This column reports on several significant decisions from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. District Judge Joanna Seybert rejected Congressman George Santos’s attempt to prevent unsealing the names of the suretors of a bond securing his release. Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall declined to exercise jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act. And Judge Frederic Block denied a preliminary injunction motion that sought to halt construction on a windfarm off Montauk.

Names of Suretors Unsealed

In United States v. Santos, 23 CR 197 (EDNY, June 20, 2023), Judge Seybert denied Congressman George Santos’s objection to unsealing the names of the suretors of a bond securing his release pending trial. The court affirmed the order of Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields unsealing documents revealing the identities of the suretors.