Latest news with #RandyMastro
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Madison Square Garden, ex-Knicks star fight over lawyer fees
June 5 (Reuters) - (Billable Hours is Reuters' weekly report on lawyers and money. Please send tips or suggestions to opens new tab) Lawyers for one-time New York Knicks All-Star Charles Oakley and Madison Square Garden are squaring off over attorney fees, as the stadium fights to finally escape an eight-year-old lawsuit over the former NBA player's televised removal from a February 2017 Knicks game. Oakley's case against the Manhattan stadium and its chief executive James Dolan, who also owns the Knicks, has twice been dismissed by a federal judge, only to be revived each time by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. MSG on Friday asked U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Sullivan, who is overseeing the case in the lower court, to reject Oakley's lawsuit, opens new tab for good, arguing that the evidence shows that he refused to leave the stadium when asked and assaulted security guards. They separately asked the judge to sanction Oakley, opens new tab and his lawyers at Wigdor LLP and Petrillo, Klein & Boxer for pushing what they called a "false narrative" about Oakley's ejection. Wigdor partner Valdi Licul, in a letter to Sullivan, opens new tab filed Wednesday, said Oakley would be filing his own sanctions motion against MSG, arguing that the stadium's sanctions bid is unreasonable and was improperly filed. MSG is represented by New York first deputy mayor Randy Mastro and lawyers at Mastro's former law firm King & Spalding. They did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams, who appointed Mastro in March, said the city had determined there was no conflict of interest for Mastro to continue his "limited representation" of MSG. Mastro is working on the case "in his personal capacity, on his own time, without compensation, and without city resources," the spokesperson said. The amount of sanctions the arena's lawyers are seeking could be significant — MSG wants Wigdor to reimburse it for the money it paid Mastro and its high-powered lawyers going as far back as the beginning of the case. If Sullivan won't go that far, MSG has asked him to at least award fees since July 2021, when Douglas Wigdor, one of Oakley's lawyers, personally oversaw revisions to the former NBA player's autobiography that MSG alleges were intended to bolster his lawsuit. MSG claimed that Oakley's initial drafts undermined his claims that he was not given a reasonable opportunity to leave the stadium before he was ejected, and that he admitted to slipping and falling on his own and not being pushed by MSG security guards. Licul pushed back in Wednesday's court filing, arguing that MSG was engaged in "self-serving editorialization." He also said MSG and its lawyers should be sanctioned for making allegedly false assertions that Dolan was not involved in Oakley's removal from the stadium that night. Oakley is a 19-year NBA veteran and fan favorite who was a Knicks power forward from 1988 to 1998. He initially brought a bevy of claims against MSG and Dolan. He sued for defamation over several statements, including when the Knicks tweeted that his behavior was "highly inappropriate and completely abusive" and expressed hope he "gets some help soon," which Oakley said insinuated substance abuse. In his latest amended complaint, opens new tab from April 2024, the former NBA player is alleging claims of assault and battery against MSG and its related entities. --Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google has hired U.S. Supreme Court veteran Donald Verrilli Jr of Munger Tolles to lead the company's high-stakes appeal in the D.C. Circuit challenging a ruling that said the company was illegally monopolizing the web search market. Verrilli separately is battling the Trump administration in a spate of cases. He is lead counsel for law firm Susman Godfrey in its lawsuit against a Trump executive order targeting the firm. A court filing in March in a U.S. bankruptcy case involving a Munger client showed Verrilli has billed at $2,270 an hour. Verrilli did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his new work for Google, which has denied any wrongdoing. --Google has agreed to pay $80 million in legal fees, opens new tab to plaintiffs' lawyers at Scott+Scott for their work on a shareholder lawsuit and settlement with the tech giant. In the accord, Google will dedicate $500 million over ten years to make a series of corporate reforms, resolving a lawsuit that accused the company's board of allowing anticompetitive conduct in search, advertising and apps. The settlement requires court approval. Google and its board denied any wrongdoing. --Some health insurer class members in a multibillion-dollar federal healthcare judgment will get a little more money in the coming weeks, thanks to a federal judge's ruling on an interest payment. Judge Kathryn Davis of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Tuesday directed law firm Quinn Emanuel, opens new tab to send a roughly $10 million check to the claims administrator in the case. Davis' ruling was tied to her decision in October to slash Quinn's legal fee in the case from $185 million to $92 million. Class members who questioned the original fee and Quinn then fought over which interest rate should apply to extra money that the lower fee award yielded to the judgment fund. The challengers had asked for a higher interest rate than what Davis applied in her ruling this week. Quinn Emanuel and a lawyer for the objectors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. --A U.S. judge in Maryland on Thursday awarded, opens new tab law firms Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll and Handley Farah & Anderson more than $132 million in fees for their work on settlements totaling nearly $400 million with major poultry producers. The defendants were accused of conspiring to suppress their workers' wages, in violation of antitrust law. The settling companies have denied any wrongdoing. Read more: Wegovy maker Novo faces fee demand after losing copycat drug lawsuit US agencies face fees over faulty cases, Ford seeks $300 million from lemon law lawyers Settlements mount against law firm caught up in bankruptcy judge's secret romance
