ENEWSLETTER: March 2016

The Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington

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The Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington is a well-respected litigation firm with an office in Hempstead, Long Island. Our focus is primarily in the area of civil rights, voting rights, employment discrimination, police misconduct, personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death and criminal law. However, the Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington is a full- service law firm handling matters in numerous areas of law and providing a wide range of services from contract formation to litigation and trial practice.

RECENT VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS
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Court Finds Unreasonable Search, Malicious Prosecution and Abuse of Process Against Lynbrook Village and Nassau County Police

The United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, denied a motion for summary judgment filed by the defendants Incorporated Village of Lynbrook and Nassau County Police Departments after four individuals — Georgette Sorrell, Juana Rosario, Machel Williams, and Donald Morency — were wrongfully arrested, detained and prosecuted after being falsely accused of robbery and assault.

The Court found that, on October 11, 2008, at approximately 8:40 p.m., Trisha Marcello and Tyrell Outlaw were walking in the general vicinity of Sylvester Place and Harding Avenue in Lynbrook when a group of people emerged from a car and attacked and robbed them. Officer Patrick J. Hahl of the Lynbrook Police Department responded to the scene, where Ms. Marcello and Mr. Outlaw described the assailants as one black male and two black females — one wearing a white shirt and the other wearing a pink shirt — and riding in a beaten-up white four-door vehicle.

Lynbrook PD Officer Eric Bruen, who heard the radio call, canvassed the area of the alleged assault to find the vehicle that matched the description. He spotted a white four-door Honda with body damage and stopped the car at the intersection of Peninsula Boulevard and Rockaway Avenue, with the plaintiffs inside the car. Nassau County Detectives Greg Arena and Robert Lashinsky and Lynbrook PD Officer Brian Cunningham and Peter Festa responded to the scene.

At 9:32 p.m., Ms. Marcello was brought to the scene for a field show-up, where she positively identified Ms. Sorrell, Ms. Rosario, and Ms. Williams but could not positively identify Mr. Morency. The three women were handcuffed and brought to the Fifth Precinct, while Mr. Morency was brought to the precinct without being handcuffed. At the police station, Ms. Sorrell was handcuffed to a bench, while Ms. Rosario was handcuffed to a table. Ms. Williams was placed in a holding cell in a basement and Mr. Morency was seated at a police officer’s desk. During their time at the precinct, Ms. Sorrell and Ms. Rosario were taken to a restroom and strip-searched by a female Nassau County police officer.

On October 13, 2008, the plaintiffs were arraigned at Nassau County Court. Ms. Rosario was released on her own recognizance while Ms. Sorrell was released on $5,000 bond and Mr. Morency was remanded without bail. Ms. Williams was unable to post bail and, as such, remained incarcerated. After the arraignment, the plaintiffs’ defense counsel informed Nassau County Assistant District Attorney Zeena Abdi, who was assigned to the case, that the plaintiffs were at a gas station in Holtsville — between 40 and 45 miles away from the site of the alleged robbery — at the time the alleged crime occurred. Surveillance video from the gas station showed Mr. Morency arriving at the gas station at 8:27 p.m., then leaving at 8:40 p.m. Cell phone records also showed Ms. Sorrell making a call during that time from “the vicinity of Holtsville.” Upon reviewing the evidence, ADA Abdi dismissed all charges against the plaintiffs.

On February 24, 2016, the Court ruled in favor of Ms. Sorrell and Ms. Rosario, who claimed they were subject to Fourth Amendment unreasonable search, and supported Mr. Morency’s claims of malicious prosecution and abuse of process. The defendants Village of Lynbrook and Nassau County sought summary judgment to dismiss all of the plaintiffs’ claims, but the heart of their motion was denied. In addition, the Court denied the defendants motion for qualified immunity.

Frederick K. Brewington of The Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington represented the plaintiffs in this case.

The decision can be read here.

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