2017

The Southern District of New York’s recent decision in McCray v. Project Renewal, Inc., 15-cv-8494, 2017 WL 715010 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2017) (Judge Caproni) serves as another reminder of the procedural hurdles that must be overcome in order to assert an employment discrimination claim in federal court. Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, sued his former employer, Defendant Project Renewal,…

Read More Court Dismisses ADA Disability Discrimination Claim as Unexhausted, Title VII Race Discrimination Claim as Insufficiently Pled
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In Calvo v. Aristizabal (NY Sup Ct. NY Cty. Index 156048/16 Jan. 20, 2017) (J. Mendez), the court granted defendant’s motion pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(1) and (7), CPLR 7503, and 9 U.S.C. 3, 4 (a/k/a the Federal Arbitration Act) to dismiss plaintiff’s sexual harassment complaint and to compel arbitration. Plaintiff, an account manager at NBC…

Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Dismissed Pursuant to NBC Universal’s Mediation/Arbitration Program
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It is an unfortunate reality that many employment discrimination cases are dismissed. These cases are often difficult to prove, and success requires navigating a path riddled with hurdles, ranging from statutes of limitation, to proper pleading, to dismissal on summary judgment following the completion of discovery. A recent example is Edwards v. N.Y. State Office of…

Read More Court Dismisses Born Again Christian’s Employment Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, and Retaliation Claims
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In Jeremias v. Lake Forest Estates, No. 2015-08003, 2017 WL 424673 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. Feb. 1, 2017), a personal injury slip/trip-and-fall case, the court affirmed the lower court’s denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The law, as summarized by the court: A defendant moving for summary judgment in a slip-and-fall case has the…

Read More Testimony About General Cleaning Practices Insufficient to Establish Summary Judgment for Defendant in Slip/Fall Personal Injury Case
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In Morshed v. St. Barnabas Hosp., No. 16 CIV. 2862 (LGS), 2017 WL 543236 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 10, 2017), the court overruled defendants’ claims that ten documents were “privileged under the self-critical analysis privilege, peer review privilege and quality assurance privileges.”[1]Specifically, defendants asserted the following as grounds for their assertion of privilege: Rule 501 of the…

Read More Court Overrules Defendants’ Claims of Privilege in Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Case
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In Bentick v. Gatchalian, 2017 NY Slip Op 01172 (App. Div. 2d Dept. Feb. 15, 2017), an automobile accident case, the court affirmed the lower court’s decision granting plaintiff summary judgment on the issue of liability. Plaintiff and defendant collided “while the plaintiff was in the process of making a left turn from westbound Hillside Avenue…

Read More Auto-Accident Plaintiff Entitled to Summary Judgment; Evidence Demonstrated That Defendant Went Through Red LIght
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In Lorber v. Jacob Lew, No. 15-cv-9995, 2017 WL 633446 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 15, 2017) (J. Kimba M. Wood), the court dismissed (for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)) plaintiff’s gender-based hostile work environment claim, but stayed its decision on defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Title VII sexual orientation discrimination claim (which…

Read More SDNY Dismisses Sex-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim; Stays Ruling on Title VII Sexual Orientation Discrimination (Stereotyping) Claim Pending Second Circuit Rulings
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In Arifi v. Cent. Moving & Storage Co., No. 159334/12, 2017 WL 628321 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept. Feb. 16, 2017), the court affirmed the lower court’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s age discrimination claims. From the decision: In moving for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s claims for age-based employment discrimination under…

Read More Age Discrimination Claims Properly Dismissed; Suspicion of Theft Was a Legitimate, Nondiscriminatory, Non-Pretextual Reason for Termination
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In Prophete-Camille v. Stericycle, Inc., No. 14-CV-7268(JS)(AKT), 2017 WL 570769 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 13, 2017), the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sexual harassment/hostile work environment claim. With respect to the issue of whether the workplace was sufficiently “hostile”, the court explained: The Court finds that Plaintiff has raised issues of fact on her…

Read More Sexual Harassment (Hostile Work Environment) Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Evidence Included Sexual Comments and References to Sexual Acts, Sexual Relationship
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In Ruiz v. Lenox Hill Hosp., No. 160377/15, 2017 WL 213802 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 19, 2017), the First Department affirmed (in part) a lower court’s decision addressing plaintiff’s claims under New York’s general and health-care whistleblower laws (N.Y. Labor Law §§ 740 and 741) Here are plaintiff’s allegations, as summarized by the court:…

Read More Surgeon’s Whistleblower Claim Survives Dismissal
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