Results tagged “lawsuits”

A former Bear Stearns banker is suing his former firm and its new owners, JP Morgan Chase, for a bonus he feels is owed to him despite the firm's collapse last year. Now that the storm has settled over bonuses going out to employees of failed Wall Street giants, Gary Reback is suing for $2 million in bonus money and in additional $1.1 million for a severance offer he says was inexplicably pulled off the table in the eleventh hour. The Scarsdale man was one of the top twenty highest paid employees at Bear in 2007, when he earned a bonus of $4 million. His lawyer told the Post, "Gary had nothing to do with losses. He traded different products completely outside the subprime-mortgage mess. They offered him a severance and now they're reneging—it's shocking, bad faith behavior."

Payouts from the NYPD in settlements and judgments soared during the last fiscal year, according to a report from Comptroller William Thompson detailing the city's payouts. Overall, the city paid $567.9 million as a result of lawsuits, an increase of about 2% over the previous time period. But the NYPD's payouts increased 11% percent, to $102.8 during fiscal year 2008, which ended September 30th. Of that amount, $35.2 million was paid in settlements over charges of improper police action, up 40% over the previous year.

A court ruling has decreased the city's liability in thousands of sidewalk-injury cases where people have sued the city after stumbles in areas with defects that had already been brought to the city's attention. The ruling says that maps made by a company hired by trial lawyers to denote every bump and bruise that pedestrians have come across will not carry weight in the suits because the maps are inaccurate and unclear. With 5,000 maps a year, each depicting several city blocks marked with hundreds of symbols, the city said they ended up with "700,00 squiggles." This decision further lets the city off the hook after a 2003 ruling moved the burden of injuries over to property owners, a move that has saved the city $13 million a year in lawsuits. Fred Kent, the president of the Project for Public Spaces, said, "Is the pothole guilty for trapping you and making you fall? Or are you guilty for not paying attention?” And lauding the court's decision was the first mayor to suffer an increase in payouts due to the maps, Ed Koch. He told the Times, “Hallelujah for the current decision. The money that’s paid out by such claims, which in my judgment are not worthy in many cases, is what deprives the city of spending money on matters that really are needed for the entire city.”

Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the nation's largest producer, is used to fending off lawsuits brought by animal rights activists, but yesterday they won a bit of a reprieve. A New York State appeals court dismissed the majority of a case brought by the U.S. Humane Society, which was challenging an Empire State Development Corporation grant that Hudson Valley Foie Gras received in 2006. The court held that most of the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the suit.

Tomorrow marks the start of Construction Safety Week in New York City, less than a week after Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster resigned her position at the Dept. of Buildings. Lancaster admitted to the City Council that the plans for a 43 story tower in Turtle Bay, Manhattan did not meet zoning regulations but were approved anyway.

A pair of lawsuits from injured anti-war protesters have caused the NYPD to re-think its pro-active policing policies when it comes to crowd control. The suits, brought against the City by the New York Civil Liberties Union, ended in a settlement that included an agreement that cops would be a little more lenient with protesters.

A married couple in the Upper West Side's Ansonia Building are suing their neighbor over her smoking. They claim her smoking is adversely affecting the hallway environment and the health of their four-year-old boy.

Imecca Burton, her mother, and civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel held a press conference in front of Police Headquarters yesterday to decry the handcuffing of 10-year-old Imecca, who was handcuffed by police in front of PS 25 where she attends elementary school. Police officers witnessed a fight on her school bus and in the ensuing events Imecca was handcuffed. Witnesses said that Imecca was swearing, kicking, and screaming, which is why the cops cuffed her. They were removed once she composed herself. The 10-year-old said she was afraid that she was going to jail and would never get out. "I never thought I'd see my brothers and sisters again," the New York Post reports. The Post labels Imecca Burton as "disabled" when describing her handcuffing and later elaborates that she has attention deficit disorder and dyslexia. Norman Siegel plans to sue the city on her behalf.

