· Read the full story on NJ.com

· View the filed lawsuit here

The post $3 Million Settlement for PBA Whistleblowers. Union rights continue to gain traction in NJ Courts first appeared on Sciarra Catrambone Curran & Gray, LLC.

In Ocasio v. Hudson County the Federal Court issued a final order in a decade long union retaliation case putting Hudson County on the hook for over two million dollars in fees and damages. (It will be closer to three if they appeal and lose, again.) The linked article breaks down the case in detail, but here’s the short version: Hudson County went after Ocasio aggressively for doing his job, standing up for his union members, and in the process, they derailed his career.  Two juries found for Ocasio.  The upshot is that unlike many backwater states in America, in New Jersey workers have strong legal protections, including union workers. Our state regularly leads the nation in income, education, and overall quality of life, and robust employment laws are a key part of that success. If your rights are being violated on the job, especially for standing up or speaking out, you have strong remedies.

In Jersey City Police Superiors Association v. Jersey City, a federal judge just refused to dismiss a lawsuit claiming the City violated the First Amendment by refusing to fly the police memorial flag. The union simply wanted to honor the families of fallen officers, but Jersey City’s openly anti-police mayor had other plans. In what looked like a political stunt aimed at boosting a now-failed run for higher office, Mayor Fulop removed two families of fallen officers from City Hall property, even as dozens of other groups were allowed to fly their flags without issue  We’ll see how much more taxpayer money the City is willing to burn fighting this outrage. The court’s decision is linked below.

Here’s the bigger picture: Unions have always been the backbone of New Jersey’s middle class. When their rights are protected, we all benefit from stronger communities, better schools, and higher wages. That’s why New Jersey’s employment laws matter, and why we fight hard to make sure those rights are enforced.

Ocasio v. Hudson County Order & Opinion pdf | Jersey City Police Superiors Association v. Jersey City Opinion on denying motion pdf

The post Unions 2, Management 0 (or negative $2,000,000 depending how you calculate it) first appeared on Sciarra Catrambone Curran & Gray, LLC.

Perhaps my somewhat primitive approach to technology partly explains the general neglect our website has suffered over the last nearly two decades. If you go to our prior blog posts, you will see that we set the website up, despite not having one for many years, to confront complete and total nonsense from an adversary who posted falsely as a disgruntled former client. Whether anybody has ever read it and cared one way or the other, I have no idea. But I do know that for the firm’s 25-year existence, it is almost entirely our reputation and word of mouth that generates the firm’s client base. There is no slick marketing strategy, and you will notice that even our rebooted webpage does not contain any pictures of the firm’s attorneys. Nothing about my face could sell even water in the desert, and it would be weird to post a firm picture with me not in it.

However, I have been convinced by the “younger members” of the firm that an internet presence does more than attempt to sell the firm. It helps educate and keep clients up to speed. I understand that it requires more time and energy than I have devoted in the past, but we will try it. Part of the problem is that we have limitations on what we can say on many of our cases based upon settlement language that does not permit dialogue on cases we have resolved favorably. However, many of our cases may get some attention in what remains of the media. Also, decisions rendered after a fully litigated case are fair game for publication. We are required by the ethics rules to repeat over and over that no result in one case guarantees any result in another. People obviously need to recognize that litigation is an uncertain endeavor with significant risk. With all that said, it is my hope that in the coming months, we will more regularly post some successes and notable decisions, and on occasion so that there is full disclosure of some of the less frequent matters that did not end well despite our best efforts.

As a result, you will see a post that was drafted two years ago but was just added to the website. It was in draft before I started significant chemo treatments and was not posted due to everyone from the firm concentrating on our individual cases and vigorously advocating for our clients, which always has been and always will be our first priority. Also, in the coming weeks, we will provide details of a major firm event for those signed up for our updates via email. I can assure you I will not clutter your inbox. We hope existing and prospective clients will find our rebooted website informative and valuable as we litigate their matters and advocate as we always have.

As we embark on 2025, we wish to thank the firm’s current and past clients for their faith in and support of us. Again, we rely almost exclusively on reputation and word of mouth. Your positive reviews of our skill and advocacy are humbling and appreciated. We are fortunate and proud to do what we do. All the best to you and your families in the coming year.

