The Housing Works case is part of "a continuing saga of the policies and litigating tendencies of the Giuliani administration," Ross Sandler, director of the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School, which publishes CityLaw, told the Times.

Speaking about the mounting total of cases directly involving senior officials in the Giuliani administration, Jeffrey D. Friedlander, the first assistant corporation counsel in the city's Law Department, told the Times, "Decisions to settle cases involve questions of litigation judgment, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement of truth as to the validity of a plaintiff's argument - or the city's acceptance of that argument."

Moreover, says Michael D. Hess, the city's chief lawyer under Giuliani and now his partner in a private consulting firm, settlements often were preferable to risk a jury trial with a jury that could prove to be irrational or biased. Given that the city spends hundreds of millions on lawsuits, Hess told the Times: "Two million is nothing. Sadly, this is a drop in the bucket."

While the city is sued more than 20,000 times a year, the Times reported, cases have been rarely brought in which a mayor - or top City Hall aides - are accused of personally harming an individual. Even more rarely have they succeeded.

While Giuliani was widely applauded for his leadership after Sept. 11, questions continue to be raised about his judgment. In the months after Sept. 11 Giuliani was rebuffed in his attempt to suspend the 2001 mayoral elections in an effort to prolong his stay in office.

In the wake of the Kerik fiasco, the Times report indicates the major media will continue to put a spotlight on Giuliani, touted as a possible 2008 Republican presidential candidate.

Editor's note: