Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP is a litigation boutique that focuses on civil rights, commercial, criminal, and ethics matters.

We represent individuals, businesses, and institutions in all aspects of litigation and pre-litigation.

On Tuesday, June 16, State Senator Jessica Scarcella Spanton, District Attorney Michael McMahon and residents of Park Hi...
06/18/2026

On Tuesday, June 16, State Senator Jessica Scarcella Spanton, District Attorney Michael McMahon and residents of Park Hill & Fox Hill, an affordable housing community on Staten Island, called for a borough-wide boycott of United Parcel Service (UPS) over its unfair delivery practices in the area. If any of the residents in the 1,500 units at Park Hill & Fox Hill receive a delivery from UPS, they must walk up to twenty minutes to the UPS truck checkpoint and wait in line with other residents. In a quote to silive.com, DA McMahon called for a boycott: “If possible, if [Staten Islanders] have the choice, they should pick a different carrier,” McMahon said. “This is a flagrant example of unfair practices.”

Residents of Park Hill & Fox Hill, over 99% of whom are non-white, have been forced to endure this discriminatory practice for over 30 years. In response, ECBAWM Attorneys have filed a lawsuit, led by resident Gordon Flowers, asking the court to force UPS to offer the same services offered throughout Staten Island, as well as monetary damages for each failed delivery over the past decades. ECBAWM Attorneys Diane Houk, O. Andrew F. Wilson, and Laura Kokotailo and Paralegal Toby Shore, as well as co-counsel Maia Goodell of Vladeck Raskin Clark P.C. Aae proud to hold corporations accountable to discriminatory practices, and fight for justice for the residents of Park Hill & Fox Hill.

Access full coverage of proposed boycott on our website: https://ecbawm.com/news/state-senator-district-attorney-call-for-ups-boycott-following-ecbawm-lawsuit/

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (ECBAWM) and Caicedo & Queliz LLC have filed a federal civil rights law...
06/13/2026

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (ECBAWM) and Caicedo & Queliz LLC have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of former public defender Bernardo Caceres, alleging that he was falsely arrested, unlawfully detained, and defamed after being accused of attempting to bring narcotics into Rikers Island during a client visit. The lawsuit alleges that the arrest occurred before any confirmatory laboratory testing was conducted, despite acknowledgments by both the New York City Department of Investigation and the Department of Correction that such field tests are too unreliable to serve as the basis for an arrest without laboratory confirmation.

According to the complaint, Caceres was detained for several hours, denied requests to contact his supervisors, photographed while handcuffed, and publicly accused of criminal conduct. Subsequent laboratory testing allegedly found that the documents contained neither THC nor any other narcotics, and prosecutors later declined to pursue the charge.“Given the widely known unreliability of the field tests, the corrections officers should have known better, the City should have known better, and Benny Boscio should have kept his mouth shut,” said Earl Ward, partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. “Instead, they intentionally and recklessly tarnished the reputation of a bright young lawyer.”

“Bernardo never should have been arrested in the first place. Instead of waiting for reliable test results, officials jumped to conclusions and put him in handcuffs. The New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association then seized the opportunity to smear a young public defender dedicated to serving his community. When the lab results came back, they showed there were no drugs at all. This lawsuit is about accountability for the people who rushed to judgment and making sure this doesn’t happen again,” said Albert Huber, Associate at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. Access the full press here :

https://ecbawm.com/news/ecbawm-and-caicedo-queliz-file-federal-civil-rights-lawsuit-on-behalf-of-public-defender-wrongfully-arrested-following-rikers-island-visit/

"Ohio State and 279 of the 280 individual remaining Richard Strauss survivors involved in the pending litigation have re...
06/05/2026

"Ohio State and 279 of the 280 individual remaining Richard Strauss survivors involved in the pending litigation have reached settlements in principle in a total amount of $100 million. The university’s Board of Trustees has now publicly ratified these agreements in principle, and all parties thank the mediators for their assistance. The mediation and its confidentiality are continuing as the parties work to finalize the details of the settlements, and additional information will be shared as appropriate."

To read more, please visit our website:

https://ecbawm.com/news/major-announcement-in-the-ohio-state-university-sex-abuse-case/

ECBAWM Partner Andy G. Celli will join noted First Amendment lawyers Jameel Jaffer, Director of the Knight First Amendme...
06/04/2026

ECBAWM Partner Andy G. Celli will join noted First Amendment lawyers Jameel Jaffer, Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; David McCraw, General Counsel of The New York Times; Amrit Singh, Professor and Founding Director of Rule of Law Lab at NYU School of Law; and Faiza Patel, Senior Director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty & National Security Program, to discuss the state of our constitutional free speech and free press guarantees and the role of the legal profession in preserving First Amendment rights.