CBS News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Antisemitism fight in New York City demands "zero tolerance," top deputy mayor says
New York City First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro has had a lot on his plate since Mayor Eric Adams controversially picked him to succeed Maria Torres-Springer. From combating rising antisemitism to the planned closure of Rikers Island, the former Giuliani administration official has hit the ground running under Adams with an ambitious agenda that has City Hall humming with activity. A "zero tolerance" policy for antisemitism in New York City Mastro was tasked with overseeing the newly-established Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism amid an increase in incidents of hate targeting Jewish New Yorkers. Moshe Davis, the mayor's appointee to lead the office, reports directly to Mastro, according to City Hall. "In the first quarter of this year, 62% of all the hate crimes in this city were against Jews," Mastro said Sunday on CBS News New York's "The Point with Marcia Kramer." "All the other groups that have experienced hate crimes don't even come close to the hate crimes against Jews." Hate crimes targeting the city's Jewish community are down 6% in 2025 compared to the same time last year, but the NYPD's statistics also show they make up 56% of all reported hate crimes. "That's just unacceptable," Mastro continued. "So what can an office like this do? It can educate, it can set a tone, and it can also set policy." Asked what policies, executive orders or legislation Adams could push to combat hate, Mastro said he didn't "want to get ahead of the mayor," and "stay tuned." "You need to have zero tolerance for it. And we will have zero tolerance," he said. In the interview, Mastro also discussed the Fifth Avenue redesign and whether it's possible to close Rikers Island by 2027. To watch the full interview, click here.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Some lawmakers trying to get Kehlani's Central Park SummerStage concert reinstated
A group of New York City Councilmembers are fighting a decision to cancel a free Kehlani concert in Central Park. The lawmakers argue City Hall is trying to hamper free speech. The Adams administration, however, is holding firm. The concert was part of the city's SummerStage concert series, which brings free concerts to New Yorkers in parks across the city. The R&B singer was supposed to headline a Pride Month benefit show in Central Park. "This is clear retaliation for political dissent," City Councilmber Tiffany Cabán said. Cabán has co-signed a letter with 12 others urging the City Parks Foundation, the nonprofit which hosts the series, to "reverse the cancellation." The concert was dropped after First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro wrote the City Parks Foundation expressing concern about security around the show. "We have zero tolerance for antisemitism and zero tolerance for creating security concerns and the use of public facilities," Mastro told CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer. Mastro pointed to the the decision by Cornell University last month to drop the singer from their lineup for what they called "antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments." Her music video "Next 2 U," opens with the phrase "long live the intifada" and features dancers waving Palestinian flags. Intifada, an Arabic word for "uprising" or "resistance," is seen by some as a call for violence against Jews. "For the millionth time, that I am not antisemitic nor anti-Jew," Kehlani said in a video, also posted on Instagram. "I am anti-genocide. I am anti-the actions of the Israeli government. I am anti-an extermination of an entire people. I am anti-the bombing of innocent children, men, women — that's what I'm anti." Cabán argues the cancelation is an example of broader threats to free speech, but critics say taxpayer money should not fund the controversial artist. "If the concert were to be reinstated, it would send a message to New Yorkers that their concerns and the fact that their identities have been attacked by this artist are being ignored," American Jewish Committee New York director Josh Kramer said. "It is a very scary and dangerous thing to allow and have a mayor and his administration use their power to threaten an organization out of existence simply because they disagree with the views of an artist," Cabán said.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
City backs off on composting fines after widespread anger from building owners
