October 2013

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In Hassan v. Barnes & Noble and Starbucks, plaintiffs sought to recover damages for personal injuries suffered from spilling hot tea in a Barnes & Noble. They alleged that Barnes & Noble was negligent by serving tea in a cup with an unsecured lid, and in allowing the use of an “uneven” and “wobbly” table…

Read More Personal Injury Case Arising From Hot Tea and Wobbly Table Dismissed Against Starbucks; Continues Against Barnes & Noble
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I came across this and thought it was interesting, if only because it is believed to be the only time a U.S. Supreme Court Justice said “Happy Halloween” from the bench. During oral argument on October 31, 2005 in the case of Central Virginia Community College v. Katz, 126 S. Ct. 990 (2006), the following exchange took…

Read More Judge Scalia: Halloween Fan
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In Colon v. Fashion Institute of Technology, the Southern District of New York ruled on employment discrimination and retaliation claims brought by two plaintiffs, both Hispanic women, against FIT.  It considered claims brought by Genette Colon, a student aide, and Elvimar Rivas, a secretary, under various laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA),…

Read More Court Rules on Discrimination and Retaliation Claims Against Fashion Institute of Technology
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In Brumberg v. Cipriani USA, the Appellate Division, Third Department reversed a summary judgment for defendants.  In this personal injury case, plaintiff (a Cornell University professor) sued after allegedly consuming a 1.5 inch shard of wood at a Cornell University fundraiser catered by Cipriani. Initially, the court found that plaintiff presented sufficient evidence that she consumed…

Read More Cornell University Professor’s Personal Injury Case Arising From Consumption of Wood Shard Continues
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In Naheem v. Y. Ron Taxi, a three-car accident case, the court awarded summary judgment to the driver and owner of the lead car, which was struck from behind. To simplify the facts, the accident allegedly proceeded as follows, with Car 1 striking Car 2 and propelling it into Car 3: CAR 1 (Rasheed) —–>…

Read More Court Awards Summary Judgment to Rear-Ended Car in Three-Car Accident
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Here is the complaint in Terry v. Red Bull North America, Inc., which was filed in New York State Court in Brooklyn on October 24, 2013.  The lawsuit seeks damages arising from the death of Cory Terry, which was allegedly caused by his ingestion of Red Bull. According to the complaint: On or about the evening of…

Read More Red Bull Wrongful Death Lawsuit
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In De Los Santos v. Long Island Railroad, plaintiff sought damages for personal injuries he sustained after he became drunk and attempted to commit suicide by laying down on the tracks in the path of a Long Island Railroad commuter train. In perhaps one of the clearest cases of judicial understatement, the court observed that “[t]ragic…

Read More Court Dismisses Lawsuit Arising From Drunken Man’s Attempted Suicide by Train
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Generally, with the exception of New York City’s Earned Sick Time Act, New York law does not require payment for time not actually worked (such as holidays, sick time, and vacations) unless the employer has established a policy or agreed to make such payments. Is There an Agreement? As explained by the court in Litras v PVM…

Read More The Law of Vacation Pay in New York
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In Boutros v. JTC Painting, the Southern District of New York denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint seeking unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. Plaintiffs are painters who worked for defendant JTC, a painting contractor owned by co-defendant Caruso.  They allege that JTC failed to pay…

Read More Overtime Complaint Was Not Moot in Light of Open-Ended Allegation of Hours Worked
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In Rampersaud v. Parmanand, a Queens trial court issued a decision explaining the circumstances under which summary judgment is appropriate in a rear-end collision case. Plaintiff Rampersaud was a passenger in a car driven by Parmanand when it was struck in the rear by a car driven by Cunningham.  Defendant driver Parmanand (and co-defendant owner…

Read More Sudden Stop of Lead Vehicle Creates Issues of Fact in Rear-End Car Accident Case
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