New Initiative Looks to Have NYC Bring More Impact Litigation
Two new positions and a new committee inside the Law Department will look to target areas of litigation to promote social policies.
March 20, 2018 at 04:45 PM
2 minute read
New York City's law department plans to look for ways to bring more social justice and impact litigation going forward, according to a new strategic advocacy initiative announced earlier this week.
According to Corporation Counsel Zachary Carter, the new initiative will build on the three decades of work protecting the city's interest. To achieve this, the department is placing two attorneys into newly created positions, with a just-formed departmentwide committee looking for areas on which to focus.
Tonya Jenerette, a senior counsel in the Law Department's affirmative litigation division, has been promoted to the new position of deputy division chief for strategic litigation.
Kaitlin Caruso, a senior counsel in the Law Department's legal counsel division, has been elevated to the position of senior counsel for strategic advocacy.
“The individuals we have appointed are uniquely qualified to strengthen our proactive litigation program and explore potential cases to affect positive change for New Yorkers,” Carter said in a statement.
Caruso will be the director of the new strategic advocacy committee, while Jenerette will serve on it. The committee will be made up of Law Department executive staff members, division chiefs and senior attorneys from a cross section of internal divisions. Mayor Bill de Blasio's acting counsel, Paul Rodriguez, will also sit on the committee.
According to the department, affirmative litigation efforts over the years have been more reactive, with litigation opportunities being taken as they arose. This new effort will be more proactive, seeking to find new litigation opportunities, with two designated staff members actively pursuing new opportunities.
The department noted a number of prior pieces of litigation as examples of what to expect. The city's $247 million win last year before U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest of the Southern District of New York against UPS for illegally shipping cigarettes, as well as the suit announced earlier this year against opioid manufacturers, were the kinds of suits the city pointed to. So, too, was the recently filed suit against five energy companies over their role in climate change.
In a statement, Caruso said she was honored to be part of the initiative, “especially at a time when local engagement is more critical than ever.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
European, US Litigation Funding Experts Look for Commonalities at NYU Event
Trending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
