Class Case Arising From Rabbi's Voyeuristic Acts Takes Giant Leap Forward

NEW YORK, June 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- When Rabbi Bernard "Barry" Freundel, a nationally recognized authority in Jewish law, and the longstanding rabbi of Georgetown Synagogue-Kesher Israel Congregation was arrested in October 2014 on charges of voyeurism, the news made national headlines and generated two proposed class action suits. Yesterday, in a significant move forward, the D.C. Superior Court issued an omnibus order establishing a series of deadlines for vigorous prosecution of several proposed class actions arising out of Freundel's voyeuristic and criminal acts. The order set dates for the filing of a consolidated class action complaint, specifies deadlines for the close of fact and expert witness discovery, and directs that any motion for class certification be submitted on May 12, 2017, with a hearing on class certification to be held on June 13, 2017. In another important move, the Court appointed Sanford Heisler, LLP as interim class counsel.

The lawsuit arose from a shocking betrayal of trust by Bernard Freundel. Early in 2015, Freundel plead guilty, in a criminal proceeding before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to numerous counts of illicitly filming women as they used the "mikvah"- a Jewish ritual bath frequently used by married Orthodox women as well as by women undergoing conversion to Judaism.

The D. C. law firm of Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. filed one of the original class actions. "We are honored to be working with Sanford Heisler to bring relief to the women who were so terribly abused by Bernard Freundel's illegal conduct," said Ira Sherman, founding partner of Chaikin Sherman, who is collaborating with Sanford Heisler on this matter. "It's a team effort we are proud of and I am confident that together we can achieve some measure of justice for the victims in this case."

After briefing and argument, Judge Brian F. Holeman of the D.C. Superior Court appointed Sanford Heisler as lead interim counsel. The Court stated that Sanford Heisler Chairman David Sanford's "willingness to follow the Court's directions and his succinct presentation on behalf of [Sanford Heisler] demonstrates that [the firm] possesses the understanding, knowledge, experience, and capability to perform the required work on behalf of the putative class Plaintiffs." The court also praised Mr. Sanford's candor, experience, and foresight in proposing a definitive timeframe for pre-certification discovery. Judge Holeman emphasized that Sanford Heisler has been recognized by various courts for excellence in class action litigation and representation. Based on all of these factors, Judge Holeman concluded that Sanford Heisler is "capable of exercising the managerial functions required of lead interim class counsel."

In response to Judge Holeman's ruling, David Sanford said, "We are gratified that Judge Holeman selected our firm to serve as interim class counsel.  It is a serious responsibility and one we are confident that we can handle successfully. Our firm has a long history of representing women who have suffered gender discrimination. This suit is another variation on a sadly too-familiar theme."

About Sanford Heisler, LLP

Sanford Heisler, LLP is a national public interest class-action litigation law firm, which has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco, and San Diego.  Sanford Heisler specializes in employment discrimination, wage and hour, qui tam, and other civil rights matters. The firm has extensive experience in complex class action litigation, having successfully represented thousands of individuals in major class action cases in the United States. The firm also represents select individual clients such as executives, lawyers in employment disputes, and whistleblowers. The firm has recovered over $1 billion for its clients.  For more information, www.sanfordheisler.com or contact Sanford Heisler at (646) 402-5650.

About Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C.

The office of Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. is a personal injury law firm focused on seeking compensation for individuals who sustained serious personal injury. Our goal is to provide high quality representation through an unwavering commitment to aggressively pursue the fullest compensation available to personal injury clients who have been wrongly injured by the actions of others. The personal injury attorneys of Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. have collectively represented over 10,000 seriously injured victims. For more information go to http://www.chaikinandsherman.com/  or call 202 644-8303.

For more information, contact Jamie Moss, newsPRos, 201-493-1027, [email protected]

SOURCE Sanford Heisler, LLP

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