions, like group homes, securing precedent-setting victories that include recompense for families and force changes to practices and procedures throughout the state.

Representative Cases:

ECBAWM obtained a $5 million settlement from the State of New York in relation to wrongful death lawsuits brought by Michael and Lisa Carey, whose son Jonathan died in 2007 while living in a State facility for the disabled.

Carey v. Slingerland

ECBAWM negotiated a $1.3 million settlement in a lawsuit against the developer, architect, and engineers of two newly constructed condominium developments in Queens and Dutchess Counties that were inaccessible to residents and guests with physical disabilities, including a woman who uses a wheelchair and bought an apartment at one of the sites that was not accessible.

Vilchez v. AVR et al
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The Firm frequently represents innocent clients who have been wrongly accused and convicted of crimes and served prison terms for offenses they did not commit. The Firm has expertise in all aspects of wrongful conviction litigation, from motions seeking to vacate a conviction in state court to damages actions in state and federal court seeking compensation after release. The Firm has obtained multimillion dollar settlements on behalf of wrongfully convicted clients in both civil rights suits brought in federal court and in claims under the Unjust Conviction and Imprisonment Act in the New York Court of Claims. The Firm’s litigation in this area includes claims alleging police and prosecutorial misconduct, including fabrication of evidence, Brady violations, and malicious prosecution.

Representative Cases:

Detroit Forced to Pay ECBAWM client $8.25 Million for Wrongful Conviction in 2022

Scott v. Pritchett, et al.

Over $30 Million for Three Wrongfully Convicted Men in Infamous “Bronx Six” Case

People v. Cosme
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Consistent with its strong commitment to open government and fair elections, the Firm has established a national reputation in litigation concerning access to the ballot and voting rights. We have represented Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Conservatives and others as they have striven for fair and open election procedures and to uphold the right to vote.

Prior to forming the Firm, founding partner Richard Emery successfully challenged the structure of the New York City Board of Estimate under the one-person, one-vote doctrine, resulting in the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous invalidation of the Board on constitutional grounds.

Representative Cases:

ECBAWM was lead counsel on behalf of presidential candidate Jill Stein and voters in the 2016 election recounts in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. In Pennsylvania, the firm is advocating for paper ballots for all voters, and reform of the Election Code to ensure automatic audits of the vote, to ensure that each vote is properly and accurately counted in future elections. In Wisconsin, the firm is seeking access to the election software used to record and tally the votes.

2016 Presidential Election Recount and Election Integrity

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel and the Brennan Center for Justice, on behalf of several former and current State legislators and other plaintiffs, filed suit against the New York State Board of Elections to close the State’s infamous “LLC Loophole.” Since the Loophole was created by the BOE in 1996, contributors donating through LLCs have circumvented contribution limits and disclosure requirements that the Legislature created to protect the integrity of New York’s democratic process — and injected millions of secret dollars into state elections.

Brennan Center et. al. v. New York Board of Elections
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The Firm is actively representing survivors to pursue sexual abuse cases under New York’s Adult Survivors Act. The new law allows adult victims (people who were 18 or older at the time of the abuse) a one-time opportunity to file civil lawsuits in New York, even if any statutes of limitations have otherwise run out. The one-year window to file claims will open in November 2022.

Our Adult Survivors Act work builds on the Firm’s experience successfully representing numerous individuals who have suffered sexual harassment, assault, or abuse in a variety of contexts, including employment, housing, and education, among others. The firm has pursued sexual abuse cases against employers, schools, the Boy Scouts, and other institutions and perpetrators. While some of these cases resulted in litigation, many of these cases were settled through confidential mediations.

The Firm was also involved in advocacy for the enactment of the Adult Survivors Act. In an op-ed published in City Limits, ECBAWM partner Debbie Greenberger argued that New York State should overhaul the statute of limitations for sexual abuse “to ensure that victims, no matter their age, have continuing access to the courts.” In an opinion piece published in City & State, ECBAWM partner Zoe Salzman advocated for New York to pass the Adult Survivors Act: “With a new governor at the helm and a new legislative session that began this month, New York’s leaders have another chance to pass this important law.”

