St. John's University Law Faculty Blog

On Wednesday, November 12th, Professor Ann Goldweber and Professor Gina Calabrese participated in a nationwide conference call with the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Board, Richard Cordray.  Eleven students from the professors’ clinical course, Consumer Justice for the Elderly: Litigation Clinic, also participated in the call.  During the call, thirty law school clinics from around the country discussed problems their clients encountered in mortgage servicing and debt collection.  Professors Goldweber and 2L Samantha Ruppenthal engaged in dialogue with Director Cordray and CFPB attorneys regarding a mortgage servicer that is violating a Consent Order reached with the CFPB.  Professor Calabrese discussed New York’s new rules for default applications in consumer debt cases.  The call is part of a CFPB initiative to establish regular exchanges of information with consumer advocates.  The CFPB has encouraged law school clinics in particular to share information and ideas about illegal, unfair and deceptive practices encountered in their cases.

Professor Gina Calabrese, with law students of the Consumer Justice for the Elderly: Litigation Clinic recently celebrated two important victories in CJELC cases.  In one case, the Clinic obtained a judgment cancelling fraudulent deeds that robbed an elderly man with Alzheimer’s disease of title to his home.  In the other case, the Clinic obtained a preliminary injunction on behalf of a  95-year-old woman who transferred her house to her nieces with the condition that they not sell it until after she died and that they use the proceeds to pay for her funeral.  The nieces sold the house, violating the terms of the constructive trust, and retained the proceeds for themselves.  The new owner attempted to evict the elderly woman; the preliminary injunction preserves her right to remain in the home while the lawsuit is pending.  The Clinic also defeated four cross-motions to dismiss the action.  The court’s decision cites much of the legal authority that appeared in the Clinic’s briefs.

Professor Gina Calabrese recently co-authored an amicus brief for the New York Court of Appeals, on behalf of the Consumer Justice for the Elderly: Litigation Clinic and ten other advocacy groups.  The brief addressed questions certified by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in two related appeals,  Cruz v. TD Bank, and Martinez v. Capital One Bank.  The cases center on the banks’ implementation of New York’s Exempt Income Protection Act (“EIPA”).   EIPA prevents garnishment of bank accounts that contain income exempt from judgment enforcement, particularly when directly deposited from identifiable sources such as Social Security.   The amicus brief argues that  an accountholder has a private right of action against a bank for violating EIPA and can obtain damages and injunctive relief.  The Clinic and many of the advocacy groups that appeared as amici, were involved in the effort to win passage of EIP.   As amicus counsel, Professor Calabrese was joined by lawyers from AARP’s national office and New York City’s New Economy Project.

Professor Jennifer Baum, Assistant Professor of Clinical Legal Education and Director of the Child Advocacy Clinic, together with co-counsel Greg Jacob, Karen Koniuszy, and Courtney Wen, of O’Melveny & Myers, all working pro bono, defeated a Hague Convention petition for repatriation of a fifteen year-old girl from Hungary.   The Honorable Paul A. Engelmayer (S.D.N.Y.) ruled Friday, July 26, 2013,  that the child, D.T.J., had succeeded in proving all three affirmative defenses:  (1) that she is now settled in the United States, (2) that she is sufficiently mature to object to repatriation, and (3) that repatriation would place her in grave risk of harm.  The grave risk defense rested chiefly on a history of domestic violence, together with eighteen months’ worth of recent abusive and anti-Semitic Facebook posts which taunted the girl and threatened her mother’s life, prompting the Court to observe that the child is now “fragile,” and that “compel[ing] return to Hungary, and to proximity with her abusive and volatile father, would be deeply traumatic” for her.  The decision is available here:  Jakubik Decision 072613 (2).  Learn more about the development of this case and the compelling work of the Child Advocacy Clinic here and here.  Congratulations Jen and team!

On April 18th, the New York City Council honored St. John’s Refugee and Immigrant Rights Litigation Clinic.  Coinciding with Immigrant Heritage Week, Council Member Daniel Dromm, Speaker Christine Quinn and the entire City Council presented the Clinic with a Proclamation stating, in part, that:  

The Council of the City of New York is proud to honor the St. John’s School of Law Refugee and Immigrant Rights Clinic for its outstanding service to immigrants in New York City: and . . .

The St. John’s School of Law Refugee and Immigrant Rights Clinic represents some of the neediest and most challenging cases before the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration Courts; and . . .

The work of the Refugee and Immigrant Rights Clinic on these cases is often groundbreaking and precedential, impacting immigration cases not just in New York City but across the country: and . . .

The Refugee and Immigrant Rights Clinic provides experiential learning to law students, many of whom go on to serve as prominent immigration attorneys and leading advocates for immigration reform; . . .   

Congratulations to our Refugee and Immigrant Rights Litigation Clinic, Clinic Directors Mario Russell and Mark von Sternberg, and all the clinic students for their great work.