Hon. Leslie G. Foschio

1991 – present 

Federal Judicial Service: 

  • Recalled Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, 2007 – present.  Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, 1991-2007. 

Education: 

  •  State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, LL.B. cum laude, 1965 
  •  University of Buffalo, B.A., cum laude, 1962 

 Professional Career: 

  • Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Barrister Information Systems Corporation, Buffalo, New York, 1983-1991 
  • Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, State of New York, 1981-1983; Chair, Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, 1981-1983; Executive Deputy Commissioner, 1981 
  • Private Practice, Cohen Swados Wright Hanifin Bradford & Brett, Buffalo, New York, 1978-1981 
  • Corporation Counsel, City of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, 1975-1977 
  • Assistant/Associate Professor and Assistant Dean, Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1969-1975 
  • Assistant District Attorney, Erie County, Buffalo, New York, 1966-1969: Senior Assistant District Attorney, 1968-1969 
  • Staff Attorney, Office of Counsel, State University of New York, Albany, New York, 1965-1966 

 

Noteworthy Cases: 

Ceglia v. Zuckerberg, No. 1:10-CV-00569: 

In this action in which the plaintiff claimed ownership of 50% of Facebook based on a putative contract with the defendant Mark Zuckerberg, defendants’ motion to dismiss the action as a fraud on the court was recommended to be granted because undisputed evidence established the contract was a forgery. 

Ceglia v. Zuckerberg, 2013 WL 1208558 (W.D.N.Y. 2013), report and recommendation adopted 2014 WL 1224574 (W.D.N.Y. 2014), aff’d, 600 F. App’x. 34 (2d Cir. 2015), cert. denied, 577 U.S. 1066 (2016) 

 

 

Zolnowski v. County of Erie, No. 1:95-CV-00774: 

After the parties consented to proceed before a U.S. Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), a preliminary injunction against overcrowding conditions at the Erie County Holding Center was granted by Judge Foschio.  The case thereafter was settled with an award of plaintiffs’ attorneys fees.  

Zolnowski v. County of Erie, 944 F. Supp. 1096 (W.D.N.Y 1996)
https://casetext.com/case/zolonowski-v-county-of-erie 

 

 

 Burns v. Imagine Films Entertainment, Inc., No. 1:92-CV-00243: 

Plaintiffs, authors of copyrighted screenplays about firefighters, brought this copyright infringement action against defendants, motion picture producers, alleging defendants’ screenplay for the motion picture Backdraft used significant portions of plaintiff’s copyrighted screenplays.  Three motions filed by plaintiffs to compel discovery of financial information necessary to calculate the net profits defendants received for the conception, creation, modification, and writing of revision of the Backdraft script were granted.  Because the defendants did not produce the discovery materials until after the third motion was granted, plaintiffs’ subsequent motion for sanctions was granted, and the district judge adopted Judge Foschio’s recommendation that defendants’ answer be struck as a sanction for such failure to comply. 

Burns v. Imagine Films Entertainment, Inc., 164 F.R.D. 594 (W.D.N.Y. 1996)
https://casetext.com/case/terrence-burns-md-and-john-zoll-plaintiffs-v-imagine-films-entertainment-inc-mca-inc-and-universal-city-studios-inc-defendants-1 

 

 

Greenway v. Buffalo Hilton Hotel, No. 1:94-CV-00878: 

In this employment discrimination action, the parties consented to proceed before a U.S. Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), and a jury trial was held on claims the plaintiff, after testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus (“HIV”), was terminated in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and New York Human Rights Law.  Post-trial, Judge Foschio denied defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial, holding the question of whether the plaintiff was terminated in violation of the ADA and New York Human Rights Law was for the jury, that references in the plaintiff’s closing arguments to antihomosexual bigotry and gay bashing did not create undue prejudice, reduced the amount but otherwise upheld the award of back pay and front pay, and held the plaintiff was entitled to an award of attorney fees and costs. 

Greenway v. Buffalo Hilton Hotel, 951 F. Supp. 1039 (W.D.N.Y. 1997), aff’d as modified, 143 F.3d 47 (2d Cir. 1998) (modifying compensatory damages award)
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/951/1039/1381426/