September 2013

In Matter of Allstate Insurance Co. v. Reyes, the Appellate Division, Second Department addressed the “ownership, maintenance or use” requirement necessary to trigger supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage in connection with a car-related injury. Plaintiff was injured while passing a vehicle when a rottweiler dog “extended its head from inside the vehicle and bit her…

Read More Car Dog Bite Fails to Trigger SUM Coverage
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In Hanifan v Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft, a federal court recently granted summary judgment for a defendant employer, holding that the company handbook did not create a an enforceable contractual prohibition against retaliation for violating the handbooks’ terms. This decision confirms the narrow circumstances under which an employee handbook creates contractual rights justifying a deviation…

Read More Employer Handbook Did Not Create Contractual Rights
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Last Friday the Appellate Division, Fourth Department issued a short but sweet (for plaintiffs) Labor Law § 240 (1) decision. In Signs v. Crawford, plaintiff sustained injuries at a construction site owned by defendant “when a metal plate that was being hoisted by a jib fell and caught plaintiff’s glove, causing him to fall from scaffolding.” The trial…

Read More Scaffold Fall Results in Summary Judgment for Plaintiff Under Labor Law § 240(1)
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In DeVito v. Peri, a Brooklyn trial court recently awarded summary judgment to the defendant and dismissed plaintiff’s claims for medical malpractice, lack of informed consent, and wrongful death. The claims arose from the murder by the doctor’s patient (Mr. DeVito) of his wife (who was plaintiff’s mother). Specifically, plaintiff alleged that defendant doctor Peri…

Read More Zoloft-Prescribing Doctor Did Not Owe Duty to Patient’s Murder Victim
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The Appellate Division, First Department, today affirmed (in Renteria v. Simakov, 2013 NY Slip Op 06071) a grant of summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs, and the denial of summary judgment to defendants, in a case involving a rear-end collision. Defendant taxi driver Daza hit plaintiff in the rear after plaintiff stopped in the left lane…

Read More Court Affirms Summary Judgment for Plaintiff in Rear-End Collision Case
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Today, in Kreisler v. Second Avenue Diner Corp., the Second Circuit made new law regarding the rights of disabled persons to be free from discrimination in connection with their use and enjoyment of public facilities. Plaintiff-Appellee Todd Kreisler is a wheelchair-bound man suffering from cerebral palsy, arthritis, and asthma. He passed by defendants’ restaurant (d/b/a Plaza…

Read More Wheelchair-Bound Prospective Diner Patron Entitled to ADA Relief
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The Northern District of New York recently held, in Hexemer v. General Electric, that plaintiff adequately pleaded retaliation for complaining about a co-worker’s discriminatory comments. Plaintiff, who was born in Iran and is of Persian descent, alleged that after she made a comment to two co-workers about how sitting at their desks led to weight…

Read More Iranian Plaintiff Sufficiently Alleged Retaliation After Firing For Complaining About Being Called “Uncivilized”
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Neither rain, nor shine, nor discrimination lawsuits… The Southern District of New York recently granted summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Postal Service in a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit. The decision is Jimenez v. Donahoe, decided September 11, 2013. Plaintiff Carlos Jimenez, a mail handler (and musician) alleged that he was subjected to discrimination…

Read More Court Dismisses Musical Mailman’s Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
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Today the Second Circuit issued its decision in Anani v. CVS RX Services, affirming a district court decision that a pharmacist was subject to the Fair Labor Standard’s exemption for highly-paid employees. The employee’s base salary was based on a 44-hour workweek, at all times exceeded $1250 weekly, and was guaranteed.  He also received additional compensation…

Read More Pharmacist Was an Exempt “Highly Paid Employee” Not Entitled to Overtime
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Those Romanians – always causing trouble.  First Dracula, now this. (That said, the Romanian I’m married to happens to be perfect.) A New York trial court recently held, in Weason v. Permanent Mission of Romania to the UN and Romania, that defendants were not immune under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act for injuries allegedly sustained…

Read More Romania Not Immune in Slip/Fall Case
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