HSR Attorneys Joshua Piovia-Scott and Jordyn Bishop represented a group of homeless women and their children who had created a sober, safe community called the Housing and Dignity Village on a vacant, publicly owned lot in Oakland. The women sued the City of Oakland when it tried to destroy the community and HSR and co-counsel argued that the recent Ninth Circuit decision in Martin v. City of Boise, which held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits criminal penalties against homeless people for sleeping on public property if there is no shelter space available, should apply to this encampment. As a result of HSR's efforts, the women were able to stay in the community for weeks after the threatened eviction and HSR was able to force the City of Oakland to provide housing for the group if it wants to clear the encampment.
NLG Unlawful Detainer Training / MCLE
Nancy Hanna, with Ana Zuniga of the Shriver Housing Project, will present a discovery training at the National Lawyers Guild -LA Housing Committee MCLE on Eviction Defense and Trial Preparation. The MCLE training will be held November 17-18 and cover topics including the prevention of unlawful detainers, answers, witness prep and jury selection. Additional information may be found, and tickets purchased, here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nlg-la-housing-committee-mcle-eviction-defense-and-trial-preparation-tickets-51162712049
HSR Attorneys Obtain Court Order Preventing Oakland From Removing Homeless Camp
HSR attorney Joshua Piovia-Scott, working with the members of a clean and sober homeless encampment of women and children, obtained a court order preventing the City of Oakland from removing the homeless encampment until at least November 26, 2018, when a decision will be made as to whether the City is violating their constitutional rights. HSR is arguing that the recent Ninth Circuit decision in Martin v. Boise, 902 F. 3d 1031, in which the court held that a statute that imposes criminal sanctions against homeless people for sleeping outdoors violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment when there are insufficient shelter beds to house these individuals, applies to this situation.
HSR Attorneys Represent LAUSD Assistant General Counsel in Successful Retaliation Suit Against the District
A jury in the Los Angeles County Superior Court found that the Los Angeles Unified School District retaliated against lawyer Jesus Melendez for raising concerns about the District's discriminatory practices against Latinos in promotion decisions at the District's Office of General Counsel. On October 22, 2018, the Superior Court entered judgment for Mr. Melendez in the amount of $210,833, in addition to his attorneys' fees and costs, which are estimated at over $1,000,000. Dan Stormer and Caitlan McLoon of Hadsell Stormer Renick and attorney Toni Jaramilla of Toni J. Jaramilla, A Professional Law Corporation, represented Melendez.
HSR Attorneys Are Best Lawyers in the 2019 Southern California Peer Review. Two partners are selected as Individual Lawyers of the Year
In the Los Angeles area, Dan Stormer was chosen as Lawyer of the Year in the Employment Law-Individual category and Cornelia Dai was chosen as Lawyer of the Year in the Litigation-Labor and Employment category.
Counties Settle Lawsuit with Hiscock Family in Yuba County Jail Death
HSR attorneys Lori Rifkin and Dan Stormer represented the family of Bertram Hiscock who died in Yuba County Jail, January 29, 2017. Bertram and Yuba Counties settled the case for $1 million -- each county to pay $500,000.
All Seven HSR Partners Recognized As Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers
Lawdragon has named all seven Hadsell Stormer & Renick partners to its prestigious 2018 Lawdragon 500 Plaintiff Employment Lawyers in America List. The annual Lawdragon 500 Plaintiff Employment Lawyers recognizes the "very best of the plaintiffs' bar representing employees and workers" in the United States. Honorees are selected based on their leadership in the profession and the impact their work has had over the past calendar year. Dan Stormer, Barbara Hadsell, Randy Renick, Cornelia Dai, Joshua Piovia-Scott, Lori Rifkin and Cindy Panuco were all recognized with this award.
HSR Seeks a Temporary Restraining Order Against Phoenix Police in Advance of Possible Trump Visit
HSR Attorneys Comment on How Report That Long Beach Police Officers are Erasing Messages Regarding Police Violence May Impact Lawsuits
In a September 18, 2018 exposé, Al Jazeera reported that the Long Beach Police Department had equipped 145 police-issued phones with TigerConnect, aka Tiger Text. The texting app, first installed in 2014, was designed to erase messages after a set period of time and render them irretrievable.
Class Action Suing Phoenix Police for Violent and Dangerous Treatment of Peaceful Protesters During Anti-Trump Rally
Hadsell Stormer & Renick LLP's Dan Stormer, Joshua Piovia-Scott and Cindy Pánuco, together with the ACLU of Arizona and Phoenix-based civil rights attorney Dan Pochoda filed a class action lawsuit today against the City of Phoenix, Chief of Phoenix Police Jeri Williams, and a number of Phoenix police officers for violating the rights of thousands of peaceful anti-Trump protesters who were gathered during and after a rally the president held on August 22, 2017, at the Phoenix Convention Center. Without warning, the Phoenix Police Department fired more than 590 rounds of pepper bullets, tear gas canisters and other dangerous projectiles at peaceful protestors, including children, elderly people, people with disabilities and pregnant women. The suit was filed on behalf of the community organizations Puente and Poder in Action and four individuals who will represent a class of people whose First Amendment protected viewpoints critical of the president were violently suppressed by Phoenix police. "It took Phoenix police 30 minutes from the time they started unlawfully shooting at protesters to issue a dispersal order. Even as protestors ran away from the attack, officers continued firing projectiles into the crowds," said Cindy Pánuco, an attorney with Hadsell Stormer Renick LLP, co-counsel for the plaintiffs. "Protestors wanted to convey the message that the racist and anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration must end. The Phoenix Police Department used violence to stop this message from being conveyed, injuring hundreds of people in the process."
