A U.S. District Court judge today dismissed a lawsuit against Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. that was filed by Michael Nolan, a former chief operating officer of the public benefit company based in Batavia.
Justice William Skretny, representing the Western District of New York in Buffalo, based his ruling on a statute of limitations issue regarding Nolan’s claim that his First Amendment rights were violated when the corporation’s leadership allegedly retaliated against him for talking to federal agencies about alleged improprieties.
Nolan contended that he was fired from his position in December 2020 after being ostracized since April 2019 for sharing information with federal and state authorities as part of an inquiry into practices such as health insurance plans for board members, use of sports tickets and luxury boxes, and awarding of contracts.
WROTB officials retained legal counsel to fight the allegations – eventually filing a Motion to Dismiss -- and the matter has been tied up in court until today’s ruling.
“We are gratified by today’s District Court decision,” WROTB President and Chief Executive Officer Henry Wojtaszek said in a press release. “From the beginning we have stated that these accusations were politically motivated. We continue to believe that any thorough examination of the facts would show Western OTB acted in an appropriate and professional manner.
“The ruling by Judge Skretny was clearly well researched, well-reasoned, and came to the right conclusion. We will continue to focus on being a model OTB in the state and providing our customers with the best possible experience. Results matter, and the leadership at WROTB has made decisions that have resulted in record revenues being disbursed to our partners in local governments across the area. We look forward to building on that success now that these baseless allegations have been dismissed.”
In his ruling, Skretny wrote that since Nolan’s claims alleging First Amendment retaliation ran from the first alleged instance of retaliation, “accruing not later than April 30, 2019.” Another complaint dated August 2021 came too late, the judge ruled, citing the statute of limitations at 1 year and 30 days after the first alleged instance.
“Therefore, Plaintiff’s (Nolan’s) First Cause of Action for First Amendment retaliation is dismissed as untimely and Defendants’ (WROTB) Motion to Dismiss … this cause of action is granted.”
Skretny concluded by stating that “absent an original jurisdiction claim, this Court also declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s remaining state law claims and dismisses them without prejudice. Thus, Defendants’ Motion (id.) to dismiss the Second through and Fifth Causes of Action is granted. Therefore, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss … is granted and the case is closed.”
In August 2021, attorney Steven M. Cohen of HoganWillig, PLLC, of Buffalo filed a lawsuit on behalf of Nolan against WROTB, Wojtaszek and Richard Bianchi, chairman of the board of directors. The suit asked for Nolan to receive $4.5 million for violating his First Amendment rights (First Cause of Action), plus another $4.5 million for breaking the state’s Civil Service Law (Second Cause of Action) and additional $5.5 million for emotional pain and suffering (Third Cause of Action).
The Fourth Cause of Action sought indemnification and/or reimbursement of Nolan's attorneys’ fees from WROTB for representation for his appearance before the federal Grand Jury, and the Fifth Cause of Action alleged that WROTB violated New York Labor Law by retailing against Nolan.
Wojtaszek, in the press release, said he believes the dismissal once again vindicates the corporation.
“WROTB has won another victory in court against a frivolous attack on our operations. This is our fourth victory this year, against what appears to be a never-ending string of attacks by those with an ax to grind,” he said. “As we stated during our meeting with our 17 member counties last week, we have done much to improve the transparency and accountability of our organization, but many of the charges that were thrown at us were simply unfounded, and that was again underscored today in federal court.
“Lawsuits get dismissed when people miss deadlines. It must not have been a priority for Mr. Nolan or his attorney, which sometimes happens when you start with a baseless claim.”
WROTB was represented by Daniel Oliverio and Aaron Saykin of Hodgson Russ, a Buffalo law firm.
An email was sent to Cohen on Thursday morning, seeking comment on the decision.