Two bills are facing off in the City Council these days, pitting the rights of landlords against the rights of tenants. Both seek to end legal harassment of one group against the other. In one corner, we have the bill introduced by Council members Daniel Garodnick and Melissa Mark-Viverito. It seeks to curb harassment of tenants by landlords who withhold services (e.g. heat, disrepair) by allowing them to file restraining orders against their landlords. The current system requires tenants to head to housing court. In the other corner, we have a bill introduced by Council members Leroy Comrie and Thomas White Jr. that would protect landlords from legal harassment from tenants. They fear that frivolous lawsuits could bankrupt small-scale property owners.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Austin St. in Queens, a pedestrian struck off Balfour Pl. and Empire Blvd. in Brooklyn, and a rescue on Bank St. in Manhattan.
• The Domino Sugar factory on Brooklyn's waterfront has achieved landmark status.
• David Chase is heading to court to face a former municipal court judge who claims he came up with an idea for a show about a northern NJ mob family.
• David Blaine's next stunt of endurance in the Big Apple will be a tribute to I-bankers and lawyers logging billable hours, as he attempts to stay awake for as long as humanly possibly. The magic? No cocaine.
• Led Zeppelin may be traveling back to NYC for a return engagement. The songs remain the same.
• The men convicted in the 1989 "wilding" Central Park rape attack case have been given the go-ahead to update their lawsuits against the city.
• A former waitress at the strip club Scores is suing one of the managers for sexual harassment.
• New York City as retirement village.

The AP reports on two Picasso paintings that have hung in the MoMA and Guggenheim for decades, and the fight to keep them there. Julius H. Schoeps claims they are the property of his great uncle who was persecuted in Nazi Germany, and has demanded the museums hand over the paintings, "Boy Leading a Horse" (MoMA) and "Le Moulin de la Galette" (Guggenheim). The suit was filed at the District Court in Manhattan. Both museums...

Mayor Bloomberg has made ridding the city of illegal guns one of his administration's major issues (it's also a big part of his potential national platform). Last year, he, on behalf of NYC, filed two federal lawsuits against out-of-state gun dealers, after sting operations revealed that the dealers were apparently selling guns illegally. While some dealers have settled, others are fighting back, countersuing the city. The Bloomberg administration's sting operations involved two undercovers going to...

Governor Spitzer said that the NY State Department of Health's response regarding the Nassau County doctor exposed over 600 patients to hepatitis C and HIV was "unacceptably slow" and ordered an investigation. Dr. Harvey Finkelstein, an anesthesiologist, reused syringes and multiple-dose medicine vials between January 2000 and January 2005; some patients learned they had contracted hepatitis in 2005, but the state and Nassau County officials waited 34 months to contact other patients. It turns out...

What is it about Frank Gehry? When The Boston Globe reported this week that the architect (and a construction firm) is being sued by MIT, news organizations from Kansas City to Dublin reported the story. Does Gehry have a building in KC, too? Apparently, not, but he raised controversy there over an arena bid. Sound familiar?! The university filed a negligence and breach of contract suit, alleging design flaws in the $300 million Stata Center...

Lawrence Salander, whose East 71st Street townhouse gallery Salander O'Reilly has been padlocked by order of a judge amidst numerous lawsuits, maintains he does not have any money troubles. Even though investors and others accuse him of selling paintings without their permission and of Ponzi schemes, Salander told the NY Times, “When people say it’s a Ponzi scheme, it’s a house of cards — I’ve got millions of dollars of assets here. It’s beyond belief.”

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an injured police officer on Queens Blvd. and Ascan Ave. in Queens, a stabbing on Nostrand and Willoughby Aves. in Brooklyn, and a large fight at Targee St. and Sobel Ct. on Staten Island. Neighbors, customers, and small investors get involved to save a local bookstore in Park Slope, Brooklyn. In order to pay off sex harassment lawsuits and under-performing athletes, the Dolans are jacking up cable rates for...

For the past few weeks, an art gallery has been locked down by judge's order as angry partners and clients claimed that the gallery sold their works without permission and that the gallery's owner reneged on millions of dollars of debts. And yesterday, a judge toured the toured embattled art gallery Salander O'Reilly to examine its conditions as many artworks are still hanging on the walls.

Brides hate being disappointed, especially on their wedding day! And Elana Glatt is no different, as she, her new husband and mother-in-law are suing their wedding florist for a number of floral mistakes.

Mayor Bloomberg spoke out about the various lawsuits alleging that his company, Bloomberg LP, discriminates against women. He believes that he was personally named in one of lawsuits "because I’m so visible, that obviously I’m a target." He added, "We think there's no substance to it whatsoever and the company will vigorously defend it and that's that.

