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Think municipal law is limited to zoning disputes? You’ll be intrigued by CMM’s latest municipal law success story involving an animal shelter, an arrest for trespass, and an accusation of malicious prosecution.

CMM’s client, a Suffolk County Town, had previously suspended the plaintiff (the supervisor of the Town animal shelter) based upon concerns about her performance. Pending a hearing on the matter, the Town barred her from returning to Town property. Days later, she appeared at the shelter, and Town employees reported the incident. The plaintiff was subsequently arrested for trespassing (charges that were later dropped).

The plaintiff sued the Town in 2017, alleging First Amendment (freedom of assembly) and Fourth Amendment (abuse of process) claims, as well as malicious prosecution. Almost immediately, CMM secured the dismissal of all claims except malicious prosecution, which the Court allowed to proceed through discovery. The plaintiff claimed that the Town (through certain employees and investigators) “initiated” criminal proceedings against her by urging her prosecution and providing false information to the D.A.’s office. After discovery concluded, with these claims debunked, CMM’s Scott Middleton and Richard DeMaio moved for summary judgment (essentially, asking the Court to find that there are no facts in dispute and to rule in our favor).

In a recent decision, the Court granted that motion and dismissed the case. The Court found that the plaintiff failed to establish that the Town employees initiated criminal proceedings; rather, all they did was report a perceived trespass. The Court also found that regardless of whether there was a crime, the Town employees were entitled to qualified immunity.

This outcome was a major win for the Town, finally putting this case to rest after more than five years. Visit our Municipal Liability page to learn more about other successful cases.

What’s better than successfully getting a client out of a lawsuit? Getting them out of a lawsuit without having to pay a settlement, or incur any trial costs or expenses.

CMM’s litigation team did just that with a complex motion in this complex case. The plaintiff alleged that he was injured at a construction site and sued our client (a sub-contractor), other contractors, and the building owner for general negligence and violations of New York State Labor Law (“Labor Law”). The general contractor also sued our client for contractual indemnification.   

CMM litigators David Green and Scott Middleton moved for summary judgment, seeking a dismissal of all claims against our client. We argued that the plaintiff was not entitled to the protections of the labor law, and that our client was not liable to the plaintiff for the accident – and that therefore, the plaintiff’s claims should be dismissed as well as the indemnification claims.  

In this outright win for our client, the court agreed, finding that the plaintiff was not entitled to the protections of the Labor Law, that our client was not negligent or otherwise liable to the plaintiff or to any co-defendants for indemnification, and ordering that all claims against our client be dismissed. 

CMM recognizes that each case requires a unique approach, and we work with clients to determine the best strategy for their business. Contact us to learn more.

By Jamie Herzlich, Newsday

Under recent legislation, adult survivors of sexual assault in New York can now have legal recourse even if the statute of limitations has passed against the alleged abuser and potentially the abuser’s employer for cases that could go back decades. 

The Adult Survivors Act provides a one-year lookback window starting Nov. 24, 2022, for those sexually assaulted when they were over the age of 18 to bring forth civil claims, regardless of when the abuse occurred. They would have until Nov. 23, 2023 to file such claims. Previous legislation opened up such a window between 2019 and 2021 for those who were under 18. 

This poses new challenges for companies in defending claims where the alleged abuse was tied to the workplace in some way, legal experts say. 

It’s unclear if the Adult Survivors Act will result in as many lawsuits, but employers are definitely at risk, says Arthur Yermash, a partner in the Westbury office of Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP. 

“The legal system’s built on statutes of limitation, which create a time frame during which any claim can be brought,” he says. “Once that door closes the risk of liability no longer exists. This reopens the door to the liability risk.” 

Read full article on Newsday’s website

CMM recently helped its long-standing Long Island-based client acquire a manufacturing business in Arizona. Our client has been eagerly expanding its business, and since starting to work with this client in 2019, CMM has successfully closed four acquisitions for the growing company.

In this deal, CMM’s team, consisting of Don Rassiger and Vincent Costa, helped to foster our client’s economic growth by creatively drafting and negotiating the transaction documents, including the use of the Seller’s Patents as collateral to backstop our client’s obligations to make the post-closing payments under the promissory note. 

This latest deal highlights CMM’s ability to support our manufacturing/industrial clients’ growth and expansion across the U.S., and demonstrates that CMM is the go-to firm for clients both selling and buying businesses. Learn more here about CMM’s M&A practice.