The Firm has a strong commitment to ensuring that persons are free from sexual harassment. The firm has successfully represented numerous individuals who have suffered sexual harassment, assault, or abuse in a variety of contexts, including employment, housing, education and other contexts. While some of these cases resulted in litigation, many of these cases were settled through confidential mediations.

Representative Cases:

The Firm represents a young woman who alleges that a Hollywood director raped and assaulted her after a film premiere where she was working. This is one of the few cases of the MeToo era that is being litigated in civil court. The Firm argued and won a landmark victory on the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law.

Breest v. Haggis:

Representing over 100 men who were sexually abused by former Ohio State University physician Dr. Richard Strauss, in a Title IX lawsuit against OSU.

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The Firm has successfully represented hundreds of clients in police misconduct cases against police departments throughout the Tri-State area, from high-profile wrongful death cases to smaller false arrest and excessive force cases.

Representative Cases:

The Firm represents the family of Leonel Disla, a 19-year-old who was fatally shot by a New York City police officer.

Disla v. City of New York

Together with Neufeld, Scheck & Brustin, the Firm represents the estate of Emil Mann, a member of the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation who was shot to death by an officer of the New Jersey Park Police. Following a trial in New Jersey, the Firm won a jury verdict of $2.4 million.

Mann v. Walder
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In addition to its recent success securing injunctive relief in the Ingles litigation that required the City to implement critical reforms to reduce assaults on inmates, the Firm routinely litigates damages actions on behalf of individuals confined in New York City jails who have been subjected to unconstitutional abuse and excessive force by correction officers. The Firm has obtained numerous damages settlements and awards on behalf of individuals who were severely injured by correction officers while confined on Rikers Island and other city jails, and who have sustained injuries as serious as perforated eardrums, spinal fractures, collapsed lungs, broken bones, eye injuries including blindness, and death.

The Firm’s practice in this area seeks to build upon the remedial impact of the injunctive relief obtained in the class action context (such as greater training of officers and use of security cameras) with the filing of individual damages actions in order to effect change and reduce violence against prisoners in the City’s jails. The Firm also has successfully settled two large strip search class actions, one for $33 million and the other for $50 million.

Representative Cases:

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, with the Legal Aid Society Prisoners’ Rights Project and Robes & Gray, represented a class of inmates at Rikers Island in a lawsuit stemming from the widespread abuse of prisoners by correction staff at the jail. In June 2015, the parties, together with the United States Department of Justice, reached an historic agreement, enforceable by court order, to comprehensively and dramatically change practices at the jail, including changes to the force officers are permitted to use, methods of reporting and tracking uses of force, and the development of an “early warning” program to flag guards whose conduct may require extra monitoring.

Nunez v. City of New York

The Firm recently secured a $33 million settlement for 100,000 persons who were illegally strip searched upon admission to a New York City jail after being arraigned solely on misdemeanor or lesser offenses. The City also agreed to a two-year injunction that required it to implement reforms and submit to monitoring to ensure that it stopped the illegal practice of strip searching pre-trial detainees arraigned solely on misdemeanors and lesser offenses.

McBean v. City of New York
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The Firm represents numerous individuals who have been discriminated against in their employment in both federal and state courts, sometimes seeking temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions, and has informally negotiated resolutions without judicial intervention. The Firm has won or reached favorable resolutions in cases alleging discrimination on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, personal beliefs, and status as a victim of domestic violence. The Firm has also litigated many cases alleging retaliation and sexual harassment. Given the sensitive nature of these matters, many of these cases are settled confidentially.

Representative Cases:

Litigated an action in federal court on behalf of a woman who suffered a sexual assault at her office, by her supervisor, and was then retaliated against when she reported it.

Negotiated a significant settlement for a woman who was sexually harassed for months, and then assaulted, by her boss.

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The Firm is well known for its appellate advocacy in all areas of law, in state and federal courts of appeals, including several important victories in the U.S. Supreme Court. In the Second Circuit, the Firm has won important appellate victories for our clients in cases involving a wide variety of legal issues, including antitrust, election, First Amendment, police misconduct, and prison conditions.

