June 2014

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Below is the employment discrimination complaint, recently filed by security guard Tiffany Bryan against her employer AEG Management Brooklyn, alleging race discrimination. She seeks recovery under 42 U.S.C. section 1981 and the New York City Human Rights Law. It alleges that plaintiff, a black woman, “was ridiculed, discriminated against, and effectively terminated for the way she wears…

Read More Lawsuit Alleges Discriminatory Treatment For Failure to Tame Afro
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In Mahautiere v. New York City Tr. Auth., the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit arising from a subway car’s failure to provide adequate air conditioning. The court held that the defendant established “that its gratuitous provision of air conditioning ‘created no justifiable reliance’ on the part of the plaintiff [citation omitted] and…

Read More Gratuitous Provision of Subway Air Conditioning Exonerates Transit Authority in Personal Injury Lawsuit
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In Cruz v. NYS Dept. of Corrections, the Southern District of New York held (in a decision dated June 4, 2014) that the male plaintiff stated claims for hostile work environment and “quid pro quo” sexual harassment arising from unfair treatment by his female supervisor. The facts, as summarized by the court: Until August 8, 2012,…

Read More Male Corrections Employee States Sexual Harassment Claims Arising From Alleged Mistreatment by Female Boss
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In Karimian v. Time Equities, Inc., 569 Fed.Appx. 54, 13-997-cv (2d Cir. June 17, 2014) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed a district court decision granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s hostile work environment, retaliation, and national origin discrimination claims brought pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “In…

Read More Cost-Reduction Measures, and Not Anti-Iranian Discrimination, Justified Termination, Second Circuit Holds
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Employment discrimination cases – particularly those involving allegations of harassment or a hostile work environment – are often not suitable for resolution as a matter of law (or “summary judgment”), since they frequently turn on factual disputes more appropriately resolved by a jury rather than a judge. Some cases, however, are suitable for disposition as a…

Read More Court Grants Restaurant Co-Workers Summary Judgment on Sexual Harassment (Hostile Work Environment) Claims
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New York Labor Law § 240(1) is a very important statute, as it provides significant protections to workers who are exposed to gravity-related risks without being provided with adequate safety devices. However, in order for its considerable protections to kick in, it must be determined, in the first instance, whether it applies. Labor Law § 240(1) provides, in pertinent…

Read More Replacement of Windows Was “Repair”, Rather Than “Routine Maintenance”, Entitling Plaintiff Worker to Summary Judgment in Labor Law 240(1) Construction Accident Case
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In Schwartz v. Marcantonatos et al. (Summary Order decided May 20, 2014), the Second Circuit affirmed the denial of summary judgment to defendants on the ground of qualified immunity. This false arrest case arises out of the NYPD’s botched attempt to arrest the plaintiff as part of its “lucky bag” program. Ironically, the arresting (plainclothes) officer’s own illegal…

Read More “Lucky Bag” Operation Backfires; False Arrest Lawsuit Continues
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Below is the complaint filed on June 11, 2014 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against United Health Programs of America, Inc. and Cost Containment Group, Inc. The suit alleges, among other things, that defendants forced employees to engage in practices pursuant to a belief system called “Harnessing Happiness” (commonly known as “Onionhead”), including praying, reading…

Read More “Onionhead” Religious Discrimination Lawsuit
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In Laguerre v. Kessler, a premises liability/trip-and-fall case, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Initially, the court held that the “defendant established his prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting proof that there was no defect in the subject carpeting, and that the carpeting…

Read More Stair Trip/Fall Case Continues
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It’s a fairly typical personal injury scenario: a customer, while on defendant’s premises, slips and falls on (for example) a slippery substance, sustains injury, and sues to recover damages. What may seem like a straightforward situation is anything but. This is illustrated by the recent case of Dequinzio v. Gristedes Food, Inc., decided by New…

Read More Court Dismisses Supermarket Slip-and-Fall Case, Where Defendants Did Not Have a Reasonable Opportunity to Clean Up Injury-Causing Spill
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