July 2013

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Today a state appellate court unanimously affirmed Judge Tingling’s March 11, 2013 decision striking down New York City’s soda ban. The decision holds that “the Board of Health overstepped the boundaries of its lawfully delegated authority when it promulgated the Portion Cap Rule to curtail the consumption of soda drinks” and “therefore violated the state principle…

Read More Appellate Court Upholds Judge Tingling’s Decision Striking Down Soda Ban
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Plaintiff Ese O’Diah, a black man from Nigeria, sued his former employer Roastown Coffee and its owner Doug Shin for employment discrimination (alleging that he was fired because of his race, color, and national origin) and defamation. Defendants claimed that plaintiff was fired for stealing money from the store cash register. The Southern District of…

Read More Plaintiff Gets to Jury on Discrimination and Defamation Claims, Notwithstanding Theft Allegation
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I fondly remember, in Miss Schmidt’s fourth grade class, the pride I felt when I “passed” the cursive writing “test” and was rewarded with a ball point pen. Good times. In today’s electronic age, cursive writing is less relevant than it has been in the past. One article even suggests, by reference to the Zimmerman…

Read More Claims Adjuster’s Email Sufficient to Enforce Settlement Agreement
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Below is the complaint recently filed in New York state court by three female plaintiffs against various Merrill Lynch entities.  More information on this (for example) here and here. Plaintiffs allege discrimination in violation of the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), following the non-prejudicial dismissal of those claims from plaintiffs’ federal lawsuit.  (You can…

Read More Lawsuit: “Boys Club” Alive and Well at Merrill Lynch
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A recent Southern District decision, Brown v. City of New York, outlines conduct that could easily form a roadmap for a corporate sexual harassment training course (in the “what not to do” sense). There, New York City employee Sheila Brown sued the City of New York, alleging (under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964…

Read More Conduct of Aggressive, Masturbating Misogynistic Co-Worker Results in Denial of Summary Judgment for Defendant on Sexual Harassment Claims
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In Gautier v. 941 Intervale Realty LLC, 2013 NY Slip Op 05432, 108 AD3d 481 (July 23, 2013), a stairway slip-and-fall case, the court affirmed the denial of summary judgment to defendant. Defendant moved for summary judgment on the ground that it neither created nor had actual or constructive notice of the hazard.  In support, it cited…

Read More Summary Judgment Properly Denied to Defendant in Slip/Fall Case; No Evidence That Janitorial Schedule Was Followed on Day of Incident
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A recent Second Circuit decision provides guidance on the appropriate standard to be applied in cases involving deadly police force against a suspect.  The case is Rasanen v. Brown et al., 12-680-cv, 2013 WL 3766538 (July 19, 2013). During a warranted search of John Rasanen’s home, defendant NYS trooper Brown shot and killed Rasanen.  The administrator…

Read More Citing Flawed Jury Instructions, Second Circuit Vacates Decision Denying Plaintiff New Trial in Fatal Police Shooting Case
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Admit it:  you’ve fantasized about doing this. Below is the complaint filed by Willian Barboza in June, captioned Willian Barboza v. Detective Steven D’Agata and Police Officer Melvin Gorr, 13-cv-4067 (SDNY June 13, 2013).  Plaintiff alleges: In August 2012, plaintiff Willian Barboza paid by mail a traffic ticket that he received while driving through the Village…

Read More Traffic Ticket Profanity Results in First Amendment Lawsuit
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