NEW YORK NURSE: March 2009
The civil lawsuit brought by Patricia Leo Holloman, Lorna Samuels, and Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez in January 2008 was settled before Judge Loretta Preska on Feb. 26.
The original suit had five counts, the first three related to alleged violations of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). The last two counts related to alleged state law violations.
One of the state law claims, which alleged a violation of the business corporation (or, alternatively, the nonprofit corporation law) was dismissed with prejudice on April 11, 2008, after NYSNA filed a motion to dismiss both state law claims, with the understanding that Samuels would continue to serve in her full capacity as the elected secretary of the Board of Directors and as a member of the Executive Committee.
At the settlement conference held before Judge Preska, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, it was agreed that all remaining claims will be dismissed with prejudice. In order to resolve the case without further litigation, NYSNA reached an agreement with the plaintiffs as to the following issues:
NYSNA will publish an “RN Talk” column drafted by plaintiffs on page 3 of New York Nurse in the next monthly issue of the magazine. The article will be posted on the NYSNA website as it appears in the hard copy of the magazine.
NYSNA will hold a workshop/panel/forum at the next Convention on these topics: issues surrounding the leadership and control of the collective bargaining program, operation of the insulation doctrine, and related issues. There are 12 ground rules related to this workshop and any handouts associated with this workshop.
NYSNA will reprint in one of the upcoming issues of New York Nurse within the next year, a copy of the Department of Labor poster, “Union Members Know Your Rights.”
NYSNA agrees that it will pay to plaintiffs’ attorneys the sum of $25,000 as a partial payment for plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees.