Tag: lawsuits

Eric Adams accused of sexually assaulting woman in 1993 in bombshell legal filing; accuser wants $5M

Mayor Adams has been accused of sexually assaulting a former colleague in 1993 in a lawsuit seeking at least $5 million filed just before the deadline for the Adult Survivors Act, The Post learned Thursday.

The accuser, whom The Post is not identifying because of the nature of the allegation, named the former cop as a defendant along with the NYPD’s transit bureau and Guardian Association in a lawsuit filed late Wednesday.

“Plaintiff was sexually assaulted by Defendant Eric Adams in New York, New York in 1993 while they both worked for the City of New York,” claims the 3-page summons, which does not give more detail on the alleged assault.

The filing alleges “sexual assault, battery and employment discrimination on the basis of the Plaintiff’s gender and sex, retaliation, hostile work environment and intentional infliction of emotional distress” — and seeks damages no less than $5 million along with attorneys’ fees.

City Hall was quick to deny the allegations, which were first revealed by The Messenger

“The mayor does not know who this person is,” a spokesperson said. “If they ever met, he doesn’t recall it.

“But he would never do anything to physically harm another person and vigorously denies any such claim.”

Attempts to reach the accuser were not immediately successful Thursday, and her attorney did not respond to messages.

The Adult Survivors Act, signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in May last year, removed the usual time constraints to sue over alleged sexual assaults for a one-year period, opening the floodgates for a torrent of civil lawsuits against powerful men, including former President Donald Trump and Bill Cosby.

At least 2,600 claims have been filed in state courts under the ASA, including several lawsuits brought this week against such high-profile defendants as Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. and celebrity photographer Terry Richardson.

Adams, 63, has never been married but has a 27-year-old son, rapper Jordan Coleman, with his ex-girlfriend, Chrisena Coleman.

Keep reading

Pfizer ‘Knowingly Distributed’ Adulterated Drugs to Children: Lawsuit

Pfizer and one of its partners distributed a medication to children despite having knowledge that the drug was adulterated, according to legal action unsealed on Nov. 20.

Pfizer and Tris Pharma distributed Quillivant XR, a drug for children aimed at treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), even though the companies knew the drug did not meet federal standards, the lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Quillivant in 2012 but soon after its approval, the drug failed quality control tests, according to the suit.

Instead of investigating the root cause, as required by federal rules, Tris repeatedly changed testing methods allegedly to try to generate positive results, Mr. Paxton’s probe found. Tris was “under financial pressure” to “rapidly increase production” and did ramp up production but “without adequate controls,” the suit states.

Quillivant comes in powder form and is reconstituted by pharmacists with water.

The medication is a schedule II controlled dangerous substance, and suppliers are required by the FDA to ensure display of a black box warning about abuse and dependence, and the potential side effects which include nausea, vomiting, and insomnia. It was developed by Nextwave Pharmaceuticals, and was acquired by Pfizer in May 2012.

Keep reading

Elon Musk Announces “Thermonuclear” Lawsuit Against Media Matters

In a bold statement issued early Saturday, Elon Musk announced his intention to take aggressive legal action against Media Matters, a non-profit organization that pushes for online censorship. He accused the group and its associates of grossly distorting the user experience on his social media platform, X.

Musk’s planned lawsuit, which he describes as “thermonuclear,” targets not only Media Matters but also “all those who colluded” with them.

Musk’s response comes in the wake of a Media Matters report published on Thursday.

The report alleged that on X, advertisements from prominent companies like Apple, Disney, factions of NBCUniversal, IBM, Oracle, and Comcast were being displayed alongside content promoting “antisemitic conspiracy theories.”

In a fiery critique, Musk condemned these allegations as a blatant attempt to tarnish X’s reputation. He asserted that such attacks stem from a broader agenda to suppress free speech.

Musk views the actions of Media Matters and similar groups as part of a concerted effort by certain activist organizations and legacy media to stifle the freedom of expression on X.