To read more about the panel, please visit our website : https://ecbawm.com/news/ecbawm-partner-andrew-g-celli-jr-selected-as-panelist-at-new-york-city-bar-association-on-protecting-free-speech/

ECBAWM and co-counsel secured a major victory for immigrant New Yorkers after a federal district court granted a stay la...
05/20/2026

ECBAWM and co-counsel secured a major victory for immigrant New Yorkers after a federal district court granted a stay largely prohibiting ICE from conducting civil immigration arrests at New York City immigration courthouses while litigation proceeds in African Communities Together and The Door v. Todd Lyons. The ruling marks a significant step toward ensuring immigrants can safely attend mandatory court proceedings without fear of arrest.

The lawsuit — brought by Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Make the Road New York — challenges ICE policies that allowed agents to arrest individuals appearing for immigration hearings.

Under the stay, ICE officers are now largely prohibited from conducting civil immigration enforcement actions in or near 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street, and 290 Broadway. The court’s ruling follows the government’s admission that a 2025 memorandum it had relied on throughout the litigation did not, in fact, authorize immigration courthouse arrests.

You can read more on our website: https://ecbawm.com/news/ecbawm-co-counsel-secure-major-victory-halting-ice-courthouse-arrests/

On Monday, May 11, 2026, the Hon. Anthony Brindisi of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New ...
05/14/2026

On Monday, May 11, 2026, the Hon. Anthony Brindisi of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York denied a motion to dismiss filed by Defendants Oneida County and several Oneida County Correctional Officers in an ECBAWM lawsuit regarding the tragic death of Antwan Cater in an upstate New York jail in 2024. Mr. Cater was just 25 years old when he died after experience a seizure while he was held in an Oneida County jail, where he was incarcerated following his arrest for a minor offense.

ECBAWM attorneys Katie Rosenfeld, Julia P. Kuan, and Nick Bourland represent the Plaintiff, Mr. Cater’s father, Terry Watson, in the suit.

On Monday, May 11, 2026, the Hon. Anthony Brindisi of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York denied a motion to dismiss filed by Defendants Oneida County and several Oneida County Correctional Officers in an ECBAWM lawsuit regarding the tragic death of Antwan Cater in an upstate New York jail in 2024. Mr. Cater was just 25 years old when he died after experiencing a seizure while he was held in an Oneida County jail, where he was incarcerated following his arrest for a minor offense.

ECBAWM has secured nearly $5.2 million in settlements on behalf of the estates of Jose Mejia Martinez and Donny Ruben Ub...
05/06/2026

ECBAWM has secured nearly $5.2 million in settlements on behalf of the estates of Jose Mejia Martinez and Donny Ruben Ubiera, two men who died from methadone overdoses while incarcerated at Rikers Island. The settlements — $2.7 million for the estate of Jose Mejia Martinez and approximately $2.5 million for the estate of Donny Ruben Ubiera — resolve federal civil rights lawsuits alleging that correctional staff failed to respond appropriately to clear signs of medical and psychiatric distress and failed to provide timely, lifesaving care.

“When they arrived at Rikers, Jose Mejia Martinez and Donny Ubiera each needed mental health care, substance use treatment, and a safe environment,” said Katie Rosenfeld, Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. “On the day he died, officers failed to provide any aid to Mr. Mejia for many hours — even after they saw him losing consciousness, failing to respond to verbal prompts, slumped over on a table, being lifted out of his seat by two other people, and then being carried to a cell, where he then lay motionless for many hours. Jose deserved better: to live, overcome his struggles, and see his family again. But he was denied that chance by the broken jail system on Rikers Island.”

“These settlements reflect the devastating consequences of a correctional system that repeatedly failed two vulnerable men in its custody. Jose Mejia Martinez and Donny Ruben Ubiera each showed clear signs of medical and psychiatric distress, and in both cases, the City failed to provide the supervision, treatment, and emergency intervention that could have saved their lives. We hope these resolutions bring some measure of accountability and underscore the urgent need for meaningful reform at Rikers,” said Julia P. Kuan, Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP.

ECBAWM attorneys Julia P. Kuan, Katie Rosenfeld, and Nick Bourland represent the estates of Jose Mejia Martinez and Donny Ruben Ubiera.

