In Matter of Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. v. Breheny, 2022 NY Slip Op 03859 (N.Y. Ct. App. June 14, 2022), the New York Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s determination that the writ of habeas corpus is unavailable where the liberty interest at issue is not that of a “human being,” but rather of an…
Read More [Un]Happy Result: Elephants, as Nonhuman Beings, May Not Invoke Habeas CorpusIn Kirstyn Crawford v. American Broadcasting Co., Inc., No. 157874/2021, 2022 WL 2066925 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County June 08, 2022), the court granted individual defendant Michael Corn’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s hostile work environment sexual harassment claims, asserted under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws, as time-barred. Plaintiff (an ABC…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Claims Dismissed, as Time-Barred, Against Former ABC Producer Michael CornIn Doe v. Louis Leonelli et al, brought under the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Act, NYC Administrative Code § 10-1105, the court denied plaintiff’s (unopposed) motion to proceed pseudonymously. The court stated the applicable black-letter law as follows: Rule 10(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that the “title of…
Read More Plaintiff May Not Proceed Pseudonymously in Priest Sex Abuse CaseIn Ilana Gamza-Machado de Souza v. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. et al, 21 Civ. 5553 (LGS), 2022 WL 2047580 (S.D.N.Y. June 7, 2022), the court held that plaintiff, a Jewish woman, plausibly alleged retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and…
Read More Jewish Woman Sufficiently Alleges Retaliation Against Planned ParenthoodIn Oluwo v. Sutton, No. 2019-13814, 2260/19, 2022 N.Y. Slip Op. 03734, 2022 WL 2057838 (N.Y.A.D. 2 Dept. June 08, 2022), the Appellate Division, Second Department modified a lower court order, and held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged claims of national origin-based discrimination (under the New York State Human Rights Law), and hostile work environment (under…
Read More Nigerian Plaintiff’s National Origin Discrimination and Hostile Work Environment Claims Should Have Not Have Been Dismissed, Court HoldsIn Leroy v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 2022 WL 2069281 (2d Cir. June 9, 2022), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s retaliation claim asserted under the New York City Human Rights Law, N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107(7). This case arose from an incident in which a passenger allegedly called plaintiff flight attendant a…
Read More Retaliation Claim, Based on Alleged Racial Comment by Airline Passenger, Properly DismissedIn Estevez, Mancini, and Mekuli v. Berkeley College et al, No. 18-CV-10350 (CS), 2022 WL 1963659 (S.D.N.Y. June 6, 2022), an employment discrimination case, the court considered defendants’ motion for attorney fees following the court’s prior summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff’s claims. Many of the anti-discrimination laws – including Title VII of the Civil Rights…
Read More Court Finds That “Thin” Retaliation Claims Were Not “Frivolous” so as to Warrant an Award of Attorney Fees to Defendants; Cautions Plaintiffs’ CounselIn Pattanayak v. Mastercard Inc., 21 Civ. 2657 (GBD), 2022 WL 2003317 (S.D.N.Y. June 6, 2022), the court, inter alia, denied plaintiff’s request to amend his complaint to bolster his hostile work environment claim, finding that claim futile. From the decision: A plaintiff alleging a hostile work environment claim must demonstrate that his workplace was…
Read More Court Denies Leave to Amend Hostile Work Environment Claim; Alleged Excessive Workload Etc. InsufficientIn Pachura v. Lloyd J. Austin, III, Secretary, Department of Defense, 6:21-CV-0316 (LEK/ATB), 2022 WL 1909546 (N.D.N.Y. June 3, 2022), the court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s hostile work environment sexual harassment claim asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court summarized plaintiff’s allegations, in sum, as follows: Between…
Read More Sexual Harassment Claim Survives Dismissal; Allegations Included Harassment by Facebook MessengerIn Rodriguez v. Town of Cicero et al, No. 20 C 7608, 2022 WL 1773715 (N.D.Ill. June 1, 2022), the court, inter alia, held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged a hostile work environment sexual harassment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court summarized plaintiff’s sexual harassment allegations as follows: The…
Read More Police Officer’s Title VII Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Claim Sufficiently Alleged, Court Holds