September 4 2013 Wed BDE.pdf - Brooklyn Daily Eagle

PAGE 12 September 4, 2013Contractor Botched Court Officers’Bulletproof Vests, New Lawsuit AllegesBy Charisma L. Miller, Esq.Brooklyn Daily EagleBulletproof vests ordered forNew York State court officerswere faulty, and the manufacturer’sfailure to remedy the problemplaces the lives of many court officersat risk, a new lawsuit filed inManhattan Supreme Court alleges.The New York State CourtOfficers Association (NYSCOA)ordered 148 bulletproof vests formembers whose previous vestswere outdated and those whodecided it was time to “wiselywear them” from North Carolinabasedcompany KDH DefenseSystems (KDH). KDH personnelmeasured NYSCOA members andshortly thereafter delivered thevests. The current lawsuit, filed byBrooklyn attorney Bruce Baron,asserts that the delivered vests “didnot fit the officers properly.”The vests presented a furtherissue: The grommets — rings usedto reinforce the cloth openingswhere the officers’ shields are displayed— were too small, makingit impossible for the officers towear their “mandated identificationbadge[s].”JUDGE NICHOLAS GARAUFIS,Brooklyn Federal CourtNY High CourtWeighs Claim onDrug TesterFrom Associated PressAn ex-probationer is askingNew York’s highest court for permissionto sue Kroll LaboratorySpecialists, claiming a false positivetest for marijuana cost him apromised job, prospective marriageand three months of anguishwhen he was threatened withseven years in prison.Eric Landon, arguing Tuesdayon his own behalf at the Court ofAppeals, says he believes manyother victims of erroneous drugtests got locked up or lost childcustody. He hopes to turn his suitinto a class action.Mitchell Ochs, attorney forLouisiana-based Kroll, says thecompany was doing drug testingfor Orange County probation andthe 2007 test from a saliva swabwasn’t wrong, but based on a lowtesting threshold.“Nobody can wear theirshields,” Dennis Quirk, NYSCOApresident, told the Brooklyn DailyEagle.Despite being notified of theissues, KDH “is refusing to evenmake a pretense of resolving thevarious problems, and is onlydemanding payment,” the suitcontends.Quirk noted that this is the firsttime that NYSCOA has used KDHas a product provider. “KDH wasrecommended to us by a priorsalesman who no longer worksthere,” Quirk said. “We are dissatisfiedwith KDH; they have provideda very inferior product.”The suit alleges that due to thereduced military action in Iraq andAfghanistan, KDH’s staff has beenslightly diminished. The reducedstaff, the suit continues, is a possiblereason as to why the inadequatevests have not been remedied.NYSCOA is demanding that itbe able to return the defectivevests at KDH’s expense and thatNYSCOA not be held liable forany injuries that its officers mayincur due to the lack of vests.At present some officers arewearing no vest or making do withthe old ones. “We just want toBy Charisma L. Miller, Esq.Brooklyn Daily EagleThe lawyers representingdefendants in a discrimination suitagainst the Fire Department ofNew York have been granted amultimillion-dollar attorney’s feeaward. Brooklyn Federal JudgeNicholas Garaufis found that theattorneys were entitled to reasonableattorney’s fees in accordancewith the law.Federal law allows for prevailingattorneys in civil cases to receivereasonable fees and reimbursementfor reasonable costs. In this case, thelaw firm Levy Ratner, Scott + Scottand the Center for ConstitutionalRights intervened in a suit filed bythe United States Department ofJustice against the FDNY challengingtwo written FDNY exams from1999 and 2002.The original allegation was thatthe exams resulted in a disparateimpact on the number of blacks andHispanics applying to the FDNY.This charge was expanded to includea claim that FDNY hiring practicesintentionally discriminated againstblacks and Hispanics.In a 2011, Garaufis found racialdiscrimination in the FDNY’s writtenentrance exam as well as otherFDNY hiring practices. He ordered acourt monitor to oversee the processand ensure that the city and theFDNY were insuring the steps necessaryto eliminate hiring discrimination.The Second Circuit Court ofAppeals found error in Garaufis’ rulingand reversed the holding thatFDNY’s hiring practices caused adisparate impact on black andHispanic firefighter hires. Garaufis’finding that the FDNY’s writtenexams were invalid still stands.Throughout the lengthy legalprocess, the intervening attorneys“worked tirelessly in the name ofcivil rights, and worked withoutremuneration,” Garaufis wrote.For a case where the attorneysand their clients were “subjected tocontinuous negative press questioningtheir motives and berating theirefforts to end discrimination,”Garaufis found it “appropriate toaward partner-level rates higher thanthose typically awarded.”Using a comparison of rates generallyawarded in the Eastern