Thomas Breen photo
Legal aid attorney Amy Marx and city-hired outside counsel Andrew Cohen in court on Thursday.
The city wracked up another nearly $80,000 in outside counsel costs over the past six months fighting a lead poisoning class action lawsuit, bringing the total public tab for private attorney fees in recent lead-related lawsuits to almost $200,000 — so far.
Mayoral spokesperson Gage Frank and Assistant Corporation Counsel Catherine LaMarr provided the Independent with that update as to how much the city has spent on outside legal help with Nyriel Smith v. City of New Haven.
LaMarr said that the city’s latest invoice from the local law firm Winnick, Ruben, Hoffnung, Peabody and Mendel LLC totaled $39,278. That invoice was submitted to the city on Jan. 17.
LeMarr said that another private law firm that the previous mayoral administration had hired to represent the city on this case, the Boston-based firm Barclay Damon LP (which recently acquired LeClairRyan), estimates that the city owes them around $39,000. That firm has yet to submit an invoice for that work to the city, LeMarr said.
These new fees come on top of the $118,477 that the city paid Winnick attorneys Andrew Cohen and Nancy Mendel between June 11, 2018, and June 26 for their work providing legal counsel to the city not just in the class action suit, but also in two other legal aid lead poisoning suits: Elijah Hall v. City of New Haven and Tray Jemar Mims v. City of New Haven. Cohen’s work cost the city $300 per hour while Mendel’s cost $226 per hour.
In all three of the cases, different state housing court judges have consistently sided with legal aid in ordering the city to follow local legal requirements for providing inspections and enforcing lead hazard abatement for residences housing children six years old and under who test as having an elevated blood lead level above 5 micrograms per deciliter. The judges have upbraided the city for its arguments and alleged defiance of the law.
Cohen showed up alongside new Corporation Counsel Pat King Thursday afternoon in the third-floor housing court at 121 Elm St. for a scheduling update in the case with Superior Court Judge Claudia Baio.
He, King, and legal aid attorney Amy Marx spent roughly 40 minutes talking privately in the judge’s chambers before a brief public appearance during which Baio lauded the city, city-hired attorney, and legal aid for striving to settle the class action lawsuit.
The previous mayoral administration continued fighting the case up until then-Mayor Harp’s last days in office. Current Mayor Justin Elicker campaigned on and has signaled throughout his first weeks in office that he intends to try to resolve, rather than keep fighting, the case.
Outside Counsel End In Sight
Mayor Elicker: “We’re hoping to be able to settle the case.”
Elicker confirmed that intention in a phone interview Thursday afternoon.
“We’re hoping to be able to settle the case,” he said.
The mayor was asked why Cohen was in court again representing the city alongside the city’s top staff lawyer.
“Because we’re in a transition and we have a new corporation counsel, we used outside counsel today that has expertise in litigation and who is familiar with the case in an effort to tie things up,” he responded.
“We do not intend to use outside counsel moving on, presuming that we’re able to settle on this case.”
The judge set a new court date of March 5 for both parties to return before her to continue arguing their sides of the case — if, that is, they haven’t settled the matter entirely by then.
Both Cohen and Marx said they hope to have the case resolved by that date.
“It looks like there has been some positive developments,” Baio said after the private scheduling conference. “It looks like it makes the most sense to allow these wheels to continue to turn.”
Previous lead coverage:
• City “Explores” Lead Lawsuit Settlement
• Lead Class Action To Drag Into New Year
• New Lead Law Passes, With Teeth
• Legal Aid Lobbies Alders On Lead Paint, Alleges Civil Rights Harm
• Weakened Lead Law Advances
• City Still Fighting As Lead Case Drags On
• City Lands $5.6M In Federal Lead Grants
• 5 New Lead Inspector Positions Approved
• Outrage Stalls Weakened Lead Law
• Lead Paint Legal Tab Tops $118K
• City Plan Passes On Lead Law
• City Loses Again On Lead
• Judge Denies City’s Motion To Dismiss Lead Suit
• City, Legal Aid Clash In Court On Lead
• New Lead Proposal “Eviscerates” Mandate
• Lead Cleanup Pricetag: $91M?
• Lead Panel’s Advice Rejected
• Lead Paint Chief Retires
• Lead Paint Fight Rejoined
• Harp Switches Gears On Lead
• Motion Accuses City Of Contempt
• City Loses Again On Lead
• Briefs Debate “Lead Poisoning”
• New Haven: Another Flint?
• Harp Administration Admits Relaxing Lead Standard To Save $$
• Class-Action Suit Slams City On Lead
• City, Legal Aid Clash On Lead Paint
• Legal Aid To City: Get Moving On Lead Paint Law
• 100+ Tenants Caught In Lead Limbo
• 2 Agencies, 2 Tacks On Lead Paint
• Chapel Apartments Get 3rd Lead Order
• Lead Sends Family Packing
• Health Officials Grilled On Lead Plans
• Judge Threatens To Find City In Contempt
• Same Mandy House Cited Twice For Lead Paint
• Lead $ Search Advances
• 3 Landlords Hit With New Lead Orders
• Another Judge Rips City On Lead
• Judge To City: Get Moving On Lead
• Health Department Seeks Another $4.1M For Lead Abatement
• City-OK’d Lead Fixes Fail Independent Inspection
• Judge: City Dragged Feet On Lead
• 2nd Kid Poisoned After City Ordered Repairs
• Judge: City Must Pay
• City Sued Over Handling Of Lead Poisonings
• City’s Lead Inspection Goes On Trial
• Eviction Withdrawn On Technicality
• 2nd Child Poisoned; Where’s The City?
• Carpenter With Poisoned Kid Tries A Fix
• High Lead Levels Stall Eviction
• 460 Kids Poisoned By Lead In 2 Years
• Bid-Rigging Claimed In Lead Cleanup
• Judge Orders Total Lead Paint Clean-Up
• Legal Aid Takes City To Task On Lead