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The remedy for thin skin is thicker skin, not a lawsuit, Campolo, Middleton & McCormick successfully argued in Court on behalf of celebrity defendants Cardi B; her sister, Hennessy Carolina; and her sister’s girlfriend, Michelle Diaz.

After hearing a string of “bad words” and obvious hyperboles exchanged on the beach during Labor Day weekend 2020, three beachgoers decided to seek a windfall by commencing a libel lawsuit against the famous entertainer, her sister, and her sister’s girlfriend.

CMM’s litigation team, led by Senior Partner Patrick McCormick with support from Senior Associate Richard DeMaio, moved to dismiss the complaint and prevailed in a decision dated March 25, exposing the lawsuit for the money grab that it was. The frivolous complaint, filed in New York State Supreme Court, Suffolk County, sought damages for a convenient mix of assault, battery, libel, slander, and civil rights violations – critically, not based on what the defendants allegedly said, but what they allegedly posted online following the incident at the beach.

The Court granted CMM’s motion to dismiss in its entirety, finding that “Cardi B’s activities as related to her celebrity status do not establish activities that are purposeful and there is no substantial relationship between the incident that occurred…and the claims being asserted.” Judge William Condon wrote in his decision that the plaintiffs “failed to allege any special harm or defamation…they cannot specifically identify who the defamatory statements were made to.” The Court found that the allegedly defamatory words “do not arise to defamatory language as they were merely general insults.” The assault claim similarly failed due to the absence of any physical conduct or menacing gestures, as did the battery claim due to the lack of bodily contact made with intent.

“We’re very pleased for Cardi B that the Court saw this lawsuit for what it was: a celebrity shakedown,” CMM’s McCormick told Rolling Stone. “The claims had no merit whatsoever and were an obvious attempt to exploit the system for monetary gain. As we argued before the Court, the remedy for thin skin is thicker skin, not litigation. Today’s outcome should help deter others from using frivolous claims as a money grab.” 

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP congratulates Senior Partner Christine Malafi on being recognized as one of the 25 Most Powerful People in Long Island Law. The LIBN Power 25 Lawyer List honors dedicated, accomplished attorneys who have persevered through challenges and positively shaped Long Island by making inspiring impacts on the lives of their clients and our region.

“Long Island Business News is proud to honor its 2022 Power 25 legal professionals who exemplify the region’s best and brightest legal minds and who show that they also give from their hearts,” said Joe Dowd, LIBN Editor & Associate Publisher. “Long Island’s top legal professionals generously donate their time to provide education and youth mentorship, support a diverse array of charitable initiatives and offer pro bono services for those in need. They are leaders in our communities, serving not only our businesses but also the needs of our youth, the elderly and those who special needs, working to make a difference and strengthen all of Long Island’s diverse populations.”

As Chair of the Corporate department, Malafi has led the CMM legal team in closing countless M&A deals worth billions of dollars. She has vast experience advising on both buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions in a variety of industries. Malafi has the unique perspective of being a corporate lawyer who spent the first half of her career as a trial court litigator and appellate attorney with extensive experience in municipal, insurance coverage, and fraud issues. She brings her deep understanding of litigation and the court system to all aspects of her corporate work and uses this experience to help protect clients from a variety of critical angles.

In addition to her legal work, Malafi serves on the Executive Board of Directors of Family Service League and the Board of Governors of Touro Law School. She has been featured in The Best Lawyers in America® in the category of Employment Law for five consecutive years and was recently recognized with a Leadership in Law Lifetime Achievement Award. Malafi has also been featured in the Long Island Business News Who’s Who in Labor Law section, was honored as one of the Top Outstanding Women in Law by the Center for Children, Families and the Law at Hofstra University, and was named to LIBN’s Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business.

Malafi is frequently quoted on various legal topics in Newsday and Long Island Business News. A sought-after presenter, she has given numerous lectures and presentations at business resource centers, education groups, and bar associations.

