Today I appeared in Bronx Supreme Court on behalf of a plaintiff in a personal injury (trip-and-fall) case. The defendant had made a motion to strike the case from the trial calendar (due, in part, to its claim that plaintiff still owed it discovery) and to change the venue to another (less plaintiff-friendly) county. I was…
Read More New York Motion Practice: The “Affirmation of Good Faith” RequirementIn New York State Div. of Human Rights v. Team Taco Mexico, Corp., No. 2014-06673, 2016 WL 3265489 (N.Y. App. Div. June 15, 2016), the court held that there was “substantial evidence in the record to support the determination of the Commissioner of the [NYS Division of Human Rights] … that the respondent David Orduna…
Read More Court Upholds NYSDHR Sexual Harassment Determination and Award Against Team Taco Mexico And Individual HarasserIn Tse v. New York University, No. 10-CV-7207 (DAB), 2016 WL 3281045 (S.D.N.Y. June 6, 2016), the court, per SDNY Judge Batts, held that plaintiff’s receipt of long-term disability and social security disability insurance benefits did not preclude her from receiving back pay or front pay as a matter of law, and that those benefits should…
Read More SDNY Holds That Lost Wages Were Not Precluded, and Should Not Be Offset, by Disability BenefitsIn Magnotti v. Crossroads Healthcare Mgmt. LLC, 14-cv-6679, 2016 WL 3080801 (E.D.N.Y. May 27, 2016), the court discusses the circumstances under which an individual may be held liable under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. In this disability discrimination and retaliation case, plaintiff – a full-time supervising pharmacist – asserts that after…
Read More Court Discusses Individual Liability Under NYS and NYC Human Rights Laws in Disability Discrimination CaseIn In re Townsend, No. 15-43411-CEC, 2016 WL 2927522 (Bankr. E.D.N.Y. May 16, 2016), the court granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment that a judgment entered on a $450,000 jury verdict in Ganci v. U.S. Limousine Service and Raymond Townsend, EDNY 10-cv-3027, was non-dischargeable under the Bankruptcy Code. The Bankruptcy Code “exempts from discharge any debt for…
Read More Sexual Harassment Judgment Not Dischargeable in Bankruptcy, Court HoldsIn Gomez v. New York City Police Dep’t, No. 15-CV-4036 (AJN), 2016 WL 3212108 (S.D.N.Y. June 7, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the NYS and NYC Human Rights Laws. Election of Remedies Initially, the court held that plaintiff’s decision…
Read More Sexual Harassment (and Other) Claims Dismissed; Court Discusses and Applies Principles of Administrative Exhaustion, Election of Remedies, and Statute of LimitationsHappy Flag Day! Did you know that in New York, it is unlawful for an employer to punish you for displaying the American flag on your person or work station? New York Labor Law § 215-c, titled “Discrimination against employees for displaying the American flag”, provides: 1. No employer, public or private, or such employer’s duly…
Read More Flag DiscriminationIn Thurmond v. Bowman, No. 14-CV-6465W, 2016 WL 1295957 (W.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2016), a Fair Housing Act case, the court discussed the discoverability of social media evidence in connection with a claim for emotional distress damages. From the decision: I disagree that the entirety of a plaintiff’s social media account is per se relevant to…
Read More Seeking Emotional Distress Damages Does Not Automatically Make Social Media Posts Relevant and Discoverable, Court HoldsIn Altman v. New Rochelle Pub. Sch. Dist., No. 13-CV-3253 (NSR), 2016 WL 3181153 (S.D.N.Y. June 2, 2016), the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s national origin discrimination claim. “In order to establish a prima facie case of discriminatory termination of employment [under Title VII], the plaintiff must show that she belongs to…
Read More Title VII Plaintiff Survives Summary Judgment on National Origin Discrimination ClaimThe City has recently moved to strike plaintiff Dominique Sharpton’s personal injury/pothole trip/fall complaint, based on her failure to appear for her deposition despite multiple adjournments.
Read More City Moves to Strike Dominique Sharpton’s Slip/Fall Complaint For Failure to Appear for Deposition