Kenneth Rosenthal

• Marquis Jackson v. City of New Haven et al. – a currently pending federal civil rights action arising from wrongful conviction and 19+ years of incarceration, in which Mr. Rosenthal has served as lead counsel in a matter involving extensive pretrial proceedings, summary judgment filings and several interlocutory appeals, including a significant Second Circuit decision in favor of the plaintiff, and in which trial is anticipated within the coming year.
• Bobby Johnson v. City of New Haven et al. – federal civil rights action for constitutional violations by law enforcement personnel pursuant to 42 USC § 1983, preceded by habeas corpus proceedings leading to nationally publicized exoneration of wrongfully convicted petitioner for murder he did not commit. Mr. Rosenthal’s work in this case is the subject of a widely acclaimed book by Nicholas Dawidoff, The Other Side of Prospect ( W.W. Norton 2023).
• Swinton v. State — Another recent exoneration with the cooperation of the State’s Attorney’s Office, pursuant to a Petition for New Trial commenced by Mr. Rosenthal and a team of lawyers from the New York Innocence Project and the New York offices of Skadden Arps, on behalf of a 60+-year-old defendant serving a life sentence. As a result of extensive negotiations with the Hartford State’s Attorney, and the development and presentation of new forensic evidence, the client was released after serving more than 18 years, and the charges ultimately dismissed. Mr. Rosenthal subsequently obtained compensation for Mr. Johnson from the Connecticut claims commissioner.
• Stefon Morant v. City of New Haven et al. – another currently pending federal civil rights action arising from wrongful conviction and 21+ years of incarceration, for constitutional violations by law enforcement personnel pursuant to 42 USC § 1983, preceded by state court proceedings in which Mr. Rosenthal likewise represented Mr. Morant. The civil rights case has concluded pretrial discovery and is nearing the conclusion of summary judgment briefing..
• State v. Murray Colton — Highly publicized murder prosecution turning on testimony of single supposed eye-witness. Following multiple trials and two successful state supreme court appeals, Mr. Rosenthal interposed a double jeopardy defense to stave off a fourth trial, calling the trial prosecutor to the stand in an unprecedented pretrial hearing, and ultimately obtaining dismissal of all charges.
• State and federal criminal defense and post-conviction litigation in a variety of settings (see below)
• Interference with contract and unfair trade practices claim against multiple defendants. Opposed by three law firms, and following 15 pretrial depositions and several days of trial, Mr. Rosenthal obtained settlement payments exceeding in aggregate the amount calculated by his own forensic expert.
• Commercial arbitration challenging investment banker fees of prominent securities firm in multi-million-dollar merger. Facing one of New Jersey’s largest law firms, Mr. Rosenthal successfully demonstrated no fee should be awarded.
• Employment litigation in which large, publicly traded company, represented by one of Connecticut’s largest law firms, advanced trade secrets claims to seek an injunction that would have prevented Mr. Rosenthal’s clients from working for competitor. Following expedited discovery, the plaintiff withdrew its application for temporary injunction, and the case was thereafter amicably resolved
• Probate and Superior Court litigation involving dispute over family trust, real property boundaries, closely held business (marina) and the estate of deceased owner – successfully resolved in favor of Mr. Rosenthal’s clients after allegations of business improprieties and bitter personal animosity
• Superior Court litigation involving $4 million defalcation by elderly decedent’s lawyer, and underlying probate proceedings.
• Vexatious litigation action against an international fence manufacturer and its law firm, following Mr. Rosenthal’s successful defense of his accounting clients in an underlying federal action involving unfounded claims of misrepresentation and civil conspiracy (see below, under “Accounting Cases”) –vexatious litigation case favorably resolved for Mr. Rosenthal’s clients following extensive pretrial proceedings and summary judgment filings.
• Bankruptcy litigation involving unsecured debts of insolvent auto dealership, rejection of contractual obligations, and terms of purchase and sale agreement
• Additional adversary proceedings in federal bankruptcy court involving claims of financial fraud, directors and officers liability, fraudulent conveyances, secured and unsecured claims, and complex bankruptcy-related procedural matters.
• Brought in after $2,000,000 default judgment in Georgia, Mr. Rosenthal persuaded Connecticut judge to reverse a pre-existing collection order, and to enter summary judgment on defendant’s behalf –erasing a $2,000,000 liability.
• Violations of percentage of rent retail lease obligations based on monthly gross sales. Rosenthal tried the case to a successful conclusion, obtaining judgment against all defendants.
• Numerous cases involving commercial real estate, including purchase options, boundary and ownership disputes, and bank foreclosures.
• United States v. Patel et a (Federal Court, Bridgeport). Criminal anti-trust prosecution involving “no-poach” agreements in the aerospace industry, in which Mr. Rosenthal was part of a team of defense lawyers from within and outside Connecticut, in which all charges were dismissed following four weeks of trial.
• United States v. Rankin et al. (Federal Court, New Haven). White collar prosecution on charges of misappropriation of funds against a group of officers and board members of a quasi-public corporate entity. Following five -week jury trial Mr. Rosenthal and his co-counsel obtained an acquittal on all charges for their client.
• United States v. Earth Technology, Inc. et al. (Federal court, Bridgeport). White collar prosecution on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering arising from private construction project.  Following 3-week trial in which Mr. Rosenthal was lead trial counsel, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on 53 of 54 counts – the prosecutor’s first defeat in 14 years. See Conspiracy Case Ends in Acquittals, Conn. Law Trib., Nov. 14, 2011, p. 1.
• United States v. Hoskie (Federal court, New Haven). Prosecution under felon-in-possession-of-firearms statute.  Despite overwhelming odds, Mr. Rosenthal utilized recent case law to argue there was no interstate “nexus” where the admitted possession of the firearm occurred while defendant was riding a bicycle on local city streets. Facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 17 years, the defendant was acquitted by the jury on all charges.
• United States v. Ferguson (Federal court, Hartford). Wire fraud and money laundering charges, involving alleged mishandling of several million dollars in construction industry. Following several years of negotiations with the government an extensive sentencing memorandum with several hundred pages of supporting exhibits and financial spreadsheets, the client received a sentence more than 60% below the guidelines range.
• United States v. Weintraub (Federal court, New Haven). Environmental prosecution under Clean Air Act.  Following 2-week trial, the lead defendant was convicted, but sentenced to less time than offered in plea negotiations.

