HNRK won the dismissal of a claim brought by a former manager of the Metro-North Commuter Railroad claiming that his First Amendment rights were violated when the Railroad dismissed him for failing to cooperate with an internal investigation of a train collision and derailment. The accident occurred during the 2003 blackout. The employee failed to appear at scheduled hearings to ascertain responsibility for the accident, but maintained that he was unable to attend the hearings due to psychological impairment, and was dismissed because of critical statements he would  have made regarding the adequacy of employee training on important train operating procedures. Agreeing with HNRK's argument, Federal District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled that under the Supreme Court's 2006 decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos, plaintiff's speech activity (were he to have engaged in such activity) would not have been protected by the First Amendment because such speech would not have been uttered as a private citizen, but rather, in furtherance of the employee's official duties. Judge Swain also rejected a host of other claims raised by plaintiff, including claims that his due process rights were violated, and that the Railroad deprived him of his federal "liberty" interest in his reputation.