The post The Great 2025 Inter-Web World-Wide-Net Reboot first appeared on Sciarra Catrambone Curran & Gray, LLC.

In October 2021, Christopher and I went to Federal Court in Camden and, in a bench trial (Judge only), won a verdict for 30 Pemberton Officers in a FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) case.
Thirty (30) months later, our first post-pandemic, in-person jury found retaliation for a Clifton Police Officer who was skipped over for Lieutenant. We were circumspect about the jury’s interest in coming in person and engaging in the case. Our concerns were allayed by the jurors’ constant attention, their clear and obvious interest in the case, and their thoughtful verdict after a little less than two (2) hours of deliberation. They gave us every nickel of our expert economist’s damages calculation.

Those cases resulted in large attorneys’ fee applications, which is always a risk for management.

Just as they were rushing out of the Camden County Courthouse concerned about the spread of Covid and just as they have now returned to the Passaic County Courthouse with Covid hopefully behind us, juries still are giving the time and attention left to America’s last institution that still represents the opportunity to be heard and to have your facts fully developed and ruled upon. We are eternally grateful to the juries who give up their lives for weeks to come forward and do their essential and crucial job in our American system that suffers from so many questions and attacks. Also, the Judges who oversaw those cases and sat as Judge and Jury in Federal Court are still working to keep it glued together for our justice system. At least in this regard, America is still functioning well, and we look forward to it continuing to do so.

The post Covid: Before During and After first appeared on Sciarra Catrambone Curran & Gray, LLC.

The post If an attorney ever tells you juries do not award punitive damages, show them this. . . . . . . . . .(2018 Edition) first appeared on Sciarra Catrambone Curran & Gray, LLC.

Bijoy Rodriguez v. City of Paterson (12.14.2017)

James Reyes v. City of Paterson(3.27.2018)

The post Liar, liar, City on Fire first appeared on Sciarra Catrambone Curran & Gray, LLC.

The post If an attorney ever tells you juries do not award punitive damages, show them this. . . . . . . . . . first appeared on Sciarra Catrambone Curran & Gray, LLC.

WCBS NEWS – New York

The post Discrimination is illegal, in all of its forms. first appeared on Sciarra Catrambone Curran & Gray, LLC.

But rest assured an appropriate memorial is being contemplated. The ideas vary from conversion into a planter to an actual firm museum display complete with red velvet roping and a plaque. When that decision is made our Friends of the Firm (FOFs) will be advised. In the meantime no flowers are necessary and no alternate donations are suggested. Instead, your e-mail condolences and any fond stories of the Coffee Machine are welcome and will be put into a Memorial Book. Thank you all for your continued patronage. And rest assured, despite the inferior coffee product we now serve, we will do our best to make your visit to the office as comfortable as possible.

The post Coffee Machine, RIP first appeared on Sciarra Catrambone Curran & Gray, LLC.

Because of confusion created by the dramatic events, Officers Roberts and Baksh became the subjects of a criminal investigation arising out of this matter.  Scores of interviews and countless audio and video recordings were scrutinized.  Finally, the Office declined prosecution of the officers.  Case closed?…

In the normal course,  the matter was returned to the Bergen County Police Department for administrative review. A year into these proceedings, however, things took a dramatic turn.  Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli, a political appointee, had a well-publicized political feud with County Executive Kathleen Donovan other the future of the county police force. These police officers were caught in the cross-fire. Prosecutor Molinelli withdrew a declination letter and proceeded to indict Officers Roberts and Baksh despite the fact that there was no new evidence or change in the record which could have reversed a determination regarding the purported criminality of the officers’ conduct. Despite enormous risk and the potential for a decade in prison, these officers showed the same courage as they did on that fateful day.  Finally, on the afternoon of May 29, 2014, justice was served when, after a five week trial, a Bergen County Jury made up of honest folks not colored by politics but looking only at facts returned their verdict of not guilty as to all counts of the indictment. Now vindicated, the officers are focused on getting their lives and careers back on track. Case closed!

Roberts Article (5.30.2014)

The post Turning Confusion into a Crime: A Case Study in Prosecutorial Misconduct. first appeared on Sciarra Catrambone Curran & Gray, LLC.