Constitutional Rights

A mother whose son died after being tased and arrested by Houston police, has filed suit against the city, the officers involved in the apprehension, and five city firefighters. Meghan Sonnier Simms, the mother of Jermaine K. Sonnier, filed suit yesterday in US District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

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A Los Angeles County jury has awarded a former fire chief $4.1 million in damages for wrongful termination and an assortment of employment related counts. Former West Covina fire chief Larry Whithorn claimed he was terminated after a lengthy campaign by a handful of local officials.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for May 1, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a suit brought by a woman who was injured by a fire hose being dragged by a Dallas fire truck; a suit by the former ...

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Former Cincinnati Fire Chief Michael Washington has filed suit claiming his termination violated his right to due process and violated the city charter. The federal suit filed today names the city, Mayor Aftab Pureval and City Manager Sheryl Long as defendants.

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A Missouri fire chief who was fired in January has filed suit against a fire district and the district’s chairman alleging race discrimination and retaliation. Chief Ankeneth Corbin filed suit against the Black Jack Fire Protection District and Chairman David Calhoun.

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Three former Memphis firefighters are among those sued by the family of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by police officers. The suit was filed in federal court today by Nichol’s mother, RowVaughn Wells.

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The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the City of Seattle is not liable to the mother of a 19-year-old special needs man who was shot and killed in the CHOP zone in 2020. Donnitta Sinclair claimed the city’s conduct caused the death of her son, Horace Lorenzo Anderson, Jr.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for February 13, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a jury verdict holding the Perth Amboy Fire Department (NJ) liable for a series of sexual assaults perpetrated thirty years ago by a firefighter on ...

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The conviction of a Kentucky fire lieutenant on charges that he had child pornography on his fire department laptop, has been upheld by the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Robert Chris England, a lieutenant with the Middlesboro Fire Department, was convicted of four child porn related counts.

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Five Louisiana firefighters have filed suit claiming the fire department violated their civil rights last year by ordering them to be finger printed. Christopher Perre, Kevin Crossen, Mitchell Arbaugh, Michael Giarrusso and Brandon Barthel filed suit against the East Bank Consolidated Special Service Fire Protection District.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for January 30, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a race discrimination lawsuit filed by a paid-on-call lieutenant in Michigan; a ruling by the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division that four fire departments ...

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In the aftermath of murder charges against two Illinois medics, two more stories are in the news related to the deaths of patients. In Chicago, a fire department paramedic has been terminated and a second suspended following an investigation into the death of a man last summer.

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The family of a Pennsylvania woman who died from COVID on January 23, 2021, has filed suit against the local fire department and several providers claiming they failed to properly evaluate and transport her to definitive care the day before.

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The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court has held that a fire captain cannot recover for injuries he sustained that he claims were due to the incompetence of a probationary firefighter. The lawsuit was brought by Captain Robert Eckert of the Camden Fire Department.

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