Mahwah man can pursue suit against Finkelstein & Partners law firm

By KATHLEEN LYNN

STAFF WRITER | The Record

* Cites overcharges in slip-and-fall case

A Mahwah man’s lawsuit claiming that his lawyers overcharged him in a personal-injury case can move forward under a recent court ruling — though one of the original defendants, the well-known law firm Jacoby & Meyers, has been let off the hook.

Jeffrey Harding of Mahwah and his 80-year-old mother, Nancy Harding of Rockland County, hired lawyers with ties to Jacoby & Meyers, a New York company known for its television commercials, to file two slip-and-fall lawsuits on their behalf.

Nancy Harding hired Finkelstein & Partners of Newburgh, N.Y., after she suffered an injury at a Suffern, N.Y., tile business, and Jeffrey Harding, who had a separate case, hired Andrew Finkelstein of Finkelstein & Partners.

The Finkelstein firm shares many office locations and staff with Jacoby & Meyers, according to a lawsuit filed by the Hardings after their slip-and-fall cases were settled.

In their lawsuit, both Nancy and Jeffrey Harding claimed that the lawyers overcharged them by adding fees for services from a company, Total Trial Solutions, which was partly owned by their lawyers. Those fees were in addition to the regular attorneys’ fees of 33 percent of the amount recovered, the Hardings said in their lawsuit, which named Jacoby & Meyers, Finkelstein & Partners, Total Trial Solutions, and…

This decision comes as battles over the way teachers are hired, fired and evaluated swirl through courtrooms and statehouses across the country. In January, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo began a battle of his own with teachers’ unions, proposing a change to evaluations that would tie teacher performance ratings more closely with state tests.

The tenure lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court on Staten Island, was brought against the state last year on behalf of about a dozen families. The suit — originally two lawsuits, which have been combined — contends that teacher tenure and discipline policies deprive children of their right to a “sound basic education,” essentially by making it too difficult to fire bad teachers.

On Thursday, Justice Philip G. Minardo denied a motion to dismiss that case, filed by New York state, city and union officials, allowing the suit to continue.

“This ruling is a major victory for New Yorkers, especially for parents and students,” said Campbell Brown, founder of the Partnership for Educational Justice, a group involved in bringing the lawsuit. “New Yorkers are one step closer to having access to the data that shows the degree to which quality teaching impacts a student’s ability to succeed and…

The judge also said the plaintiffs could not pursue refunds as a group under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, because any refunds would vary from case to case, but could still seek individual refunds. She set an Oct. 19 trial date.

Facebook said it believes the lawsuit lacks merit, and said it will defend itself vigorously.

The April 2012 lawsuit said Facebook let children use their parents’ credit and debit cards to buy the virtual currency Facebook Credits, and violated California law by refusing refunds under its “all sales are final” policy when the parents complained.

In opposing class certification, Facebook said the plaintiffs’ claims were too disparate, and an injunction would not address them.

But Freeman said state law protects parents and their children when those children “occasionally use their lack of judgment” and buy things they should not.

“Though some minors undoubtedly may wish to continue making purchases through credit or debit cards they do not have permission to use, such a desire…

ECO-LAWSUIT: The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a Washington, D.C.-based group, wants several tough new restrictions on human activity in manatee areas.

The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, filed an Intent to Sue notice this week accusing the federal agency of mistreating “the endangered Florida manatee.”

PEER, which last month sued FWS to stop dirt bike and off-road vehicle noise and air pollution in California, says the agency is “facilitating significant physical harassment” of manatees by allowing the public to swim with the animals in the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge.

The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1983, and it’s the only refuge created specifically for the protection of the Florida manatee, according to FWS.

By issuing special-use permits to local dive shops that lead manatee swim tours, PEER says the environmental agency is harming the animals.

The effort has the appearance of an overreaction. Natural events such as cold water and toxic red-tides have done far more to harm manatees in recent years than human contact. In the overlapping period, the animals have made…