Dan Ackman focuses on civil rights, administrative and constitutional class action litigation as well as commercial litigation. His civil rights class action lawsuits cases have resulted in a half dozen City practices being declared unconstitutional or unlawful. He has also recovered millions of dollars in damages for taxi drivers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked. In administrative law, he has re-gained licenses for many taxi drivers suspended based on arrest, for an industry representative accused of mistreating his clients and for a taxi driver accused of refusing service to a lesbian couple.
Dan's cases have resulted in:
- A Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission Limousine (TLC) policy and practice of suspending drivers based on an arrest and then extending those suspensions after a hearing is unconstitutional;
- A federal district court ruling holding that the TLC's Operation Refusal program denied taxi drivers Due Process of Law, which led to a multi-million dollar damage settlement for the plaintiff class;
- A federal district court judgment that the NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings summary suspension of a non-lawyer advocate for taxi drivers was unconstitutional in that it denied the advocate due process of law;
- A pair of federal district court decisions that a New York City program of seizing vehicles without a warrant or hearing violated the Fourth Amendment and denied vehicle owners due process of law;
- A federal district court decision holding portions of the TLC revocation-on-conviction policy to be unconstitutional, which led to a multi-million dollar settlement for the plaintiff class;
- A federal court decision providing for a fairer assessment of attorneys' fees in constitutional cases;
- A state court decision opening TLC courts to the public.
He is currently co-counsel in two actions on behalf of taxi drivers and investors who purchased medallions from the City of New York at auctions just before the TLC opened the door to e-hail taxis, which decimated the value of the medallions the City had just sold. He has also handled commercial cases for small business owners and large financial institutions as well as on behalf of taxi drivers who alleged taxi fleet managers had overcharged them.