Morrison Cohen’s Representation of New York City Judges in Age Discrimination Suit Covered by Media

December 23, 2020 - Media, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Law Journal, The New York Times, NBC New York, and Law360 have closely followed Morrison Cohen’s representation of four Appellate Division justices from the First and Second Departments who are suing The Administrative Board of the New York State Unified Court System, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks for denying them and 42 other judges across New York State certification to continue serving past the age of 70.  

The complaint alleges that the Administrative Board’s decision to deny certification to 46 of 49 judges who had attained the age of 70, was arbitrary, capricious, violated New York State’s Constitution, and discriminated against these judges on the basis of their age.  

Eliminating the most experienced justices from New York’s judiciary has been roundly criticized by bar associations, judges organization, and politicians, and comes at a time when the pandemic has only increased the tremendous backlog that already exists in the judiciary system.  

Y. David Scharf, Chair and Co-Managing Partner of Morrison Cohen, partner and Chair of Business Litigation Danielle C. Lesser, and associate Collin A. Rose, together with James M. Catterson of Arnold & Porter, represent the Petitioners.  

The case is Hon. Ellen Gesmer et al. v. The Administrative Board of the New York State Unified Court System et al., Case No. 616980/2020, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Suffolk.