According to Musk, these entities perceive X as a significant threat to their ideological narratives and the interests of their financial backers.

Further, Musk highlighted the tactics used by these groups, which he claims involve manipulating advertisers on X through deceptive means. By doing so, they aim to jeopardize the platform’s revenue streams.

Keep reading

State-Licensed Pot Suppliers Say Federal Prohibition Is Unconstitutional As Applied to Them

A lawsuit filed late last month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts argues that the federal marijuana ban is unconstitutional as applied to the intrastate operations of state-licensed cannabis suppliers. That claim is similar to one that the U.S. Supreme Court decisively rejected in the 2005 case Gonzales v. Raich, which involved state-authorized medical use of marijuana. But the plaintiffs in Canna Provisions v. Garland—a pot shop chain and three other Massachusetts marijuana businesses—argue that several developments since then undermine the logic of that ruling.

In the 2005 case, Angel Raich and Diane Monson, two patients who used marijuana for symptom relief in compliance with California law, argued that Congress exceeded its authority “to regulate commerce…among the several states” when it purported to ban noncommercial production and possession of cannabis that never crossed state lines. Monson grew her own marijuana, while Raich relied on two caregivers who grew it for her.

It may seem obvious that the power to regulate interstate commerce does not cover conduct that is neither commercial nor interstate. But the Supreme Court had held otherwise in the 1942 case Wickard v. Filburn, which involved an Ohio farmer who exceeded his wheat quota under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. Although Roscoe Filburn planned to use the extra wheat “wholly for consumption on the farm,” the Court unanimously ruled that the collective impact of such decisions on interstate commerce was enough to justify the rule he violated.

When farmers grow wheat for their own consumption, the justices reasoned, that has “a substantial influence” on the interstate “price and market conditions” that Congress sought to regulate. “Even if appellee’s activity be local and though it may not be regarded as commerce,” Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote for the Court, “it may still, whatever its nature, be reached by Congress if it exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce.”

Writing for the majority in Gonzales v. Raich, Justice John Paul Stevens applied similar reasoning to the federal ban on marijuana. “Our case law firmly establishes Congress’ power to regulate purely local activities that are part of an economic ‘class of activities’ that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce,” Stevens wrote. Wickard, he said, “establishes that Congress can regulate purely intrastate activity that is not itself ‘commercial,’ in that it is not produced for sale, if it concludes that failure to regulate that class of activity would undercut the regulation of the interstate market in that commodity.”

Keep reading

He Was Strip-Searched and Jailed for Criticizing Cops. Now He’s Fighting Back in Court.

In July 2017, Louisiana woman Nanette Krentel was shot in the head and left in a burning house. More than two years passed before anyone was arrested. That person, however, wasn’t alleged to be the murderer. Rather, the sole arrest related to Krentel’s death was that of Jerry Rogers Jr. His crime: criticizing the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office (STPSO) for its slow investigation of the case, which remains unsolved.

Naturally, Rogers sued the department for violating his rights. In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that his lawsuit against Sheriff Randy Smith, Chief Danny Culpeper, and Sgt. Keith Canizaro may proceed, confirming they violated clearly established law when they punished Rogers for his speech.

In 2019, the STPSO caught wind that Rogers had denounced the lead investigator, Detective Daniel Buckner, whom Rogers characterized in an email as “clueless.” To pore over his messages, the police obtained what was likely an illegal search warrant, as it listed the qualifying offense as “14:00000,” which does not exist.

Police then arrested, strip-searched, and detained Rogers. He was ultimately released on bond, and the Louisiana Department of Justice declined to prosecute the case. But the primary goal was likely retaliation by humiliation: Before Rogers was booked, the cops publicized a press release about his arrest. Canizaro testified that this was the only time he could remember the office following that order of operations. They also filed a formal complaint with Rogers’ employer, another action that Canizaro said the STPSO had never taken.