These fines are getting trashed. The city is backing off on heavy monetary penalties for those who fail to compost their garbage — marking a major rollback less than three weeks after the mandatory program went into effect and after a record number of compostable trash was collected. Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro and several high-ranking officials called for the stark switch-up following widespread anger and confusion over the original guidelines, which placed stiff fines on those who refused to sort their trash, according to sources Effective immediately, only buildings with more than 30 units can be fined for refusing to compost. Larger properties will also have plenty of time to clean up their acts under the relaxed rules — four warnings will be issued before they are slapped with a $100 fine, which they can also expect for every subsequent violation. Previous rules called for fines to start at $100, but reach, and remain at, $300 after the third violation. While homeowners and smaller apartments will not be punished until next year, all residences across the city are expected to continue composting, officials emphasized. 'Make no mistake: Composting continues to be mandatory in New York City. Mayor Adams has led by example on this issue and composts daily, whether he is at Gracie Mansion or at City Hall, but he has also heard from New Yorkers across all five boroughs — including at town halls — who still have questions about this extremely important program,' City Hall said in a statement. 'In an effort to facilitate even higher participation, we will conduct additional outreach and education on composting before issuing fines to the most persistent offenders who repeatedly refuse to compost. Through the end of the year, we will be distributing additional education materials and holding more community events about how to sort out waste.' The Department of Sanitation could not provide further comment, directing The Post back to the Mayor's Office. The new rules reportedly came under the direction of Mastro, who strode into City Hall last month, and several other unnamed officials, sources confirmed to The Post. He purported that New Yorkers weren't properly informed about the compost program, though Sanitation has been slowly rolling it out since 2023, Hell Gate first reported. The major switch-up comes just one day after the agency exclusively shared with The Post that a record-breaking 3.8 million pounds of compostable materials — equal in weight to eight and a half Statues of Liberty– were collected in a single week. The program is so successful that Sanitation is opening a third compost giveaway site in Queens, which returns 40 pounds of garden-grade compost back to New Yorkers for free. Some 3,600 summonses were handed out during the first two weeks of mandatory composting, which has been controversial since its April 1 start date. Landlords and property managers have decried the mandate as unsustainable, arguing that it would force their staff to dumpster-dive into piles of trash to separate the food scraps that their tenants, benefiting from the anonymity granted by trash chutes, declined to sort.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kehlani's free SummerStage concert canceled amid pro-Palestine backlash
Another high-profile concert headlined by Kehlani has been canceled amid ongoing backlash over her pro-Palestine views. The five-time Grammy-nominated singer's Central Park show on June 26 was called off by SummerStage organizers, who cited safety and security issues raised by city officials. The event was one of many LGBTQ+ Pride events scheduled around New York City. 'We have been notified by the Mayor's Office that they have concerns for security and safety issues regarding the June 26 Kehlani concert … as well as security demands in Central Park and throughout the city for other Pride events during that same time period,' SummerStage announced on social media Monday. Organizers at the nonprofit City Parks Foundation cited concerns 'due to the controversy surrounding Cornell University's decision to cancel Kehlani's concert' late last month. The upstate New York school pulled the plug on the R&B singer performing at its annual spring celebration after complaints that she'd expressed antisemitic sentiments. 'SummerStage is proud to be a platform for artists from around the world to perform and make arts accessible for all New Yorkers in their neighborhood parks,' the statement continued. 'While artists may choose to express their own opinions, their views may not necessarily be representative of the festival. SummerStage events are intended to bring together all sectors of the New York City community and we look forward to welcoming more guests throughout the summer.' According to Rolling Stone, NYC First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro wrote a letter to the organization threatening to revoke its license and refer the matter to the police to determine if there was a 'risk to public safety' posed by the event. 'If the foundation does not promptly take steps to ensure public safety, the city reserves all rights and remedies to the foundation's license,' Mastro reportedly wrote. Kehlani previously pushed back at Cornell University branding her views as 'antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments.' On April 26, the 30-year-old took to social media and stressed 'for the millionth time' that she's not 'anti-Jew' but is 'anti-genocide.' 'I am anti the actions of the Israeli government,' she said in a video. 'I am anti an extermination of an entire people, I am anti the bombing of innocent children, men, women — that's what I'm anti.' Known as a fearless pro-Palestinian supporter, the singer wore a jacket adorned with kaffiyehs as dancers waved Palestinian flags in her 2024 music video for 'Next 2 U.' The video also included the phrase 'Long Live the Intifada' in its introduction. While the word 'intifada' translates into rebellion or uprising, the Anti-Defamation League has called it a slogan for 'indiscriminate violence against Israel.' Others consider it a cry for liberation and freedom.
