LCBF obtains dismissal of "Occupy Wall Street" claims

In Rodriguez v. Winski, 2013 WL 5379880 (S.D.N.Y. 2013), District Judge Naomi Buchwald issued a 40-page decision dismissing most of the 49 separate claims asserted by a group of Occupy Wall Street protestors, elected officials, and journalists against LCBF clients, the MTA Police Department, its commissioner and various officers, and others including the City of New York, Mayor Bloomberg, the NYPD, J.P. Morgan Chase and the owner of Zuccotti Park. The 939-paragraph Amended Complaint included claims of violations of plaintiffs’ First and Fourth Amendment rights, violation of New York State constitutional rights, conspiracy, and state law claims. The Court dismissed almost all the claims against the MTA defendants, which arose from an arrest during an OWS protest at Grand Central Station, and granted LCBF’s motion to sever the remaining claims against LCBF's clients from those remaining against the other defendants. The LCBF team was headed by Phil DiBerardino and included Bill Ballaine.