NYMP Laws & Orders #9: Garland v. FDNY Plaintiffs Petition U.S. Supreme Court, More NYC Mandate Lawsuit Updates
SCOTUS will consider hearing the mandate challenge brought by 86 NYC firefighters and EMS workers. Plus a rundown of major multiple-plaintiff lawsuits related to NYC's COVID-19 mandates.
Garland Plaintiffs Ask SCOTUS to Hear Their Case
The 86 firefighters and EMS workers who are plaintiffs in Garland et al. v. New York City Fire Department et al. have filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, represented by attorneys Warner Mendenhall and Scott Lloyd.
The plaintiffs were adversely affected by the City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for municipal workers. They’re petitioning the Supreme Court to review a February Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision and the lower-court decision against the plaintiffs that it upheld.
Attorney Austin Graff, who led the original lawsuit and appeal, discussed the Garland case with me in May 2023:
More Major Mandate Cases in Court
Garland isn’t the only multiple-plaintiff mandate case making its way toward being heard by a high court. Two lawsuits led by attorney Jimmy Wagner are scheduled to be heard by New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, in September.
There are also lawsuits with multiple plaintiffs waiting on appeals court decisions, working their way through the district court level, and even just beginning now.
Here’s a rundown of major federal and New York State lawsuits related to NYC’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates that are currently in the courts:
O’Reilly v. Board of Education and Clarke v. Board of Education
These two related cases are scheduled to be heard by the New York State Court of Appeals in Albany on September 11. They combine lawsuits brought by eight New York City Department of Education employees whose requests for religious accommodations under the DOE mandate were denied.
Attorney Jimmy Wagner argued their cases in district and appellate courts, which decided in favor of the Board of Education. Now he’s taking these cases to the top.
New Yorkers For Religious Liberty et al. v. The City of New York et al.
This federal case concerning religious rights and other Constitutional issues combines some of the earliest lawsuits to challenge the City’s mandates, including Kane et al. v de Blasio et al. and Keil et al. v. The City of New York et al.
A team of attorneys has contributed to the plaintiffs’ representation in these cases, notably including Sujata Gibson and Barry Black, with Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer John Bursch making oral arguments in a February 2023 appeals hearing after the City prevailed in district courts. The U.S. Southern District Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has yet to issue a decision.
February 8, 2023 reporting from the courthouse after oral arguments:
Attorney Sujata Gibson discussed the case with me in June 2022:
Garvey et al. v. The City of New York et al.
Now awaiting a decision by the New York State appellate court for the Second Department, this lawsuit was brought by 16 Department of Sanitation workers who were fired under the mandate for municipal workers. Attorney Chad LaVeglia argued the case before Judge Ralph Porzio, who issued a landmark decision in the DSNY workers’ favor on October 24, 2022.
The City immediately filed to appeal and failed to honor the decision’s reinstatement and back pay orders. LaVeglia was back in court to give oral arguments for the appeal on April 15, 2024, this time joined by co-counsel Sujata Gibson.
Courthouse coverage of the April 15, 2024 and October 24, 2022 hearings, along with in-depth interviews with Chad LaVeglia and some of the DSNY workers who brought the case:
DiCapua et al. v. New York City et al.
This state lawsuit led by attorney Sujata Gibson was brought by 16 Department of Education workers who were denied religious accommodations under the DOE mandate and the organization Teachers for Choice. It won reinstatement and back pay for 10 of the petitioners in a September 2023 decision by Judge Ralph Porzio.
The City filed to appeal, and the reinstatements and back pay awards have been stayed. Gibson has also filed to cross-appeal. Documents in the appeals are still being submitted to the court, so a hearing remains months away.
Sujata Gibson talked with me about the case in July 2023:
July 19, 2023 reporting from the courthouse:
Miraglia et al v. New York City Department of Education et al.
This state lawsuit led by attorney Austin Graff is being brought by 51 people who worked for the Department of Education and were put on leave without pay, terminated, and subjected to other adverse effects of the DOE mandate.
The case is a continuation of the legal action taken in Broecker et al. v. New York City Department of Education et al., a federal lawsuit brought by many of the same plaintiffs. An appeals court rejected the federal due process claims in Broecker but opened the door to this state lawsuit, which takes on both the DOE and the employees’ unions.
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for July 18 at the Richmond County Supreme Court in Staten Island.
Attorney Austin Graff spoke with me recently about the case:
Garry et al. v. Eric Adams and the City of New York
This Article 78 state lawsuit brought by 64 petitioners who were denied religious accommodations and fired under the City’s public sector mandates is asking for reinstatement and over $250 million in damages. Attorney James Mermigis is arguing that the mandates were arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and a violation of New York’s human rights laws—among other things.
Although Mermigis filed the lawsuit in January 2023, documents are still being submitted in the case and oral arguments have not yet been heard.
Coombs-Moreno et al. v. The City of New York et al.
This federal proposed class-action lawsuit, previously called Women of Color for Equal Justice et al. v. The City of New York et al., is led by attorney Jo Saint-George on behalf of 65 plaintiffs who were adversely affected by New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Attorney Jo Saint-George discussed the case with me in May 2023:
McCartney et al. v. City of New York et al.
This federal lawsuit against the City, Mayor Eric Adams, and former NYC Health Commissioner David Chokshi was filed in November 2023 by five former members of the NYPD’s Bomb Squad and Emergency Service Unit. Four were fired under the City’s mandate and one was pushed into early retirement.
Attorney Chad LaVeglia is representing the five plaintiffs with claims that the mandate violated the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, along with their fundamental right to control their own cellular biology. He’s asking for a jury trial and over $75 million in damages.
New Lawsuit for DOE Employees
Attorney Sujata Gibson is working on a new lawsuit on behalf of NYC Department of Education employees who filed a timely complaint with EEOC in 2021/2022 over a denial of religious or medical accommodation, and who were issued a right-to-sue letter within the last three months.
You can get the details about how to join this lawsuit from Michael Kane over at the Teachers for Choice Substack.
Laws & Orders is a periodic dispatch from the New York Mandate Podcast that gives a rundown of recent legal, regulatory, and policy developments related to the pandemic and its aftermath, with a New York focus.
