Case supported by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. certifying a class action has legs!
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We return to Staten Island court on August 14 – Rally at 10:30am
Richmond Supreme Court
26 Central Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10301
from Teachers for Choice
7-19-23
Nearly 200 people showed up at a Staten Island courthouse on July 18 to support the plaintiffs in DiCapua v. City of New York seeking to certify a class for all fired and displaced NYC DOE teachers and workers who declined covid vaccination. Some lawyers estimate such a class could include thousands of impacted employees. If the court certifies it, the class will be specifically for those who sought religious accommodation. Teachers for Choice is a named plaintiff in the case, along with most of the individual plaintiffs from the similar Kane v. de Blasio federal lawsuit.
Michael Kane kicked off the rally on steps at the courthouse by thanking Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Children’s Health Defense for their unwavering support of NY Workers for Choice, which includes Teachers for Choice, Bravest for Choice, Strongest for Choice, Finest for Choice, Educators for Freedom, Medical Professionals for Informed Consent and Court Workers for Choice. This case and many others defending workers fired over mandates have been supported by Kennedy for years.
PIX 11 covered the rally and legal effort helping fired workers get the word out that we are still fired! So many think we have been rehired and given backpay, but that is not the case as our battle continues.
Once we were inside the court, only a fraction of our people could fit in the hearing room. Judge Ralph Porzio was visibly pleased to see such a sizeable crowd. Porzio is the judge who ruled in favor of 9 sanitation workers in Chad LaVeglia’s important case Garvey v. City of New York. This victory technically struck down NYC’s vaccine mandate and ordered backpay for impacted workers. Unfortunately NYC immediately appealed the decision and it has been stalled intentionally by the City ever since (we anticipate that case will get moving in the appeal process very soon).
Teachers for Choice and plaintiffs were represented by attorney Sujata Gibson in the courtroom and Michael Sussman appearing via Zoom. Judge Porzio began the procedings by saying all 6 counts from NYC requesting the case be dismissed were denied – an excellent start to the hearing!
Porzio then asked NYC’s attorneys how they wished to proceed with the request for class certification. NYC requested 60 days to reply which Porzio denied. He stated 60 days was clearly too long as it would take us into mid-September. He pointed to the large crowd as he said there were clearly many, many people waiting on the outcome of this case. The agreed upon date to return for oral argument is now August 14. The court hearing will be at 11:30am (and we will rally on the steps once again at 10:30am).
When NYC’s attorneys complained they had a 500 paragraph petition to respond to that required 60 days to craft a response attorney Michael Sussman found this quite funny. He laughed loudly on Zoom and said, “60 days to read 500 paragraphs?!” Thankfully Porzio wasn’t budging, and he gave the attorneys approximately 27 days in total.
Judge Porzio then did something very interesting and rare. He instructed everyone when they show up in his courtroom on August 14 that there is to be no shorts, and everyone must dress professionally and respectfully. A suit and tie is not necessary, but Porzio stated this is a court of law and he reserves the right to remove anyone who is not dressed appropriately. While there weren’t many people wearing shorts ,there certainly were many in t-shirts, especially shirts that read TEACHERS FOR CHOICE, BRAVEST FOR CHOICE, “THINK WHILE IT’S STILL LEGAL,” etc… Stay tuned for guidance and clarification on whether t-shirt wearing will be allowable on August 14 in Porzio’s court.
Plaintiff Ingrid Romero and her husband
Kevin and Edith Revell
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***Special thank you to Scott Lobaido for promoting and coming to our rally and court hearing. And we just can’t thank Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Children’s Health Defense (CHD) enough for years of supporting multiple cases including (but not limited to) Kane v. de Blasio, New Yorkers for Religious Liberty v. City of New York, DiCapua v. City of New York, Medical Professionals for Informed Consent v. City of New York and many others. We also thank them for their legal partnerships and consulting on many other NYC cases against mandates including Garvey v. City of New York. CHD has had multiple legal victories fighting vaccine mandates and various infringements upon medical freedom.
Teachers For Choice 
I celebrate this victory with you! I was particularly touched by the sign that says “I fear God, not COVID.” YES YES YES 1000 times. COVID is real, I had it, but I also had clear direction from God, as did so many of you. What happened to you was wrong, what happened to us in the private sector was also wrong. I hope and pray that God provides us justice on this earth. God’s will be done. I pray daily for all the judges deciding these cases, and I pray that you also receive victory in the Second Circuit and continued victory in the New York courts.
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I am so proud of all my Colleagues that stood for Freedom and the Right to make their own medical decision! I have been praying over your case, and Judge Porzio. I believe he is telling you to put on your Sunday Best. You will walk out of the next court date with your heads held high. I beleive he will rule the same way, that he ruled for our Brave Firemen. God Bless All of you, and your Great Attorneys🕊
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