NY hate crime lawsuit invalidated on technicality

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) -- A judge threw out a $40 million lawsuit stemming from a 2008 hate crime killing on New York's Long Island.

Newsday reported a U.S. District Court judge denied the lawsuit because of a technicality. A process server delivered the court summons and complaint to a state criminal court building rather than the county clerk's office.

The family of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero announced the lawsuit against Suffolk County and its police department last year. Lucero was fatally stabbed on Nov. 8, 2008, by a group of teenagers in Patchogue.

The attackers told a judge they targeted Hispanics for kicks.

Lucero's family filed a civil rights lawsuit claiming authorities failed to prevent the killing. His brother, Joselo Lucero, says he'll seek other options to have the lawsuit proceed.

County officials haven't commented.