Districtand by Brooklyn federal judges,Garaufis reasoned that a rate of $125per hour for law clerks, $90 per hourfor paralegals and $550 per hour forpartner-level attorneys was just.The city argued that as theattorneys here intervened in aDepartment of Justice case, thetasks completed were mere duplicationsof prior work by the DOJ.Garaufis acknowledged some“duplicative efforts,” and reducedthe requested fees by 10 percentfor duplicated work.The city also argued that theorganizations had overstaffedmany aspects of the case, including,for example, depositions andcourt appearances. This case “hasrequired extraordinary effort andskill” and was “highly complex,”return the vests,” Quirk said.KDH could not be reached forcomment.An example of the ill-fitting bulletproof vests provided to the New YorkState Court Officers Association. Photo courtesy of Bruce Baron, Esq.Brooklyn Federal Judge Awards$3.7 Million in Attorney’s FeesGaraufis noted. Due to the“extraordinary nature of this litigation,”however, “that use ofmultiple counsel was largelyappropriate” though not alwaysnecessary.In sum,Garaufis reduced therequested attorney fee award from$8,011,600.00 to $3,707,313.29.“Given the complexities ofthis case, which culminated in oursuccessful appeal, we are in theprocess of reviewing the decisionand our options,” Eric Eichenholtz,chief of the Law Department’sLabor & Employment LawDivision, said in a statement.Brooklyn BarApprovesBoth Hynes,ThompsonOn Thursday evening,August 29, 2013 theBrooklyn Bar AssociationJudiciary Committee interviewed,in conjunction withthe New York City BarJudiciary Committee, thetwo candidates for KingsCounty District Attorney.Hon. Charles J. Hyneswas found Approved for reelection.Kenneth Thompson wasfound Approved for election.Supreme CourtCalendarKings Co. Criminal Term320 Jay St., BrooklynHon. Goldbergpeople’s case, attempted murder∆Rong HeSen. Golden UrgesState To DenyCop-Killer’s ParoleBy Paula KatinasBrooklyn Daily EagleA convict serving 25 years to life inprison for the cold-blooded murder of a BayRidge police officer is up for parole thismonth, but state Sen. Marty Golden and theslain cop’s family are urging officials tokeep him behind bars.Pablo Costello and another suspect, LuisTorres, were both convicted of murderingP.O. David Guttenberg 35 years ago.Guttenberg, 49, was shot to death during abotched robbery inside an auto parts storeon 86th Street near Seventh Avenue on Dec.28, 1978. Torres died in prison in 1996.Costello, who was denied parole twoyears ago, is eligible for parole again.Golden, a retired police officer, wrote aletter to Andrea Evans, chairman of the NewYork State Parole Division, asking her todeny Costello’s parole bid.Calling Costello a “cold blooded killer,”Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-southern Brooklyn)urged Evans to keep him in prison.“As a former New York City police officermyself, l understand first-hand howimportant it is that we not allow murderersof police officers to enjoy revolving-doorjustice when it comes to their crimes. Thesecriminals are exceptionally dangerous tosociety because they simply have no regardfor humanity,” Golden wrote.“The very nature of this particularlyheinous crime committed by Pablo Costelloshould not allow for his release. He needs tobe held accountable for their actions inkilling a law enforcement officer. We owe itto Officer Guttenberg and his family,”Golden wrote.Golden has been monitoring the developmentssurrounding the Guttenberg casefor a long time and was aware of the paroleboard’s timetable, according to hisspokesman, Ray Riley. “The senator wasmade aware of this through a number of differentavenues,” Riley told the BrooklynDaily Eagle via an email on Sept. 3.The New York Daily News reported lastweek that Guttenberg’s family is also fightingCostello’s bid for freedom. His daughter,Helaine Guttenberg-Ginsberg, 52, whowas only 18 years old when her father wasgunned down, told the Daily News shewould have loved for her father to havebeen able to walk her down the aisle on herwedding day, but was robbed of that joy bythe killers.Guttenberg-Ginsberg also stated that shedidn’t believe anything productive wouldcome out of springing Costello from prison.David Guttenberg, an 18-year veteran ofthe Police Department, was on routinepatrol on Dec. 28, 1978 when walked intoan auto shop on 86th Street to try to find theowner of a double-parked car. He did notknow that Costello and Torres were robbingthe shop at gunpoint at that moment.Torres shot Guttenberg to death, and heand Costello fled in different directions.They were both caught a short time later.They were eventually convicted of murderand were both sentenced to 25 years to lifein prison.12 • Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Wednesday, • September September 4, 2013 4, 2013