Lawyers with the district attorney’s office told police it would be unconstitutional to use Louisiana’s criminal defamation statute to arrest Rogers; the statutory language protecting public officials from criticism was rendered unconstitutional decades ago. Despite this warning from prosecutors, officers not only forged ahead with the arrest, they also sought qualified immunity when Rogers sued. This required them to attest that no reasonable officer could have known that what they were doing was unconstitutional.

The 5th Circuit rejected their argument, and its ruling buttresses the notion that victims are entitled to recourse when the government retaliates against their speech.

Keep reading

Illinois Family Files Lawsuit After Police Execute Wrong-Door Raid and Allegedly Detain Them for 6 Hours

A family in Joliet, Illinois, says they were terrorized by police, held at gunpoint, and detained for six hours after officers executed a search warrant on the wrong house.

A federal civil rights lawsuit filed Wednesday by the law offices of Al Hofeld Jr. accuses the town of Joliet and nearly two dozen police officers of unlawful search, excessive force, false arrest, and conspiracy, among other rights violations.

On November 2, 2021, 62-year-old Adela Carrasco and her family were awakened by the sound of banging and shouting at their front door. Carrasco, whom her lawsuit says suffers from asthma and uses a cane due to a hip injury, hobbled toward the door to see what the commotion was.

Carrasco discovered 21 armed law enforcement officers from the Joliet Police Department, Will County Sheriff’s Office, and U.S. Marshals Service. The officers were investigating a deadly Halloween-night shooting two days prior and had decided to execute an outstanding warrant for 18-year-old Elian Raya, one of Carrasco’s grandsons.

“I asked them to show me a warrant; they didn’t show me nothing. They just pushed me aside and went in,” Carrasco said at a press conference Thursday announcing the lawsuit. “And I’m screaming at them the whole time to put down their guns because they’re going to shoot my grandkids.”

The lawsuit says the officers barged into the bedrooms of Carrasco’s grandchildren, who ranged in age from 12 to their early twenties, and pointed guns at them while shouting obscenities.

There was only one problem: The search warrant for Raya listed his address as 226 South Comstock. Carrasco lived at 228 South Comstock. The building is a duplex with two separate front entrances, both with addresses clearly marked.

The lawsuit alleges that although officers knew or quickly realized that they were not in the right unit, they continued to ransack Carrasco’s house, cutting open couch cushions, flipping mattresses, and dumping drawers. 

Keep reading

Abercrombie & Epstein? Ex-CEO Sued Over Gay Sex Trafficking, Abuse Allegations

Abercrombie & Fitch is being sued along with its former CEO Mike Jeffries, who has been accused of running a giant sex-trafficking ring that exploited young men who wanted to become models for the brand.

Court documents depict a horror story wherein Jeffries, the once-celebrated architect of the brand’s provocative image, is accused of masterminding the despicable sex trafficking operation. Under this scheme, young men, dazzled by the glamour of modeling stardom, were allegedly subjected to sexual abuse under the guise that it would land them coveted modeling contracts, CNBC reports.

Earlier this month, a BBC investigation revealed systematic abuse, involving Jeffries’ partner Matthew Smith and associate James Jacobson, under the pretense of offering modeling gigs.

The BBC’s two-year investigation involving 12 witnesses reveals a systematic operation spanning from the 1990s through 2015, where Jeffries, aided by Smith and a conspicuous associate identified as James Jacobson, allegedly lured young men into an abusive quagmire. The promise of lucrative modeling contracts with A&F baited the trap, often leading to coercive sexual encounters at various luxury locations worldwide, from New York to Marrakesh.

The narratives shared by these men, including David Bradberry, sketch a sinister picture. The operation, disguised behind the glamour of A&F’s brand allure, often began with meetings involving Jacobson. With his striking appearance marked by a snakeskin patch over a missing nose, Jacobson is accused of acting as the gatekeeper to A&F’s inner sanctum, demanding sexual favors as the price for entry.

