Articles Posted in Police Brutality

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Under New York law, a court “may exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant based either on general jurisdiction under [New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”)] § 301, or specific jurisdiction, under CPLR § 302.” Overseas Ventures, LLC v. ROW Mgmt., Ltd., No. 12-CV-1033, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159097, 2012 WL 5363782, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 26, 2012). “Under CPLR § 301 general jurisdiction, which arises out of a defendant’s contacts with the forum even if the contacts are unrelated to the action before the Court, is established over a foreign [defendant] engaging in a ‘continuous and systematic course of doing business in New York.'” TAGC Mgmt., LLC v. Lehman, 842 F. Supp. 2d 575, 581 (S.D.N.Y. 2012).  Under Section 302(a) the state can obtain long arm jurisdiction if:

Section 302(a) provides in relevant part:

A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over any non-domiciliary, or his executor or administrator, who in person or through an agent:

  1. transacts any business within the state or contracts anywhere to supply goods or services in the state; or
    2. commits a tortious act within the state, except as to a cause of action for defamation of character arising from the act; or
    3. commits a tortious act without the state causing injury to person or property within the state, except as to a cause of action for defamation of character arising from the act, if he

(i) regularly does or solicits business, or engages in any other persistent course of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from goods used or consumed or services rendered, in the state, or
(ii) expects or should reasonably expect the act to have consequences in the state and derives substantial revenue from interstate or international commerce; or

  1. owns, uses or possesses any real property situated within the state.

CPLR § 302 emphasis added

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What happens if, as a result of negligence, a person dies in the State of New York but they do not have any immediate family members to administrate their estate?  Does, any potential lawsuit against a third party become lost?  The short answer is no, the opportunity for a lawsuit does not become lost, but the process in which to initiate a lawsuit becomes much more complicated.  The following is a brief overview of the process for filing a wrongful death lawsuit when a person dies without a will and without a distributee who is also a qualified person to administrate the estate under the New York EPTL.

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Unfortunately, it happens, your case gets marked off the trial calendar.  Even worse, it happened through no fault of your own.  How so? Your action was consolidated with other cases, and while you have been timely complying with adversary demands and court orders, the other plaintiffs are no so diligent.  The result – the note of issue is vacated and all the consolidated cases are marked off the calendar as a result of the other plaintiffs’ failure to comply with orders and/or reply to demands.

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Most lawyers are well aware that when a motion in decided in their clients favor they have an obligation to serve that order on opposing counsel with notice of entry.  “Where the rights of a party are or may be affected by an order, the successful moving party, in order to give validity to the order, is required to serve it on the adverse party” ( McCormick v Mars Assoc., 25 A.D.2d 433).  Moreover, “[T]he party prevailing on the motion shall file the order and the papers used on the motion with the proper clerk after receiving them. If a party fails to file any papers required to be filed under this subdivision, the order may be vacated as irregular, with costs.”  CPLR § 2220(a).  So what are the ramifications of failing to serve your adversary with the Court’s decision?  In some instances the consequences may be dire.

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Many factors go into determining the monetary value of a personal injury lawsuit.  Basically, in New York the only remedy for an injured party in a personal injury lawsuit is money damages.  This requires a value to be determined for the injured party’s loss.  Your attorney must create a dollar amount that they think your case is worth.  If your case ever goes to trial, a jury will be asked to evaluate the facts of the case and determine if the defendant is liable and if so, they will be asked to render a dollar amount to compensate the plaintiff for their damages.  In order to evaluate the value of a case an attorney must take into account many different variables.

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Yes, The district court has personal jurisdiction over a foreign municipality.  In deciding a pretrial motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction a district court has considerable procedural leeway. It may determine the motion on the basis of affidavits alone; or it may permit discovery in aid of the motion; or it may conduct an evidentiary hearing on the merits of the motion. If the court chooses not to conduct a full-blown evidentiary hearing on the motion, the plaintiff need make only a prima facie showing of jurisdiction through its own affidavits and supporting materials.  Marine Midland Bank v. Miller, 664 F.2d 899, 904 (2d Cir. 1981) (internal citations omitted); see also New Moon Shipping Co. v. Man B & W Diesel AG, 121 F.3d 24, 29 (2d Cir. 1997).

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In prosecuting a civil case seeking monetary compensation for police misconduct, it may be necessary to obtain a transcript of the grand jury testimony of the officer accused of misconduct; the testimony can be essential to proving the case and achieving compensation for the client.

For example, our firm represented a client who spent months in jail only to have the charges dismissed for insufficient evidence.  A preliminary investigation by our firm revealed that the officer had likely falsified records including affidavits in support of search warrants, arrest reports, and a criminal complaint; in addition to having falsely testified before the grand jury.

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