Two New Hyde Park firefighters’ federal lawsuit against the New Hyde Park Fire District is going to trial, according to federal court records.
Michael Dolan Sr. and his son, Michael Dolan Jr., are set to testify before Judge Joseph Bianco in the trial of their federal civil rights complaint, as will six current and former members of the fire district’s Board of Commissioners, according to a July 22 court filing.
No trial date has been set, but it could start at the end of this year, said Rick Ostrove, the Dolans’ attorney. It is expected to take seven to nine days, the filing says.
The filing comes more than four months after Bianco urged attorneys for the Dolans and the fire district to settle the case out of court.
The Dolans and the fire district “were too far apart to have productive talks,” but it is possible talks could resume if the district comes back to the table, Ostrove said.
Attorneys for the fire district did not return requests for comment.
The trial will continue a nearly three-year legal battle between the Dolans and the fire district, which Michael Dolan Sr. has served for more than 40 years.
The federal court filing lists more than four dozen pieces of evidence the Dolans and the fire district plan to use in the trial in Central Islip, including video of Michael Dolan Sr. removing the smoke detectors, criminal court records, transcripts of disciplinary hearings against Dolan Sr. and previous court decisions.
The Dolans’ lawsuit stems from their arrest and Michael Dolan Sr.’s subsequent removal from the New Hyde Park Fire Department for taking 65 smoke detectors from the New Hyde Park fire house that were to be installed in senior citizens’ homes.
The firefighters are asking for compensation and damages for the fire commissioners’ alleged violations of their constitutional rights, including retaliation, malicious prosecution, false arrest and abuse of process.
The fire district rejects the allegations, saying in court filings that the commissioners always acted in good faith and that the Dolans brought any damages upon themselves.
Michael Dolan Sr. was reinstated to the fire department July 19 upon state Supreme Court Judge James McCormack’s ruling in a separate lawsuit that his removal was too harsh a punishment.
The Dolans regarded that ruling as a victory because it restored Michael Dolan Sr. to his place in the fire department and took “leverage” away from the department, Ostrove said in an email last month.
“It took him a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of stress and a lot of fortitude to get where we are now, and we’re on the cusp on what we think will be a big win,” Ostrove said in an interview.
A state appellate court previously upheld the fire department’s finding that Dolan violated department rules by taking the smoke detectors, but left to McCormack whether his punishment was too harsh.
McCormack’s ruling said there was “selfishness on all sides” in the case, but found the fire department ultimately overstepped its bounds by calling the police in July 2012 when fire officials learned the Dolans took the smoke detectors, which the Nassau County Fire Museum had donated.
Michael Dolan Sr. admitted taking the smoke detectors, saying he took them to his house to prevent anyone else from taking them improperly.
Criminal charges against the Dolans were later dropped, but then-fire department Chief Robert Von Werne, one of the listed witnesses for the federal trial, brought internal disciplinary charges against them.
Upon a hearing officer’s recommendation, the board stripped Michael Dolan Sr. of his fire department membership in April 2013, but reinstated his son.
