September 2013

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Today the Second Circuit held, in Velez v. City of New York (LYNCH, Lohier, Carney) that plaintiff, the mother of representative for her deceased son Anthony Velez, was not entitled to a new trial following a verdict for defendants. Mr. Velez was murdered after the police officers searched an apartment based on a confidential tip from him.…

Read More City Not Liable for Negligence Following Murder of Confidential Informant
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In Hoffman v. Brown, a premises liability case, the Second Department recently reversed a denial of summary judgment for defendants and dismissed plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff alleged that he sustained injuries while descending an exterior staircase abutting the side of defendants’ house.  Plaintiff claimed that as he stepped on the second step from the top of the…

Read More Defendant Wins in Staircase Injury Case; Plaintiff Fails to Prove Creation or Notice of Hazardous Condition
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In the recent decision of Newsome v. County of Suffolk, the Appellate Division, Second Department, considered the “professional judgment rule” in the context of a negligence claim arising from a police dog bite. Plaintiff, a custodian, was bitten by a “dog employed by the canine unit of the Suffolk County Police Department” while at a…

Read More Police Dog Bite Case Continues
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In Bock v. LouMarita Realty Corp., 2013 NY Slip Op 51396(U) (decided August 26, 2013), a slip-and-fall case, the trial court granted defendants’ summary judgment motion. Plaintiff alleged that he fell on the sidewalk outside defendant Pasticceria Bruno’s bakery in Greenwich Village after stepping on “an extremely slippery piece of rock or concrete off a very…

Read More Slippery When Wet: Court Dismisses Sidewalk Slip/Fall Case
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This week, in Hart v. Rick’s Cabaret, the Southern District (per Judge Engelmayer) held that exotic dancers (or “strippers”) are employees, and not independent contractors, under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL). The distinction between an “employee” and an “independent contractor” is significant. Employees are entitled…

Read More Strippers are “Employees” and Not “Independent Contractors” Under Federal and State Wage Laws
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In O’Neill v. Mermaid Touring Inc. (SDNY 11-9128 Sept. 10, 2013), the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment in part, and denied it in part. The decision is instructive on various issues in the wage/hour context, including the geographic limitations of the Labor Law, the extent to which “on call” time is compensable, and…

Read More Lady Gaga Wage Saga Continues
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The Appellate Division, First Department recently upheld an arbitrator’s decision to terminate the respondent, a tenured teacher, for making death threats towards an arbitrator. The decision is In re Smith v. NYC Dept. of Education, 2013 NY Slip Op 05765 (Sept. 3, 2013). Initially, the court held that the arbitrator’s decision to terminate the petitioner…

Read More Death Threats Justified Teacher’s Firing; No First Amendment Protection for “True Threats”
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The Southern District of New York recently decided Nelson v. City of New York, which it characterized as an atypical disability discrimination case that “raises several questions about the outer limits of federal disability law.” The court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment (in part) with respect to plaintiff’s claims under (among other laws) the…

Read More NYPD Officer Can Continue Disability Discrimination Claims Against Defendants; No Showing That She Was a “Direct Threat” And Hence Unqualified
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In a recent court filing, petitioner Peter Maddocks seeks an order directing McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon to keep from destroying, and to allow petitioner to inspect, surveillance videos, photographs, and or recordings from August 9, 2013. Mr. Maddocks claims that these materials must be preserved for potential litigation arising from serious injuries he sustained after he…

Read More Man Injured by “Fire Shots” Seeks to Preserve Videos and Photos
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The words “technicality” and “loophole” are frequently used to describe certain legal developments or results that, for one reason or another, don’t “seem” right. Unfortunately, they are often used irresponsibly and in a way that perpetuates both ignorance of the law and unfair stereotypes of lawyers as sleazy manipulators. Take, for example, the New York…

Read More On “Technicalities” and “Loopholes”
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