Michael A. Miranda

Michael Miranda attended Colgate University, graduating in 1983. He graduated from The New York Law School in 1986. He was Articles Editor of The New York Law School Journal for Comparative and International Law. His article, “An Analysis of the Tort Exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act,” was published at 7 N.Y.L.S.J. INT’L COMP L. 281(1985).

He was admitted to practice in New Jersey in 1986 and in New York in 1987, as well as the relevant Federal courts for these jurisdictions.

EMPLOYMENT COUNSELING & LITIGATION

Mike leads the employment practices counseling and litigation group. He serves as outside counsel to a number of private companies to deal with their everyday employment issues, as well as defend them when they face litigation. He also has helped companies set up HR departments and establish appropriate protocol. He has given numerous seminars to clients to ensure compliance with the Federal and State wage and hour laws; sexual harassment seminars to employees and management; and as well as overall anti-discrimination training. His goal is to avoid litigation in giving these seminars and to educate the business and municipal community.

Mike has been recognized as a SuperLawyer in Employment for the past 8 years, as a member of the Premier Employment Lawyers Legal Global Network for the past 3 years, and is a recipient of the 2022 Outstanding Faculty Award from the National Business Institute.

EMPLOYMENT / MUNICIPAL LITIGATION / TRIALS

He also has developed a specialty in defending wage, overtime, uniform, and spread of hours claims pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law. Mike has often defended private and public employers in disputes ranging from sexual harassment to racial discrimination to retaliation. In particular, he has achieved the following victories:
• Bartels v. Lloyd Harbor et al: In a hard-fought 3 week Federal jury trial, Mike prevailed over the substantial claims of a media personality who believed that his First Amendment free speech rights were trampled by a Village and its police force. The plaintiff made a myriad of clams including false arrest. The jury appreciated the client’s legitimate reasons for regulating his speech and/or otherwise dealing with him.
• Lynn v Pomona: In a Federal retaliation case that garnered substantial media attention since plaintiff’s house was unfortunately burned down during the course of the litigation, Mike prevailed on summary judgment dismissing all of the plaintiff -developer’s Retaliation and Fair Housing Act Discrimination claims. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals also agreed after oral argument that plaintiff’s claims should be completely dismissed.
• Tara v. Village of Briarcliff Manor: Plaintiffs gained substantial press notoriety by alleging that the Village of Briarcliff Manor was anti-Irish in opposing their application for a Gaelic facility. Mike obtained summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiffs had not sustained any constitutional injury. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York agreed, and dismissed the entire complaint before one deposition was taken or one document exchanged.
• Puglisi v. Tuckahoe: Plaintiff asserted that the Village was selectively enforcing its building code in retaliation for his renting to African-Americans. The District Court, by Judge Motley, disagreed, and dismissed the complaint before trial. Mike not only obtained a complete victory, he convinced Judge Motley that the case was utterly frivolous, and he succeeded in obtaining over $30,000 in attorney’s fees from plaintiff. Mike retained both the dismissal and attorney’s fees award on appeal in the Second Circuit.
• Griffin v. Liberty: Plaintiff was the President of the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce, and he claimed that various police officers falsely arrested him. Mike obtained a verdict for the defense.
• Kovalsky v. Haverstraw: Mike obtained a defense verdict for the Village of Haverstraw and its police officers, who were charged with breaking the arm of a prisoner during an arrest. Mike used a doctor to demonstrate that the injury suffered by the plaintiff could not have been sustained in connection with the arrest.
• Shim v. Village of Lynbrook: Mike obtained a defense verdict in a racial discrimination/false arrest case. Plaintiffs had asserted that they were arrested solely because they are black and that, in reality, at the time of the arrest, they were simply returning important belongings to plaintiff’s house. The jury deliberated less than an hour in reaching a verdict for the Village and the officers on qualified immunity grounds.
• Ricciutti v. The City of New York and Henry Lopez: The case involved serious charges of fabrication of police records and police misconduct. Mike and co-counsel obtained federal court defense verdicts for all defendants.
• Summit and Schechter v. Village of Pomona: After a two week jury trial, a Rockland County jury rejected a developer’s claims that he had been stymied in his development of a large subdivision. The developer claimed, in a hard-fought 10 year battle, that the Village of Pomona had repeatedly and illegally asked for money in lieu of the donation of parkland. The developer thus sought damages for a substantive due process violation under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The case was modeled on the famous Magee v. Orangetown $5.3 million verdict.