September 2014

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Here’s yet another reason not to engage in sexual activity with subordinates. In Scholem v. Acadia Realty Ltd. Partnership (decided August 7, 2014), the court held that an employer established, as a matter of law, that it fired plaintiff (its former Senior Vice President-Director of Property Management) for “cause” after he engaged in sexual relations with…

Read More Sex With Assistant Results in Termination for “Cause” and Denial of Severance Benefits
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According to various reports (for example, from Buzzfeed and Time), dating company start-up Tinder and its parent company recently settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by co-founder Whitney Wolfe. In her California state court complaint filed earlier this year, Ms. Wolfe alleged (for example) that the conduct of Tinder’s senior executives “represent[ed] the worst of the misogynist,…

Read More Tinder Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
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In Pittman v. Incorporated Village of Hempstead, the Eastern District of New York held that plaintiff’s excessive force claim survived summary judgment. The “Fourth Amendment protects individuals from the government’s use of excessive force when detaining or arresting individuals. … A police officer’s use of force is excessive in violation of the Fourth Amendment[] if it…

Read More Injury to Arrestee’s Head and Ear Results in Denial of Summary Judgment to Officer on Excessive Force Claim
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In Hefti v. Brand Union, Inc. (a wrongful termination lawsuit), decided July 2, 2014, the New York Supreme Court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint for failure to state a claim. Plaintiff alleged that she was subjected to discrimination based on her disability (clinical depression and bipolar disorder), including by forcing her to disclosing personal…

Read More Court Rejects Defendant’s Reliance on “After-Acquired Evidence” Doctrine
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Here is the complaint filed on September 3, 2014 by Danny Yoo against The New York Palace Hotel and Michael Richard. Plaintiff alleges, among other things, that after Richard noticed a bubble on an eclair plaintiff had worked on, Richard approached plaintiff “and all of a sudden began tapping [plaintiff]’s chin and lips repeatedly with…

Read More Danny Yoo’s Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against The New York Palace Hotel and Michael Richard
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In Vormittag v Unity Elec. Co., Inc., 12 CV 4116 RJD RLM, 2014 WL 4273303 [EDNY Aug. 28, 2014], the Eastern District of New York granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s age discrimination claim, but denied it with respect to plaintiff’s retaliation claim. Plaintiff sued after being furloughed and fired due to a large-scale…

Read More Father’s Third-Party Retaliation Claim Arising From Daughter’s Sex Discrimination Charge Survives Summary Judgment
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In Barney-Yeboah v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad, the Appellate Division, First Department held that plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on the issue of liability under the doctrine of resipsa loquitur. Here are the facts of this personal injury case: Plaintiff, a passenger on defendant’s train, was allegedly injured when a ceiling panel in the train…

Read More Court Holds that Train Panel Injury Results in Summary Judgment in Plaintiff’s Favor Under Doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitur
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In Valleriani v. Route 390 Nissan (filed Sept. 2, 2014), the Western District of New York denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s gender-based hostile work environment claim: [T]o constitute gender discrimination in the form of a hostile work environment, the conduct directed at Plaintiff had to be based on her gender. Here, the incidents…

Read More Content, Rather Than Motivation, for Sexually Offensive Language is Relevant in Hostile Work Environment Case, According to Court
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In Chiaramonte v. The Animal Medical Center, the Southern District of New York recently held that plaintiff successfully pleaded – “by a very narrow margin” – claims under the federal Equal Pay Act and its New York equivalent. In this case, Plaintiff alleges in the Amended Complaint that she, in addition to serving as a…

Read More Female Veterinarian Plausibly Alleges Equal Pay Act Claims
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As explained by the Second Department in Cipriano v. City of New York, In a slip and fall case, a defendant may establish its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence that the plaintiff cannot identify the cause of his or her fall. If a plaintiff is unable to…

Read More Second Department Clarifies That a Slip/Fall Plaintiff Need Not Have Personal Knowledge of Cause of Fall
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