President Donald TrumpProtesters Alleging Assault by Trump Security Team Can Proceed With Lawsuit
The judge refused to dismiss the protesters' claims that Trump, the Trump Organization and Trump's presidential campaign were vicariously liable for the actions of longtime Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller and other guards.
August 21, 2018 at 01:03 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on New York Law Journal
President Donald Trump can't shake a lawsuit filed by a group of protesters who allege they were roughed up in 2015 by the then-candidate's security detail in front of Trump Tower during a campaign speech.
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Fernando Tapia refused to dismiss the protesters' claims that Trump, the Trump Organization and Trump's presidential campaign were vicariously liable for the actions of longtime Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller and other guards named as defendants in the case, finding that Trump “authorized and condoned” the guards' type of conduct.
Efrain Galicia and four other Mexican activists, who are plaintiffs in the case, say they took to the streets outside Trump Tower in September 2015 in response to Trump's statements during a June 16, 2015, campaign announcement that Mexico is sending “rapists” and people bringing drugs and crime into the United States.
During their demonstration, protesters carried signs with slogans such as “Trump: Make America Racist Again,” and a few donned Ku Klux Klan outfits, according to the protesters' suit.
Galicia claims that Schiller approached the group and grabbed his sign, causing a scuffle to ensue, though both men are at odds as to who initiated the physical contact.
“Maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing,” Trump told reporters at a campaign rally after the incident, according to a footnote in Tapia's ruling.
Tapia also denied summary judgment for the plaintiffs' assault and battery claims but dismissed negligent hiring claims against Trump and the Trump Organization.
The protesters are represented by solo attorney Roger Bernstein and Benjamin Dictor of Eisner & Dictor. In an email, Dictor said his clients are seeking punitive damages against the defendants.
“Our clients were violently assaulted by then-candidate Trump's security team,” Dictor said. “We look forward to trying the case against now-President Trump, Keith Schiller, and the other defendants in the Bronx.”
Trump Organization attorney Matthew Maron and Lawrence Rosen of Larocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Blaha are representing the defendants. A spokesperson for the organization said that Tapia erred by not dismissing the entire complaint and that it intends to appeal.
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