August 2013

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A recent Second Circuit decision, Dejesus v. HF Management Services, illustrates how detailed a federal complaint must be to sufficiently allege overtime violations under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law. The court upheld the dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint because she did not “plausibly allege that she worked overtime without…

Read More Second Circuit Holds FLSA Overtime Allegations Insufficiently Pled
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In Shane v. Supervova New York Realty LLC (NY Sup. July 8, 2013), a stairway trip-and-fall case, the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment, finding triable issues of fact as to whether an outside stairway defect was “trivial”. Plaintiff, a guest at a NYC Sheraton Hotel, tripped on the stairs ascending to the landing leading…

Read More Court Finds Issues of Fact as to Whether 0.5-Inch Defect Was a “Trap” or Snare” and Hence Not “Trivial”
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Today Judge Scheindlin found the City of New York liable, under Section 1983 and Monell v. Dept. of Social Services of the City of New York, for violating plaintiffs’ constitutional rights in connection with its stop-and-frisk program.  (Gothamist article here.) Her 198-page opinion (which mercifully has a table of contents) setting forth her findings of fact and conclusions…

Read More Floyd Plaintiffs Win Stop-and-Frisk Case
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In Woo v. United Nations Intl. School, 2013 NY Slip Op 51167(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. July 11, 2013), the court dismissed a personal injury action brought by a high school baseball player. Plaintiff Woo was injured when, as he was preparing to catch a ball thrown by plaintiff’s teammate DeRosa, the ball “glanced off the outer portion…

Read More High School Baseball Player Assumed Risk of Injury; Complaint Dismissed
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In a striking victory for free speech, a Manhattan trial court judge recently dismissed a lawsuit brought by TriBeCa residents against photographer Arne Svenson after he surreptitiously photographed them in their homes and used the photos in an art exhibit called “The Neighbors”. Judge Rakower’s August 5, 2013 opinion dismissing the case in Foster v.…

Read More Citing Free Speech, Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Photographer Who Took Secret Pictures of Neighbors
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In Albano v. Stein, a rear-end collision case, a Brooklyn trial court denied summary judgment to defendants on the issues of liability, serious injury, and causation. There, plaintiff Albano’s car was struck from behind by a car owned by Atkins and driven by Stein: Ms. Albano was either backing or had just backed her vehicle…

Read More Brooklyn Car Accident Case Survives Summary Judgment on Liability and “Serious Injury” Threshold
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Governor Cuomo recently signed a bill (A6554) that amends New York’s protective order statute, CPLR § 3103(a), to permit non-parties to object to discovery. According to the bill’s accompanying memorandum: This measure would amend CPLR § 3103(a) to expand the delineated persons who may seek the remedy of a protective order in regard to the use of discovery…

Read More New Bill Authorizes Non-Parties to Object to Discovery
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A trial court recently denied the motions by Bob’s Discount Furniture and Costco Wholesale Corporation to dismiss claims arising from Marion Hedges being struck by a shopping cart dropped from the fourth floor of the East River Plaza shopping complex (pictured). The complaint in Hedges v. East River Plaza LLC is here, my earlier post on…

Read More Marion Hedges’ Lawsuit Arising From Dropped Shopping Cart Survives Summary Judgment
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In Perez v. Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the Southern District of New York recently denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim that his termination violated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. § 1514A (SOX). Plaintiff, a Senior Manager of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at defendant who held a Ph.D and a master’s degree in organic chemistry,…

Read More Chemist’s Lawsuit Alleging Retaliatory Termination Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Survives Dismissal
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In Thomas v. Public Storage Inc., 12-cv-8804, 957 F. Supp. 2d 496 (SDNY July 31, 2013), the Southern District of New York held that where an employee received notice of an employer’s arbitration policy at the beginning of her employment and continued to work there, the arbitration clause may be enforced – notwithstanding the employee’s argument…

Read More Arbitration Clause Enforced, Despite Plaintiff’s Argument That She Neither Saw Nor Signed It
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