In Gillings v. New York Post, 2018 NY Slip Op 07413 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Nov. 7, 2018), the court affirmed the dismissal of a defamation action against the New York Post and Julia Marsh, on the basis of New York Civil Rights Law § 74. The court summarized the law as follows: Civil Rights Law § 74…
Read More Defamation Action Against New York Post Dismissed Under NY Civil Rights Law § 74In Benson v. Family Dollar Operations, Inc., 2018 WL 5919905 (2d Cir. Nov. 13, 2018) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit, inter alia, affirmed the dismissal by summary judgment of plaintiff’s age discrimination claim. This case is one example of how courts evaluate statistics as proffered evidence of in an employment discrimination case. The court summarized the well-established…
Read More Statistics Insufficient to Show Age Discrimination, Court FindsIn Coyle v. College of Westchester, Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 07699, 2018 NY Slip Op 07699 (App. Div. 2d Dept. Nov. 14, 2014), the court – in addition to affirming the dismissal of plaintiff’s Labor Law § 740 cause of action – also affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s “fraudulent inducement” claim. The court summarized the well-established, current…
Read More Citing the “At Will Employment” Rule, Court Affirms the Dismissal of Plaintiff’s Fraudulent Inducement ClaimFrom Coyle v. College of Westchester, Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 07699, 2018 NY Slip Op 07699 (App. Div. 2d Dept. Nov. 14, 2014): We agree with the Supreme Court’s determination to grant that branch of the defendants’ motion which was to dismiss the cause of action alleging violation of Labor Law § 740, commonly known as…
Read More Court Affirms Dismissal of Labor Law 740 Whistleblower Law ClaimIn Ferraro v. New York City Department of Education, 2018 WL 5881663 (2d Cir. Nov. 9, 2018) (Summary Order), the court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s claims of disability discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City…
Read More Employment Discrimination Claims Collaterally Estopped by Findings at 3020-a Hearing, Court HoldsIn a decision handed down yesterday, Collins v. Resource Center for Independent Living, 17-CV-0925, 2018 WL 5983377 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 14, 2018), the court, inter alia, granted defendant’s motion to dismiss – on the pleadings, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c) – plaintiff’s Title VII race-based hostile work environment claim. From the decision: [T]he Court finds that…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed on the Pleadings; Court Cites Absence of Racially Derogatory StatementsPresident Trump attracts lawsuits like a magnet attracts iron filings. In a lawsuit filed November 13, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, captioned Cable News Network, Inc. et al v. Donald J. Trump et al (U.S. Dist. Ct. D.C. Cir. filed Nov. 13, 2018), plaintiffs CNN and Jim Acosta accuse…
Read More CNN & Jim Acosta File First Amendment-Based Lawsuit Against Trump et alIn Rosen v. MHM Realty LLC, 2018 NY Slip Op 07549 (App. Div. 1st Div. Nov. 8, 2018), the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the lower court’s order denying plaintiff’s motion for a protective order and directed plaintiff to give defendants an unlimited authorization (for a specified period) for mental health records for treatment in connection with injuries…
Read More Mental Health Records Must Be Produced in Injury Case, Court HoldsIn Wilson v. National Grid USA Service Company, Inc. et al, 2018 WL 5886438 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 9, 2018), the court dismissed plaintiff’s race- and gender-based hostile work environment claims. Here is the court’s summary of the relevant law: To state a hostile work environment claim in violation of Title VII, a plaintiff must plead facts that…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; Alleged Racial Comments Were Not Heard FirsthandFrom White v. Town of Huntington, 14-CV-7370, 2018 WL 5624148 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 30, 2018): [P]laintiff claims that, in certain instances, his qualifications exceeded those of non-minority applicants who successfully obtained the subject positions. As the Second Circuit has held: *5 When a plaintiff seeks to prevent summary judgment on the strength of a discrepancy in…
Read More Race Discrimination Claim “Narrowly” Survives Summary Judgment