Keep reading

US Government & NewsGuard Sued by Consortium News

The United States government and internet “watchdog” NewsGuard Technologies, Inc. were sued today in federal court in Manhattan for First Amendment violations and defamation by news organization Consortium for Independent Journalism, a nonprofit that publishes Consortium News.

Consortium News‘s court filing charges the Pentagon’s Cyber Command, an element of the Intelligence Community, with contracting with NewsGuard to identify, report and abridge the speech of American media organizations that dissent from U.S. official positions on foreign policy. 

In the course of its contract with the Pentagon, NewsGuard is “acting jointly or in concert with the United States to coerce news organizations to alter viewpoints” as to Ukraine, Russia, and Syria, imposing a form of “censorship and repression of views” that differ or dissent from policies of the United States and its allies, the complaint says.  

Keep reading

PITTSBURGH JAIL LET AUTISTIC MAN DIE DUE TO CULTURE OF NEGLECT, LAWSUIT SAYS

The family of a 57-year-old, intellectually disabled, and autistic man who died at Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County Jail filed suit on Tuesday, alleging that atrocious medical care at the facility caused his death.

Anthony Talotta arrived at the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) in September 2022 after being arrested at a group home he had been living in. About a week and a half later, he was dead. The lawsuit, filed by the Abolitionist Law Center and a local law firm on behalf of Talotta’s estate, claims that pervasive medical neglect at the jail contributed to his preventable death. The Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism has published multiple investigations into the jail—revealing systemic neglect of detainees’ health needs and a lack of transparency.

The complaint alleges the jail’s medical provider, the nonprofit Allegheny Health Network (AHN), routinely deprives detainees of basic medical care, leading to catastrophic consequences, particularly for those with disabilities. According to the complaint, of the 17 people who died between March 2020 and Talotta’s 2022 death, almost 90 percent were—or should have been—identified as needing chronic care.

“And for incarcerated persons who simultaneously had either mental illness or neurodevelopmental disorder with some other chronic care needs, the culture that AHN and Allegheny County created at the ACJ guaranteed that those individuals were discriminated against, and that their medical needs were not met,” the complaint states.

In response to emailed questions, spokespeople for Allegheny County and AHN told The Appeal they do not comment on litigation.

Keep reading

Five of Tim Ballard’s Alleged Victims Have Filed a Lawsuit Against Him

Tim Ballard, the founder and former head of the anti-trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad whose heavily fictionalized exploits were the subject of this summer’s surprise box-office hit Sound of Freedom, has been sued in Utah’s Third District Court by five women accusing him of sexual misconduct.  The Utah news outlet KSL was the first to report the filing. An accompanying press release issued by their attorney, Suzette Rasmussen, reports that additional suits are likely to be filed by more women in the coming month. 

“The tragic irony is not lost on these five women,” Rasmussen wrote in the press release. “Tim Ballard literally trafficked them for his own sexual and egotistical gratification.” 

In the suit, the women, who all live in Utah, and who filed the suit using initials to protect their privacy, accuse Ballard in detail of “coerced sexual contact.”  The suit alleges that Ballard and/or the co-defendants have committed sexual assault and battery, conspiracy, fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and “outrage,” and accuses OUR of failing in its fiduciary duties, asking for a trial by jury and damages in an amount to be proven at trial. 

The central allegations have to do with the so-called “couples ruse,” which is described in the suit as “a tool for sexual grooming.” 

Since the allegations of sexual misconduct were first reported on by VICE News and Utah journalist Lynn Packer, Ballard has insisted, for instance in a lengthy Instagram video, that the couples ruse, in which a male undercover operative is accompanied by a female one posing as his wife, is simply a tool to rescue children and keep operators from having to engage in the sexual abuse of alleged trafficking victims.

Keep reading