Read full coverage here: https://ecbawm.com/news/ecbawm-secures-nearly-5-2-million-in-settlements-for-families-of-two-men-who-died-from-methadone-overdoses-at-rikers-island/

On April 27, 2026, ECBAWM attorney Debbie Greenberger argued on behalf of the National Retail Federation and the Retail ...
05/06/2026

On April 27, 2026, ECBAWM attorney Debbie Greenberger argued on behalf of the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association—two merchant trade groups, which, together, represent thousands of merchants with hundreds of thousands of stores, millions of American jobs, and over $2.7 trillion in annual retail sales—in a hearing before the Honorable Brian Cogan in the Eastern District of New York to object to the proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit concerning alleged antitrust violations in the credit card “swipe” fee market. In the hearing, ECBAWM argued that the terms of this proposed settlement, which would resolve one of the largest class action lawsuits in history, did not offer adequate relief to merchants and was “deeply unpopular” among the merchant trade groups’ members.

ECBAWM has been proud to represent the National Retail Federation and Retail Industry Leaders Association for over a decade. In 2016, ECBAWM helped secure a Second Circuit reversal of the District Court’s approval of a prior iteration of the proposed settlement agreement. Read more about that here. In 2024, ECBAWM helped convince the Court to reject the prior proposed class action settlement in this same action.

Access full press releases on our website: https://ecbawm.com/news/ecbawm-clients-leading-merchant-trade-groups-object-to-deeply-unpopular-proposed-settlement-of-antitrust-claims-concerning-credit-card-swipe-fees/

On April 27, 2026, ECBAWM filed an amicus brief on behalf of 30 labor scholars in a case where three labor unions—the Un...
05/01/2026

On April 27, 2026, ECBAWM filed an amicus brief on behalf of 30 labor scholars in a case where three labor unions—the United Auto Workers (UAW), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the Communications Workers of America (CWA)—are challenging Department of Homeland Security’s catch and revoke policy, which surveils non-citizens’ social media use and revokes visas or immigration authorization in retaliation for posting disfavored views.

The U.S government moved to dismiss the unions’ amended complaint, arguing in part that unions lack standing because people join unions solely for collective bargaining purposes, not for the vindication of civil liberties or political expressive rights.
In the amicus brief, ECBAWM rebuts the government’s ahistorical and mistaken portrayal of labor unions. The brief emphasizes that opposing policies through which DHS chills free speech and terrorizes immigrant communities is plainly germane to unions’ core purposes. It further explains that unions are directly harmed by these policies, which undermine organizing, collective advocacy, and the protection of workers’ rights.

ECBAWM attorney Hafsa S. Mansoor authored the brief, with significant contributions from Harvard Law Professor Laura Weinrib, University of Minnesota Law Professor Charlotte Garden, and ECBAWM staff Carlos Martinez Montes, Sadie Cook, and Patrick Perez.

Access the full brief on our website: https://ecbawm.com/news/ecbawm-files-amicus-brief-on-behalf-of-30-labor-scholars-in-case-challenging-dhss-catch-and-revoke-policy/

The New York Times recently reported on ECBAWM’s lawsuit filed with co-counsel Vladeck, Raskin & Clark P.C. challenging ...
04/29/2026

The New York Times recently reported on ECBAWM’s lawsuit filed with co-counsel Vladeck, Raskin & Clark P.C. challenging UPS’s package delivery practices at the Park Hill and Fox Hill apartment complexes on Staten Island.

The lawsuit challenges a policy that UPS has maintained for decades, which requires residents of those complexes to retrieve packages from a designated UPS truck pickup location, rather than receiving direct building delivery. ECBAWM’s lawsuit brings claims under a disparate impact theory: that UPS treats the residents of Park Hill and Fox Hill complexes, who are 99% non-white, less well than similarly situated neighboring complexes with a higher proportion of white residents. The article describes the practical impact of the policy on residents, including seniors and individuals with mobility limitations, and notes allegations in the complaint that UPS provides different delivery service at other residential buildings on Staten Island.

The plaintiff class is represented by ECBAWM attorneys, Andrew Wilson, Diane Houk, Matthew Brinckerhoff, and Laura Kokotailo, as well as paralegal, Toby Shore. The case is pending in federal court in Brooklyn.

Read the full article and press here: https://ecbawm.com/news/nyt-covers-emery-cellis-lawsuit-challenging-upss-staten-island-delivery-practices/

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