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Hostages(!) on Geranium and Kissena Blvds. in Queens, a pedestrian struck at Stillwell and Mermaid Aves. in Brooklyn, and a bank robbery on Columbus Ave. and 72nd St. in Manhattan. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas says that the stress of lawsuits are no distraction. He can keep doing what he's doing regardless of legal problems. A boat full of gadget-minded men. There was a stop-off at Liberty Island; and slide...

Mayor Bloomberg was named in a bias lawsuit filed by three former Bloomberg LP employees. This now accompanies a lawsuit, which charges that female employees were discriminated against, that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed against the billionaire's media company earlier this week. The lawsuit says, "Upon information and belief, Michael Bloomberg is responsible for the creation of the systemic, top-down culture of discrimination which exists within Bloomberg."

Even as Astroland is on the verge of losing its lease, City officials are looking to collect $200 million from various sources to overhaul the Coney Island boardwalk. The New York Post reports that funds are being sought from New York State, the federal government, and even Brooklyn real estate owners who will benefit from a refurbished seaside walkway.

During a time when most college students are looking forward to another school years, the ones at the College of Staten Island were a bit alarmed. See, a few days ago, CSI sent a letter to students explaining that 41-year-old Annadale resident and former state trooper Thomas Austin would be studying with them. And that Austin was a Level 3 (the highest) sex offender. Welcome back to school.

Earlier this month ASCAP was making headlines with their lawsuit against some of New York's (and the nation's) venues. To clear things up on how the company works, and why they do what they do, we asked the senior vice president of licensing and the director of general licensing some questions.

New York City paid out almost a half-billion dollars in judgements or to settle lawsuits against the city in fiscal 2006. The New York Post analyzed a report released by the City Comptroller's office that showed that the $496.4 million the city spent on lawsuits was less than the nearly $530 million it spent the prior year. The largest portion of the funds went to settle malpractice lawsuits incurred by city-run hospitals. $155.8 million of the total went towards malpractice suits, with 36 individual cases involving payouts of $1 million or more.

Restaurants owned by the Cirpiani family, including the Rainbow Room, may lose their liquor licenses. Earlier this month, patriarch Arrigo Capriani and his son, Giuseppe Cipriani, who is the CEO of Cipriani U.S.A. Inc., pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges. They agreed to pay a $10 million settlement, but now that they are convicted felons, the State Liquor Authority can strip their company of its liquor licenses.

Ironically, the multi-billion dollar plan to build a subterranean water treatment plant in the Bronx's Van Cortlandt Park, which has been delayed by large projected cost overruns, is now accruing $30,000-a-day fines for the city. The New York Times reports that the Feds are applying the fines because work on the filtration plant has barely begun and the city hasn't even selected a primary contractor. In the city's defense, we'll note that it had a primary contractor, but that company backed out earlier this year after questions were raised about its inability to find minority- or female-owned subcontractors and a runner-up bidder was deciding if they wanted to take the work.

The red tow truck sitting in a crater at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, right where an 83-year-old steam pipe exploded Wednesday evening, will be towed out today. The Daily News reports that Con Ed is preparing to remove the truck, and because there are live electrical cables in the hole, the "crews may use nylon wire, which won't act as a conductor, to hoist the vehicle from the pit." After the truck is removed, the utility will be better able to investigate what may have caused the explosion that killed one and injured many others.

Possibly on a Brooklyn-bound F train: Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Mayor's "bullpen-style" offices need some new paint, a new carpet and a few other fixes, so Bloomberg and his staffers are temporarily relocating to work out of the Office of Emergency Management headquarters in Brooklyn on Cadman Plaza East. The Mayor explained, “Somebody’s going to kill themselves with all of the rips in the carpet." Nice to know that he's concerned with personal injury lawsuits against the city from its employees!

In case you missed it, earlier this week, Rebecca Charles, owner of Pearl Oyster Bar, filed an intellectual property suit against former sous-chef Ed McFarland, alleging that he had stolen recipes and design ideas when he opened his new restaurant, Ed's Lobster Bar. Here's what has gone down since then. Ed held a press conference. Grub Street describes Ed's response: “I am deeply saddened to learn that Rebecca Charles has brought an action against me,” McFarland announced. “I believe her action has no merit. I harbor no ill will and wish her safely to port.”