Press Releases

Lawyers Help New Yorkers Challenge MTA Denials of Access-a-Ride

MFY Legal Services and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP launched a new pro bono initiative to advise and advocate for people with disabilities who have been unjustly denied Access-a-Ride, a paratransit service operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY and other organizations are partnering in the effort. …

Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Debt Collector’s Phony IRS Threat

MFY Legal Services and the Law Offices of Ahmad Keshavarz are representing a Queens city worker in a class action lawsuit against APIM LLC, an unlicensed debt collector that falsely threatened to report the worker’s debt to the IRS if payment was not made immediately. The complaint alleges that APIM used deceptive practices and also …

Lawsuit against Debt Collection Ring Moves Forward as Class Action

Judge Denny Chin granted class action status in a case brought on behalf of more than 100,000 New Yorkers harmed by a massive consumer debt collection scheme. The suit charges that a debt collection ring engaged in persistent robo-signing and conspired to defraud New Yorkers of millions of dollars in violation of federal racketerring and …

NYCHA Tenants Sue to Get Safe Wheelchair Ramp

Three tenants represented by MFY Legal Services, Inc. filed suit today against the New York City Housing Authority for failing to correct an access ramp that is too dangerous for people using wheelchairs, rendering the entrance inaccessible to them. The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief as well as compensatory and punitive damages under the …

Carolyn E. Coffey to Receive NYCLA Public Service Award

Carolyn E. Coffey, supervising attorney of MFY’s Consumer Rights Project, will receive the New York County Lawyers’ Association’s Public Service Award at a ceremony on September 12, 2012.  Ms. Coffey has played a leading role in winning greater protections for New Yorkers against improper debt collection practices and led the effort to tighten regulations on …

Judge Allows ADA Suit Against NYCHA to Proceed

A federal judge has ruled that a suit brought against the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) by a Staten Island resident who is blind may proceed. The plaintiff is arguing that by refusing to accommodate his disability, and by providing him repeatedly with written notices that he is unable to read, NYCHA is violating …

Home Care Workers Win $1 Million in Class Action Settlement

As many as one thousand women who care for New York’s elderly and infirm will share a $1,090,000 settlement in a groundbreaking class action lawsuit against McMillan’s Home Care Agency. This is the first case in New York State to reach class settlement for home care workers, in an industry rife with wage-and-hour violations. Home …

Ropes & Gray Joins MFY’s Externship Program

MFY Legal Services expanded its externship program with an associate from the law firm of  Ropes & Gray LLP, who began work on July 9, 2012. Working closely with experienced MFY attorneys, the extern will carry a full caseload, providing advice, counsel and representation in housing court and before administrative agencies. Ropes & Gray Joins …

“Justice Unsettled:” MFY’s New Report Urges Action to Save Thousands of Homes in Foreclosure

Justice Unsettled: How the Foreclosure Shadow Docket and Discontinuances Prevent New Yorkers from Saving Their Homes re-examines foreclosure filings studied previously to find that the shadow docket continues to grow, and that thousands of homeowners in foreclosure cannot gain access to settlement conferences that can lead to affordable loan modifications. Thousands of New York Homeowners …

Bed Bugs & Dangerous Conditions Plague Brooklyn Adult Home Residents

Residents of Surf Manor Home for Adults filed a class action lawsuit against the facility to address longstanding violations of their rights, including a perennial bed bug infestation, poor conditions, lack of essential services, and verbal abuse. A judge issued a temporary restraining order to prevent retaliation. Read more. Read Daily News article on Surf …

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