• Defense of numerous accounting and tax malpractice actions and alleged ethics violations in a variety of settings.
• Malpractice action for accountants’ alleged failure to detect embezzlement by company controller. Following two week trial, Mr. Rosenthal obtained post-trial resolution at a de minimis amount  less than 1% of plaintiff’s original demand.
• Claims of fiduciary duty and negligence for accountants’ alleged endorsement of client’s investment – resolved at a small fraction of plaintiff’s demand, with minimal contribution by accounting defendants.
• Defended accounting firm of fence retailer against $3 million malpractice claim by trade creditor of retailer. Following 4 years of pretrial proceedings, and aggressive cross-examinations of plaintiff’s witnesses by Mr. Rosenthal at trial, plaintiff withdrew the case before it went to the jury.   Rosenthal then brought a vexatious litigation case against plaintiff and its law firm (see above, under “General Civil and Criminal Litigation”).
• Claim by Illinois company against St. Louis-based accountants, claiming negligent audit services. Mr. Rosenthal achieved cost-effective early settlement at a fraction of the original demand.
• Malpractice action by tax and accounting client convicted of tax fraud, seeking indemnification from accounting firm for losses and penalties incurred as a result of criminal tax conviction. Case was dismissed without any payment whatsoever on the part of accounting firm.
• Breach of contract arbitration brought by large financial services company against accounting firm — settled following depositions and mediation at less than half the contract amount sought.

Mr. Rosenthal has handled a broad range of federal, and state & local tax litigation, including:

• IRS audit (civil & criminal) of wholesaler’s business deductions – criminal case dropped; civil audit favorably settled.
• Criminal and civil tax investigation of tire dealer — resolved at 10% of state auditors’ original figures.
• Reasonable compensation assessment against closely held scrap metal business – settled on eve of Tax Court trial at fraction of original IRS demand
• Defense of federal criminal prosecutions involving income, business, and employment taxes, including coordination of forensic accounting analyses..
• Stale income tax assessment on installment sale of business prior to owner’s retirement to Florida, involving hundreds of thousands of dollars of potential taxes — withdrawn by the State with no payment of additional tax
• Test case seeking sales tax for “management services” on inter-company payments — judgment in favor of taxpayer following trial (with significant favorable impact on taxability of transfers between parent & subsidiary companies)
• Successful attack on conveyance tax assessment for transfer of commercial property to closely held LLC entity
• Supreme Court reversal of tax assessor and appellate court’s denial of open space tax classification for commercial airport
• Successful resolutions through court appeals of sales tax assessments on escort services company, tire retailer, and bar/nightclub, among others, involving issues of cash receipts, record keeping, independent contractor issues, and quantitative models for calculating (reducing) assessments.
• Numerous property tax appeals involving industrial and commercial establishments, apartment complexes, retail properties, and large condominium complexes, among others, and associated commercial appraisals and business valuations

Mr. Rosenthal has over thirty years of experience in defending criminal cases, including:

• Defense of federal prosecutions involving white collar, money laundering, narcotics and environmental, charges, including jury acquittals on mail fraud, money laundering and firearms charges (see above, Rankin, Patel, Earth Technology and Hoskie cases).
• Federal criminal tax investigations and prosecutions
• Jury acquittals in murder, arson, assault, and sexual assault cases

Mr. Rosenthal has handled over 30 appeals, prevailing in more than 50% of them (with a success rate of nearly 60% for appeals in which he was the trial attorney), including Horn v. Stephenson, 11 F.4th 163 (2d Cir.2021); Cooke v. Williams, 349 Conn. 451, 316 A.3d 278 (2024); State v. Butler,209 Conn. App. 63, 267 A.3d 256 (2021), aff’d. 348 Conn. 51, 300 A.3d 1154 (2023); Bobby Johnson v. Commissioner, SC 19513 (Conn. Supreme Court 2015) (withdrawn following State’s agreement to vacate petitioner’s conviction and dismiss all charges); Goodspeed Airport, LLC v. Town of E. Haddam, 302 Conn. 70, 24 A.3d 1205 (2011), reversing 115 Conn. App. 438, 973 A.2d 678 (2009); Mandell v. Gavin,  262 Conn. 659; 816 A.2d 619 (2003); State v. Colton, 234 Conn. 683; 663 A.2d 339 (1995), cert. den., 516 U.S. 1140 (1996); State v. Colton, 227 Conn. 231, 630 A.2d 577 (1993); Fortier v. Newington Group, Inc., 30 Conn. App. 505, 620 A.2d 1321, cert. den., 225 Conn. 922; 625 A.2d 823 (1993); Seery v. Yale-New Haven Hospital, 17 Conn. App. 532, 554 A.2d 757 (1989); State v. Kelly, 208 Conn. 365, 545 A.2d 1048 (1988); State v. Echols, 203 Conn. 385, 524 A.2d 1143 (1987); State v. Harris, 10 Conn. App. 217; 522 A.2d 323 (1987); State v. Fernandez, 5 Conn. App. 40; 496 A.2d 533 (1985); In re Juvenile Appeal, 1 Conn. App. 378, 472 A.2d 795 (1984).