Disability Discrimination

In Greene v. Middletown, filed April 29, 2014, the Southern District of New York granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s disability discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In reaching its decision, Judge Cote cited and applied the “stray remarks” doctrine, which is used to evaluate whether allegedly discriminatory comments are…

Read More Amputee’s Disability Discrimination Case Dismissed Due to “Oblique and Remote” Nature of Alleged Discriminatory Remark
Share This:

Below is the federal court complaint, captioned Natasha Velez v. Chipotle Mexican Grill et al., 1:14-cv-02625, filed yesterday by plaintiff Natasha Velez against her former employer Chipotle. Plaintiff alleges that she was fired after disclosing that she was a victim of domestic violence and showing her manager a recently-obtained order of protection against her assailant. She…

Read More Lawsuit: Domestic Violence Victim Status Discrimination Case Against Chipotle
Share This:

In Jacobsen v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., 2014 N.Y. Slip Op 2098, the New York Court of Appeals recently held that summary judgment should not have been granted on plaintiff’s disability discrimination claims under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. The court held that “both statutes generally preclude summary judgment…

Read More NY Court of Appeals Holds That Issues of Fact as to “Reasonable Accommodation” Preclude Summary Judgment on Disability Discrimination Claims
Share This:

The Second Circuit recently held, in Parada v. Banco Industrial De Venezuela (decided March 25, 2014), that “impairments that limit the ability to sit for long periods of time do not categorically fail to qualify as disabilities under” the Americans with Disabilities Act. Plaintiff worked for the defendant in a “largely sedentary” position. About six…

Read More Circuit Rejects “Categorical” Determination that Inability to Sit for Prolonged Periods is Not a “Disability” Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
Share This:

In Zavala v. Cornell University, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York recently denied defendant’s Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings on plaintiff’s disability discrimination claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq. Plaintiff, who suffers from diabetes, worked as a network technician for…

Read More Diabetic Plaintiff’s Disability Discrimination Complaint Survives Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings
Share This:

Recently, the Second Circuit held, in Costello v. Flatman, that the district court erred by declining to award a prevailing plaintiff attorney fees under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In this lawsuit (as explained in the district court’s March 28, 2013 opinion), wheelchair-bound plaintiff Mike Costello alleged that while visiting a Brooklyn Subway restaurant, he…

Read More Second Circuit Remands for Reconsideration of Attorney Fee Request in ADA Public Accommodation Case
Share This:

In Sacks v. Gandhi Engineering, the Southern District of New York adopted a Report and Recommendation that defendant’s motion for summary judgment for disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act be denied (but that defendant’s motion as to plaintiff’s age and religious discrimination claims be granted). Plaintiff worked for defendant as a Senior Inspector…

Read More Plaintiff Presented Enough Evidence to Overcome Summary Judgment on His “Perceived Disability” Discrimination Claim
Share This:

The Southern District of New York recently reiterated, in Wermann v. Excel Dentistry PC, that “a plaintiff may bring a retaliation claim stemming from an employer’s opposition to her unemployment benefits application” and that “filing retaliatory counterclaims may violate” the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The…

Read More Plaintiff Sufficiently Alleged Retaliation Based on Defendants’ Opposing Unemployment Benefits and “Frivolous” Counterclaims in Sexual Harassment Case
Share This:

In Glaser v. Gap Inc., the Southern District of New York denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s disability discrimination and failure to accommodate claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the broader New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). Plaintiff is a 37 year-old man who suffers from autism and who…

Read More Autistic Man’s Disability Discrimination Claims Continue
Share This:

In Baldwin v. Bank of America, N.A., the New York Supreme Court, Kings County, recently held that plaintiff adequately pled “aiding and abetting” claims against her former supervisor, Perez. Plaintiff alleged discrimination on the basis of gender, pregnancy, and disability. Her complaint contained four causes of action: three against the defendant Bank, and the fourth…

Read More Plaintiff Adequately Pleads “Aiding and Abetting” Claim Against Individual Under the New York City Human Rights Law
Share This: