Civil Rights and Personal Injury and General Practice Law Firm, Dedicated to Social Justice
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.
Firefighter wins right to retain his status against Hempstead Fire Department
Capt. Cary Morris of the Hempstead Fire Department was wrongfully stripped of his status as a Hempstead firefighter on November 28, 2012. Through his attorneys, The Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington, he commenced an action in Nassau County Supreme Court claiming that his termination was a violation of the rules, regulations and bylaws of the Hempstead Fire Dept and also a violation of the Department’s Constitution. In a decision dated August 12, 2013, Honorable Karen V. Murphy, Justice of the Supreme Court, ruled in favor of Mr. Morris against the Hempstead Volunteer Fire Department, West End Ending Co. No.5.
HVFD suspended Morris because of a dispute of whether Morris owed $1,942.50 as a cancellation charge for a Department-sponsored cruise. Mr. Morris timely notified the Department of his cancellation and the HVFD refunded Morris the money. The Department then sought the money back from Morris and terminated him.
The Judge found that the trip’s cancellation was irrelevant to this case. Even if the Department was entitled to collect the sum from Morris, there is a procedure set forth by the bylaws and constitution that must be followed when a member allegedly owes money to the Department, and the Department failed to follow their own procedures.
According to the bylaws, HVFD was required to send a certified letter within a certain time frame to Morris regarding notification of debts, but failed to do so. They also were responsible for issuing a memo regarding Morris’ offenses to the chief or Assistant chief before suspending him, but failed to do so. Their failing to do so was a clear violation.
Based on the court’s decision, Morris was restored to his rank of Captain, and was awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs of bringing the petition to be restored to his position.
556 Peninsula Blvd., Hempstead, New York 11550 | Phone: 516-489-6959 | Fax: 516-489-6958
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