➤ MARCY KAHN,, from p.14
human rights, and the rule of law.
On climate change, she said,
“We are faced with an existential
threat,” and regarding the rule of
law, she noted the dangers posed
by Donald Trump’s presidency,
saying, “Democratic norms that
we have long held sacrosanct are
under attack… and seemingly on
the verge of collapse.”
Kahn was joined at the Center
gathering by her spouse, Dr. Diane
Churchill. The couple is celebrating
➤ #WALKAWAY, from p.13
suit.
The lawsuit names Glennda Testone,
The Center’s executive director,
Gabriel Farofaldane, a Center
staffer, and The Center as plaintiffs.
They are represented by Kevin Loftus,
a partner at O’Connor, McGuinness,
Conte, Doyle, Oleson, Watson
& Loftus.
Jason Rosenberg and Gordon
Beeferman, who were among the
early supporters of the effort to
bar the group, are also named as
defendants. They are represented
by J. Remy Green, a partner at
Cohen&Green.
Trial courts are generally not receptive
to novel legal theories like
the one being advanced in this
case. Gay City News wrote to a half
dozen law professors who teach civil
procedure at New York law schools.
One declined to comment and the
rest did not respond.
As important, the plaintiffs are
facing motions to dismiss that could
end the lawsuit .
Plaintiffs in civil suits are required
to state the legal and factual
basis for a lawsuit in their complaint,
which is the document fi rst
fi led in a case that initiates the lawsuit.
Courts generally fi nd it insuffi
cient for plaintiffs to simply allege
that they have been harmed. Clearly
believing that Straka and his fellow
plaintiffs had done little more than
that, the defendants moved to dismiss
the case.
Straka’s lawyers, Manny Alicandro
and Richard Zarco, fi led responses
to the motions to dismiss
that largely reiterated the material
that was included in the complaint.
Loftus and Green pounced.
“In response to this cancellation,
plaintiffs have brought a lawsuit
their 40th wedding anniversary
this year, and each of the
speakers took time to acknowledge
Churchill’s partnership alongside
Kahn through her long career.
Among many accolades, Kahn
has been honored by the New
York chapter of the National Association
of Women Judges, LeGaL,
the LGBTQ Victory Fund, and —
along with the Failla Commission’s
Skinner and her co-chair there,
Appellate Division Justice Joanne
Winslow — with a Gay City News
Impact Award .
based upon nothing but conclusory
allegations of discrimination and
defamation, which are not based on
any objective facts,” Loftus wrote.
“As such, the plaintiffs’ six causes
of action against The LGBT Community
Center defendants must be
dismissed in their entirety, as plaintiffs
have failed to state any viable
claims.”
Green, who uses the pronouns
they, them and their, was more
pointed.
“In sum, rather than respond to
the individual defendants’ motion
or engage in any legal analysis at
all, plaintiffs simply shout (or, more
precisely, copy and paste) their
complaint louder and several times
over,” they wrote. Citing an earlier
court decision, Green wrote, “This
kind of table pounding represents
a near explicit acknowledgment by
plaintiffs and their counsel that ‘law
is against them’ and ‘the facts are
against them.’”
Alicandro and Zarco, who did
not respond to emails seeking comment,
appear to have limited litigation
experience. Together, they are
currently handling seven cases in
the New York state courts, including
the Straka lawsuit. In one 2017 lawsuit,
Alicandro sued his dentist and
was initially represented by Zarco.
He was removed this year and Alicandro
is now representing himself
in that case.
Alicandro had a long career in the
compliance functions at a number of
Wall Street fi rms. He has also been
active in Republican Party politics
in New York. Zarco was admitted to
the bar in New York in 2011.
Kathryn Freed, the judge in the
Straka lawsuit, will hear oral arguments
on the motions to dismiss
and the plaintiffs’ responses on
January 14.
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