Representative Cases:

Representing Brian McNamee, Roger Clemens’s former trainer, the Firm successfully obtained a decision from the Fifth Circuit affirming the dismissal of Mr. Clemens’s lawsuit in Texas federal court. The Firm also represented Mr. McNamee during a Congressional hearing on the use of performance enhancing substances and in his suit against Mr. Clemens which is currently pending in federal court in the Eastern District of New York.

McNamee v. Clemens

In a case involving the loss of over 40,000 photographic images, the Firm represented a renowned photojournalist in a landmark appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that established a new standard for the valuation of lost images.

Grace v. Corbis-Sygma
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The Firm has a particular commitment to protecting the rights of children, whether to a free appropriate public education, to a safe and nurturing foster or adoptive home, or to be free from unlawful misconduct by police and school officials.

Representative Cases:

The Firm represents the parents of Jonathan Carey, a 13-year old boy who was brutally killed by a New York State employee at OD Heck, a New York State facility for the disabled where Jonathan resided. The Firm obtained a $5 million settlement.

Carey v. Slingerland

The Firm represents the estate of Hailey Gonzalez, a two-year-old girl who was killed by her mother’s boyfriend while the home was under the court-ordered supervision of the Administration for Children’s Services.

Gotlin v. City of New York
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ECBAWM has successfully represented students in disciplinary cases throughout the country, including private and public universities, high schools, and elementary schools. Cases include charges of the full range of academic and non-academic misconduct. Representation includes behind-the-scenes advice and consultation to (as necessary) formal appearances in disciplinary proceedings.

The Firm is litigating several class actions challenging employer’s failure to follow state and federal wage and hour laws.

Representative Cases:

The Firm represents a class of cleaning workers who allege that they spent months working at ground zero in the wake of the September 11 attacks without receiving proper overtime compensation.

Fernandez v. Crystal Restoration Enterprises, Inc. and Pelaez v. Milro Services, Inc

Together with several other firms, the Firm represents thousands of pharmaceutical sales representatives in class actions against several major pharmaceutical companies for failing to pay overtime. The Firm recently won one of these cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Pharmaceutical Sales Overtime Litigation

The Firm is committed to protecting individuals and families against unsafe products, as well as from negligent conduct and gross malfeasance by private actors and governmental entities. We have represented individuals and estates in state and federal court actions as well as pre-litigation negotiations.

Representative Cases:

The Firm represented the parents of Jonathan Carey, a 13-year old boy who was brutally killed by a New York State employee at OD Heck, a New York State facility for the disabled where Jonathan resided. The case was settled for $5 million.

Carey v. Slingerland

The Firm represented the family of a woman who was asphyxiated in a vault while working for a financial institution.

Estate of Esther Penn v. Jaros, Baum & Bolles
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Class action and complex multi-party litigation is a sub-specialty of the Firm. We have successfully prosecuted a number of class action lawsuits involving a wide range of legal issues. The Firm served as co-counsel on one of the largest class action antitrust cases in history, resulting in a $3 billion settlement with Visa/MasterCard and has secured settlements totaling over $80 million in two systemic reform strip search class actions.

Representative Cases:

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, with the Legal Aid Society Prisoners’ Rights Project and Robes & Gray, represented a class of inmates at Rikers Island in a lawsuit stemming from the widespread abuse of prisoners by correction staff at the jail. In June 2015, the parties, together with the United States Department of Justice, reached an historic agreement, enforceable by court order, to comprehensively and dramatically change practices at the jail, including changes to the force officers are permitted to use, methods of reporting and tracking uses of force, and the development of an “early warning” program to flag guards whose conduct may require extra monitoring.

Nunez v. City of New York

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel secured a $33 million settlement for 100,000 persons who were illegally strip searched upon admission to a New York City jail after being arraigned solely on misdemeanor or lesser offenses. The City also agreed to a two-year injunction that required it to implement reforms and submit to monitoring to ensure that it stopped the illegal practice of strip searching pre-trial detainees arraigned solely on misdemeanors and lesser offenses.

McBean v. City of New York
READ MORE