A federal judge has awarded a black firefighter's society more than $3 million in legal fees to cover the costs of their controversial discrimination case against the city, according to a court filing.
Judge Nicholas Garaufis - whose verdict in favor of the Vulcan Society was tossed on appeal earlier this year - ruled that the group was entitled to $3,707,313.29 -- less than half of what they were seeking for lawyer costs.
The firm of Levy, Ratner, Scott and Scott had requested a windfall of $7,710,542 for thousands of billable hours spent on a grueling case that wound its way through the courts from 2007 down to this past March.
"This award accounts for the appropriate reductions in the explained areas but ultimately reflects the extraordinary effort that was necessary to effect change of the magnitude and importance involved in this litigation," Garaufis wrote in his decision.
Attorney Richard Levy scored the largest award of $1,019,304 for 1,853 hours of work at $550 per hour, according to court papers.
In explaining the decision, Garaufis argued that the attorneys faced off against particularly difficult circimstances and deserved substanial payment.
"They and their clients were subjected to continuous negative press questioning their motives and berating their efforts to end discrimination," Garaufis wrote. "They litigated against a defendant with a team of attorneys, significant resources (both political and financial), and seemingly unlimited resolve to oppose their every move."
The Vulcan Society charged that the FDNY had disciminated againts minority applicants and Garaufis ruled in their favor after a bitter trial in 2011.
The jurist placed blame for unfair hiring practices directly on Mayor Bloomberg in siding with the Vulcan Society, writing that there is "little hope that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg...has any intention of stepping up to the task of ending discrimination at the FDNY."
But an appellate panel threw out the verdict and left the door open for a fresh proceeding. “We cannot agree with (Garaufis) that the record revealed ‘copious evidence’ of the officials’ intent to discriminate,” they wrote in tossing the decision.
The court did opt to maintain a monitor to ensure fairness in NYPD hiring practices.
The Justice Department initiated the case against the city in 2007, charging that FDNY exams were biased against minority candidates and the Vulcan Society eventually joined the suit.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/judge_awards_black_firefighters_f6B7YZXjMfag1d3oVpzspK
