Estate of Darryl Boyd v. City of Buffalo, et al.

Buffalo, New York personal injury lawyerS represented the Plaintiff who sued on a civil rights violation theory.



Plaintiffs Darryl Boyd and John Walker, Jr. each spent over twenty years in prison for the 1976 murder of William Crawford. In August 2021, the New York Supreme Court in Erie County vacated the convictions of both men. Plaintiffs then sued the County of Erie (the "County"), the City of Buffalo, and the individual Buffalo Police Department ("BPD") detectives involved in the investigation of Crawford's murder (collectively, the "City Defendants"), alleging multiple violations of their civil rights under federal law, and multiple violations of New York state law. Plaintiffs and the City Defendants reached a settlement agreement that involved dismissal with prejudice of all of Plaintiffs' claims against the City Defendants. Therefore, the only remaining claims in Plaintiffs' complaints are against the County.



Upon learning, in November 2024, that Plaintiffs had reached a tentative settlement agreement with the City Defendants, the County raised several concerns about how such a settlement would affect its defenses against Plaintiffs' claims and its Crossclaim. Plaintiffs had filed a stipulation of dismissal, to which the County was not a party and to which the County, in essence, objected. After hearing from the parties on these issues at a status conference on December 10, 2024, the Court directed Plaintiffs to file a motion to dismiss its claims against the City Defendants and set an expedited briefing schedule.

Plaintiff's verdict for $80 million against the county.



This verdict trump a settlement with the City of Tulsa for $26 million earlier in November, 2025.