In Doe v. Bloomberg, LP, No. 451470/2020, 2020 WL 7495654, 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 34235(U) (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Dec. 21, 2020), a sexual harassment case, the court granted defendants’ motion to compel plaintiff to amend the caption of the action to reflect her name. The court summarized the guiding principles relating to this…
Read More Sexual Harassment Plaintiff May Not Proceed Anonymously, Court RulesIn some cases, displays of racially- and/or sexually-charged content (e.g., videos) at work might be evidence of actionable employment discrimination. That is, of course, not an ironclad rule. Consider, for example, the recent case of Johnson v. IAC/InterActiveCorp, 2020 NY Slip Op 00488 (NY App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 23, 2020), in which the New York Appellate…
Read More “Offensive” Content Shown at Work Insufficient to Demonstrate Disparate Treatment, Court HoldsIn Delever v One Taste Inc., No. 161172/2018, 2019 WL 3457260 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County July 31, 2019), the court dismissed plaintiff’s various claims, including for sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, and breach of contract. In sum, plaintiff claimed (inter alia) that defendant’s sales director promised her that she could…
Read More Sexual Harassment Claim Dismissed; Plaintiff Was Not an “Employee”In Caserta v Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, No. 157983/2015, 2019 WL 1003772 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Feb. 26, 2019), a personal injury case, the court stated and applied the general rule regarding discovery of a plaintiff’s social media postings. Here is the court’s summary of the general rule: Social media information is…
Read More Court Permits Limited Social Media Discovery in Personal Injury CaseA recent decision, Petrisko v Animal Medical Center, No. 151573/2018, 2019 NY Slip Op 30679(U), 2019 WL 1311026 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Mar. 22, 2019), highlights important features of New York defamation law – such as when alleged defamatory statements are non-actionable opinion, and the specificity with which such claims must be alleged.…
Read More Defamation Claim Dismissed; Alleged Defamatory Statements Were Non-Actionable Opinion, and Allegations Were Insufficiently Specific as to TimeIn Johnson v IAC/Interactivecorp., No. 155837/2014, 2018 WL 3536599, 2018 N.Y. Slip Op. 31720(U) (Sup Ct, New York County July 16, 2018), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s claim for gender discrimination. This case illustrates, among other things, that when assessing employment discrimination claims, context counts. From the decision: It is significant here that plaintiff was…
Read More “College Humor” Gender Discrimination Claim DismissedIn Cook v. Emblem Health Services Co., LLC,2018 NY Slip Op 30460(U), 2018 WL 1399351 (N.Y.Sup. Ct. March 16, 2018), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s race discrimination claim. In reaching this conclusion, it addressed the use of so-called “racially coded” language – i.e., language that is facially benign but that may actually have a…
Read More Race Discrimination Claim Dismissed Against Emblem Health, Notwithstanding Alleged Use of “Racially Coded” LanguageIn Rodrigues v. Watershed Ventures LLC, 2018 N.Y. Slip Op. 30322(U), 2018 WL 1030303 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Feb. 23, 2018), the court held, inter alia, that plaintiffs sufficiently alleged a claim for discrimination under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. The court explained the applicable legal standards: In employment discrimination actions brought pursuant…
Read More Race Discrimination Claim Sufficiently Alleged Against Watershed Ventures