Court Revives Suit Over New Year's Party Arrests

Recent Cases

The 11th Circuit reinstated their lawsuit over the events that led deputies to arrest and Taser the lead guitarist for the rock band Rush and his son during a 2003 New Year's Eve party at a Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Florida, after the father-son duo made a scene at the black-tie affair.

A three-judge panel allowed Alexander Zivojinovich, known as "Alex Lifeson," to proceed with his claim that Ritz-Carlton employees exaggerated the rowdy party behavior of his son, Justin, causing three Collier County sheriff's deputies to use excessive force trying to eject the pair from the party.

Alex, Justin and Justin's wife attended a black-tie New Year's Eve party at the Ritz in Naples, Fla. Justin began "dancing boisterously" and "circled the floor undulating his arms, danced with four women simultaneously, and eventually shoved apart a couple who were dancing and, without asking, began to dance with the woman," the ruling states. He then hopped on stage, commandeered the band's microphone and took an exaggerated bow that another guest described as "mooning the band with his clothes on." Alex joined his son on stage and "tapped a conga drum in time with the music for about 10 seconds," the court wrote.

Ritz night-shift manager Frank Barner radioed front-desk employee Azure Sorrell and told her to call the sheriff's office to report the disorderly guests. He also called to make sure it got the message.

The Zivojinovichs claimed that Barner and Sorrell lied to the dispatcher, saying Justin and Alex were "just basically trashing the place ... jumping on furniture, ripping things apart."

Barner also told police that Justin "started yelling profanities, screaming, yelling and carrying on" when Barner told him to settle down, the lawsuit claimed, though Barner had not yet spoken to Justin.

Three deputies arrived and took Justin to a service hallway outside the ballroom to find out what happened. Alex and Justin's wife, Michelle, followed. The deputies eventually tried to escort Justin and Alex out of the hotel, but Justin resisted, leading deputies to tackle him to the ground and Taser him. When Alex tried to block Justin from harm, a deputy punched Alex in the face and broke his nose. He was also Tasered in the scuffle. All three Zivojinovichs - Justin, Alex and Michelle - were arrested and charged with resisting an officer, though the charge against Michelle was later dropped.

The Zivojinovichs sued the three deputies for use of excessive force, and accused the Ritz and Barner of negligence.

The appellate judges held that Ritz had a right to eject the guests, but ruled that the hotel's employees had a duty to tell police the truth. Their alleged lies "knowingly put Justin at a greater risk of physical injury."

But the court affirmed summary judgment for the deputies after concluding that they used a reasonable amount of force, despite Tasering Alex and Justin.

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USCIS Will Begin Accepting CW-1 Petitions for Fiscal Year 2019

On April 2, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting petitions under the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2019 cap. Employers in the CNMI use the CW-1 program to employ foreign workers who are ineligible for other nonimmigrant worker categories. The cap for CW-1 visas for FY 2019 is 4,999.

For the FY 2019 cap, USCIS encourages employers to file a petition for a CW-1 nonimmigrant worker up to six months in advance of the proposed start date of employment and as early as possible within that timeframe. USCIS will reject a petition if it is filed more than six months in advance. An extension petition may request a start date of Oct. 1, 2018, even if that worker’s current status will not expire by that date.

Since USCIS expects to receive more petitions than the number of CW-1 visas available for FY 2019, USCIS may conduct a lottery to randomly select petitions and associated beneficiaries so that the cap is not exceeded. The lottery would give employers the fairest opportunity to request workers, particularly with the possibility of mail delays from the CNMI.

USCIS will count the total number of beneficiaries in the petitions received after 10 business days to determine if a lottery is needed. If the cap is met after those initial 10 days, a lottery may still need to be conducted with only the petitions received on the last day before the cap was met. USCIS will announce when the cap is met and whether a lottery has been conducted.

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