CMM’s litigation prowess extended far beyond New York’s borders in a recent case filed in Arizona. 

CMM represented one of the defendants, a remote former consultant/independent contractor who sold his business to the plaintiff company. The company, headquartered in Arizona, commenced a lawsuit against our client and others in the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, alleging that our client and his business partner plotted to misappropriate the company’s confidential information, steal its property, and solicit and interfere with its customers and business relationships.

CMM’s team of Senior Partner Patrick McCormick and Associate Richard DeMaio strategically removed the action from Superior (state) Court in Arizona to Federal Court in the District of Arizona, and then moved to dismiss the action in its entirety based on lack of personal jurisdiction. The team argued that as an out-of-state resident and independent contractor, our client had no contacts with the state of Arizona that were sufficient to confer jurisdiction over him in Arizona. (For example, he did not own property in Arizona, never paid taxes there, and had visited only a handful of times for business meetings.)

Thanks to CMM’s hard work and strategic decision-making, the Court agreed, granting the motion to dismiss based on lack of personal jurisdiction.

CMM’s commercial litigation practice includes success at the state and federal level. Learn more about our litigation practice here.

CMM’s groundbreaking Economic Impact Study examining the potential economic impact of more inbound flights at Long Island MacArthur Airport was revealed at the HIA-LI “Future of Tourism” event on March 2. Demonstrating exponential growth potential, the study attracted enormous media attention and community support for Long Island’s hometown airport and tourism industry.

Spearheaded by Joe Campolo and his team at CMM in partnership with HIA-LI, Discover Long Island, the Town of Islip, and MacArthur Airport (“ISP”), the study is based on forecasts and assumptions regarding overall air travel capacity at ISP and general economic indicators in the Long Island tourism sector. A primary goal of the study was to demonstrate how critical both MacArthur Airport and tourism are to the Long Island economy. The staggering results are already mobilizing the business community to support the airport, Discover Long Island, travel and tourism.

Essentially, the study examined the potential economic and tourism impact if the airport increased its daily inbound flights. Using the standard metric that approximately 10% of MacArthur Airport deplanements are tourists, the study calculated the additional tourists that could be attracted to Long Island through more nonstop destinations and inbound flights. The study further calculated the spend of these tourists across the sectors of Food & Beverage, Transportation, Recreation, Retail & Service Stations, and Lodging using Long Island tourism data from the Tourism Economics database. Overall, the results show that the addition of more nonstop flights into ISP has the potential to generate unprecedented new revenue for Long Island, creating a win-win scenario to help Long Island thrive.

The Economic Impact Study follows closely on the heels of CMM and HIA-LI’s August 2021 survey that examined the current and future travel needs of the local business community. With over 500 businesses responding, the results of the survey were revealed in October 2021 and indicated that the addition of more nonstop flights from MacArthur could result in a 218 percent increase in travel dollars spent on flights at the airport – an unparalleled economic opportunity for the region. These results were instrumental in attracting Breeze Airways, the newest airline created by JetBlue founder David Neeleman, to MacArthur with its inaugural flight in February 2022.

CMM Senior Partner Scott Middleton successfully defended the Town of Smithtown in a recent slip and fall case, securing a unanimous verdict on behalf of the Town on the issue of liability. 

In 2015, the plaintiff was putting her grandchild on the school bus in the hamlet of Nesconset when she allegedly slipped and fell on an icy residential roadway. She sustained a fractured hip and femur that required pinning of the hip and placement of an intermedullary rod in the femur. In her lawsuit against the Town of Smithtown, the plaintiff claimed that the Town’s winter plowing efforts created the icy conditions that led to her accident.

After a four-day trial on the issue of liability, Middleton established that the Town was not liable in creating the condition that caused the accident, resulting in a unanimous defendant’s verdict, saving the Town from significant legal exposure.

CMM has a proven track record in defending Suffolk and Nassau County towns and villages. Visit our Municipal Liability page to read about more successful cases.