July 2013

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In the recent case of Matter of John W. Danforth Group, Inc., the Western District of New York considered, and rejected, a company’s petition under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 27 to perpetuate evidence in anticipation of an as-yet unfiled employment discrimination action against it. Under limited circumstances, a potential party to litigation can obtain discovery…

Read More Employer, Anticipating Sexual Harassment Suit, Denied Pre-Lawsuit Discovery From Prospective Plaintiff’s “Facebook Friend”
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Your best bet for avoiding a cell phone-related ticket in New York?  Put the thing down while the car is running – even when stopped at a red light. One court (the Town Court of the Town of Brighton, Monroe County) recently held that a car stopped at a red light is still “in motion”…

Read More Car Is “In Motion” When Stopped at Red Light For Purposes of New York’s Cell Phone Driving Statute
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What does it mean to “engage in a call” for purposes of New York’s general cell phone driving statute, VTL § 1225-c(2)(a)? That section provides:  ”[N]o person shall operate a motor vehicle upon a public highway while using a mobile telephone to engage in a call while such vehicle is in motion.” Specifically, does using an iPhone’s “Siri” feature to…

Read More Activating “Siri” Feature Did Not Amount to Using Phone to “Engage in a Call” Within the Meaning of New York’s Cell Phone Driving Statute
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Last week in Taveras v. City of New York the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department permitted a drowning death lawsuit to continue. In June 2005, Luis Alberto Peralta (a.k.a. Luis A. Peralta Taveras) drowned while swimming at the public ocean beach at Coney Island in Brooklyn. (New York Post story here). The administrators of…

Read More Drowning Death Lawsuit Proceeds
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Below (and here) is the New York State Supreme Court (Manhattan) complaint filed on July 11, 2013 by Natalie Thorpe against Williams Lea, Inc. The relevant events occurred while plaintiff was placed by defendant at the Manhattan law firm Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft. The suit claims that Tyrone Turner, defendant’s manager, made offensive sexual advances and comments…

Read More Erotic Poetry Sexual Harassment Suit
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Last week the Second Circuit held, in Palma v. NLRB, that undocumented aliens were not entitled to back pay following a determination that their employer engaged in unlawful employment practices in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The court based its decision on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v.…

Read More Second Circuit: No Back Pay For Undocumented Aliens For NLRA Violation
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The Second Circuit recently held, in Irizarry v. Catsimatidis, that John Catsimatidis – the chairman, president, and CEO of defendant Gristede’s Foods, Inc. (and, of course, New York City mayoral candidate) – was an “employer” within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and was hence individually liable for damages in a lawsuit…

Read More John Catsimatidis Held Individually Liable For FLSA Wage Violations
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Traffic lights are everywhere, and drivers typically take it for granted that they will work properly. But, like everything, there are no absolutes.  Furthermore, like any man-made object, they are subject to malfunctioning (see, for example, the below video, taken by me at the corner of Broadway and Murray). What then? Turns out that there’s…

Read More New York City Traffic Tidbit: Malfunctioning Traffic Signals
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Below is the complaint recently filed by an employee of Capital One Bank for sexual harassment under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. Plaintiff claims that she was subjected to a sexually hostile work environment, that the company failed to take steps to stop it, and that she was fired for complaining about…

Read More Bankers (Allegedly) Behaving Badly
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A recent decision from the Southern District, Wiltshire v. Williams, reiterates that acquittal of criminal charges is not inconsistent with a finding of probable cause to arrest (which, if shown, is a complete defense to a false arrest claim): In the instant case, Plaintiff has contended that the dismissal of his criminal case precludes a finding…

Read More Probable Cause to Arrest May Be Found, Even After Acquittal
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