Jordan Neely's father demands dismissal of civil lawsuit from Daniel Penny.

Daniel Penny's legal team is seeking a civil judge to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Jordan Neely's father and order him to cover legal costs, following Penny's acquittal of criminally negligent homicide for a chokehold that ended a violent outburst of death threats on a Manhattan subway car.

In December, Neely's death was allegedly caused by Penny's negligent assault and battery, according to a lawsuit filed by Andre Zachery.

The injuries or damages sustained by Plaintiff, as alleged in the Verified Complaint, were caused by Plaintiff's culpable conduct, negligence, carelessness, and lack of care, and any recovery against this Defendant must be reduced in proportion to Plaintiff's relative wrongdoing, fault, misfeasance, malfeasance, failure to exercise due care, and other culpable conduct, according to Penny's attorneys in their answer to the lawsuit filed on Monday.

Zachery's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A month after Penny's acquittal in a high-profile and controversial manslaughter trial, the prosecutors requested the court to dismiss the top charge of manslaughter, and the jury found Penny not guilty of the lesser charge.

On May 1, 2023, a 26-year-old Marine veteran and architecture student named Penny was charged with the subway chokehold death of Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia who was high on K2.

Neely was a person with a criminal history, an active arrest warrant, a history of psychosis, and was under the influence of drugs. Additionally, he had the sickle cell trait genetic disorder.

In recent years, the city has experienced an increase in subway crime, resulting in a sense of dread among passengers.

A month ago, a PBS reporter was sucker punched on a No. 4 train. A week prior to that, there was a shove on a R train, and the victim survived. Three days before that, a straphanger was stabbed with an ice pick on a J train, according to reports from the time.

Daniel Penny's verified response to the civil complaint from Jordan Neely's father has been read.

Neely shouted death threats at terrified witnesses in that climate of fear.

Legal experts predict that Neely's family may have a better chance in civil court, where the standard of guilt is lower.

In a criminal case, prosecutors must convince jurors of the charges beyond "reasonable doubt," while in a civil case, the plaintiff's attorneys must prove their case based on a "preponderance of evidence," meaning it is more likely true than not.