Municipalities are wise to hire the Pattison, Sampson, Ginsberg & Griffin team to defend them against excessive force and personal injury claims
Published on Wednesday, August 3, 2022
The Pattison firm achieves great success for municipal defense clients.
The team at Pattison, Sampson, Ginsberg & Griffin has a long history of successfully defending municipalities and their law enforcement officers. We understand how difficult it is for law enforcement officers in today’s challenging environment. Good officers are under constant attack and scrutiny from groups seeking to advance their own agendas and capitalize on the current anti-law enforcement sentiment. As a result, they and their municipalities are subject to baseless lawsuits that need the attention of skilled and experienced representation.
Despite that anti-law enforcement climate, we have won a multitude of excessive force cases and our team has saved many careers and millions of dollars in potential damages against municipalities.
The Pattison firm has a proven history of successfully defending excessive force, Fourth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and other constitutionally and state law based claims. We can provide legal counsel and representation in:
Municipal defense
Excessive force defense
Personal injury defense
Administrative investigation
Managing Partner Michael E. Ginsberg has been named a Top 100 Trial Lawyer and a 2021 Lawyer of Distinction by The National Trial Lawyers and has successfully defended against dozens of claims of this nature.
Some of those cases include:
- Theodore Relf and Shelly Relf v. City of Troy, N.Y.; Troy Police Department: The plaintiffs sued the city and its police officers alleging civil rights and excessive force violations resulting from a K-9 bite and sought more than $1 million in damages. After a week-long trial, the jury found in favor of the city and the officers.
- John M. Larkins v. City of Troy, N.Y.; City of Troy Police Officers: The plaintiff brought suit alleging constitutional and civil rights violations. The case went to trial verdict and was dismissed in favor of the defendants.
- Meyers v. City of Troy, N.Y.: The plaintiff trespassed on the roof of an abandoned building owned by the City of Troy and fell through a skylight. She sought millions of dollars in compensation for a permanent injury. The matter was resolved upon favorable terms after years of litigation.
- Hellwig v. Saratoga County Board of Managers et al: We were successful in defending this claim made by Hellwig, a former Saratoga County administrator, alleging negligence, slander, libel, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress following his termination.
- Lamont Lee v. City of Troy, N.Y.: The firm defended four Troy police officers against claims of excessive force, failure to intervene, and assault and battery. While the plaintiff sought $3 million in damages, the jury found that the officers acting reasonably at all times under the circumstances and returned a verdict in favor of the officers.
- Michael Price, et al v. City of Troy, N.Y. et al: Plaintiffs alleged violations of their constitutional rights in connection with an emergency warrantless police entry into a building while chasing an active shooter. The case went to trial and all claims were dismissed by a jury.
- Your Place LLC v. City of Troy, N.Y. et al: Plaintiff brought a $30 million lawsuit alleging the city, its police officers, and code officers violated plaintiff’s rights under both the U.S. and New York Constitutions. A trial victory was achieved on behalf of the city and the officers, and was affirmed by the Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department.
- City of Troy, N.Y. v. 1776 6th Avenue, LLC: This plaintiff’s breach of contract matter related to the city’s tenancy at its interim city hall location at 1776 6th Ave. It involved issues related to breach of contract, landlord tenant, and municipal code. We were successful at trial and collected on the city’s judgment.
