Overlawyered and New York Personal Injury Law Blog have details and pointers to more details, and commentary. The latter blog suggests some of the claimed damages are extremely weak:
3. The Complaint doesn’t even come close to explaining why punitive damages would be warranted in such a routine negligence matter. My gut reaction is that it is frivolous.
4. The Complaint asked for attorneys fees. Why? You can’t get them in New York for a standard personal injury claim.
5. The Complaint asks for pre-judgment interest. Why? You can’t get that here either. Sad, but true. Interest runs from the date of the judgment not from the date of the accident ….
6. The Complaint asks for an amount “in excess of $1,000,000” (not merely $1M, but in excess of). Where are the damages for making such a huge demand? [EV: The complaint asserts that Judge Bork required surgery, and months of physical therapy, was rendered “largely immobile during the months in which he received physical therapy, preventing him from working his typical schedule before the injury,” “suffered excruciating pain,” and caused a continuing limp and a continuing need to use a cane — it’s possible that lost income coupled with pain and suffering would justify a substantial award, though I agree that $1 million seems high.]
I know zip about New York personal injury law, so I can’t evaluate this myself; if others have contrary evidence about New York law, please let me know.