Case 1:16-cv-00859-FJS-CFH Document 108 Filed 08/31/16 Page 1 of 3

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
--------------------------------------- x
:
PHILIP PIDOT, NANCY HAWKINS and STEVEN
:
:
AXELMAN, individually and as representatives of
eligible Republican Party voters in Suffolk, Nassau and : Civil Action No. 16-CV-859-FJS-CFH
Queens Counties within New Yorks Third Congressional :
District,
:
: DECLARATION OF JERRY H.
: GOLDFEDER IN SUPPORT OF
Plaintiffs,
-against: PLAINTIFFS MOTION FOR
: ATTORNEYS FEES AND COSTS
NEW YORK STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS;
:
SUFFOLK COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS;
:
NASSAU COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS; BOARD:
OF ELECTIONS IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK;
:
PETER KOSINSKI and DOUGLAS KELLNER, in their :
official capacities as Commissioners and Co-Chairs of the :
New York State Board of Elections; ANDREW J.
:
SPANO and GREGORY P. PETERSON, in their official :
capacities as Commissioners of the New York State
:
Board of Elections; TODD D. VALENTINE and
:
ROBERT A. BREHM, in their official capacities as Co- :
Executive Directors of the New York State Board of
:
Elections; and JACK MARTINS,
:
:
Defendants.
:
--------------------------------------- x
I, JERRY H. GOLDFEDER, hereby declare:
1.

I am Special Counsel at the law firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP and

represent Plaintiffs in this action. I am familiar with the matters discussed in this Declaration.
2.

I submit this Declaration in support of Plaintiffs Motion for Attorneys Fees and

Costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1988.

3.

Plaintiffs filed the Complaint in the above-captioned action on July 13, 2016. On

July 21, 2016, Plaintiffs filed a Motion to proceed by Order to Show Cause seeking a new

Case 1:16-cv-00859-FJS-CFH Document 108 Filed 08/31/16 Page 2 of 3

election. The basis of the motion was that Defendants violated Plaintiffs constitutional right to
freedom of association.
4.

On July 25, 2016, the Court granted Plaintiffs request to proceed by Order to

Show Cause, and set August 17, 2016 as a hearing date for Plaintiffs Motion for a New
Election.
5.

On August 17, 2016, the Court heard oral argument. Counsel for Plaintiffs,

Intervenor-Defendant Jack Martins, and the New York State Board of Elections (the State
Board) were heard. At the conclusion of the argument, the Court held that the State Board had
violated Plaintiffs constitutional rights by failing to seek a hardship exemption waiver under
the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. The Court then granted Plaintiffs
motion and ordered that a new Republican party primary election be scheduled for October 6,
2016. Judgment was entered for Plaintiffs on the same date.
6.

Plaintiffs Complaint included a request that the Court award fees and costs

pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983 and 42 U.S.C. 1988.

7.

Due to the pressing nature of this litigation, I am unable at this time to provide an

exact accounting of time spent on this matter and the current billing. However, I am aware of the
time I have spent on this case, as well as the time spent by my colleague, David Simunovich, on
this matter. Based on that personal knowledge, I estimate we have collectively spent at least 150
hours working on this matter, and have billed substantially in excess of $100,000 in connection
with this litigation. Plaintiffs expressly reserve the right to seek additional fees and costs for the
time spent in connection with this motion and in connection with any appeal.
8.

I graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1979, where I served

on the Cardozo Law Review, and have over 35 years of litigation experience. I specialize in
2

Case 1:16-cv-00859-FJS-CFH Document 108 Filed 08/31/16 Page 3 of 3

election law, including issues involving ballot access and voting rights. I also currently teach
classes in election law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Fordham Law School.
I have authored an election law treatise, Goldfeders Modern Election Law, now in its fourth
edition, and I co-author the regular New York Law Journal column, Government and Election
Law. I am the lead attorney representing Plaintiffs in this action. My standard hourly rate is
$785 per hour.
9.

David V. Simunovich graduated magna cum laude from Seton Hall University

School of Law in 2008, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Seton Hall Law Review. He
is a senior litigation Associate at Stroock. Prior to joining Stroock, Mr. Simunovich clerked for
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New
York. His standard hourly rate is $725 per hour.
10.

In retaining this firm, Plaintiffs agreed to pay these standard hourly rates.

11.

Plaintiffs are also requesting all court costs incurred in connection with this

litigation.
12.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America

that the foregoing is true and correct.

Dated: New York, New York
August 31, 2016
EXECUTED:
/s/ Jerry H. Goldfeder________
JERRY H. GOLDFEDER