2013

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The Northern District of New York recently held, in Hexemer v. General Electric, that plaintiff adequately pleaded retaliation for complaining about a co-worker’s discriminatory comments. Plaintiff, who was born in Iran and is of Persian descent, alleged that after she made a comment to two co-workers about how sitting at their desks led to weight…

Read More Iranian Plaintiff Sufficiently Alleged Retaliation After Firing For Complaining About Being Called “Uncivilized”
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Neither rain, nor shine, nor discrimination lawsuits… The Southern District of New York recently granted summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Postal Service in a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit. The decision is Jimenez v. Donahoe, decided September 11, 2013. Plaintiff Carlos Jimenez, a mail handler (and musician) alleged that he was subjected to discrimination…

Read More Court Dismisses Musical Mailman’s Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
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Today the Second Circuit issued its decision in Anani v. CVS RX Services, affirming a district court decision that a pharmacist was subject to the Fair Labor Standard’s exemption for highly-paid employees. The employee’s base salary was based on a 44-hour workweek, at all times exceeded $1250 weekly, and was guaranteed.  He also received additional compensation…

Read More Pharmacist Was an Exempt “Highly Paid Employee” Not Entitled to Overtime
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Those Romanians – always causing trouble.  First Dracula, now this. (That said, the Romanian I’m married to happens to be perfect.) A New York trial court recently held, in Weason v. Permanent Mission of Romania to the UN and Romania, that defendants were not immune under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act for injuries allegedly sustained…

Read More Romania Not Immune in Slip/Fall Case
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Today the Second Circuit held, in Velez v. City of New York (LYNCH, Lohier, Carney) that plaintiff, the mother of representative for her deceased son Anthony Velez, was not entitled to a new trial following a verdict for defendants. Mr. Velez was murdered after the police officers searched an apartment based on a confidential tip from him.…

Read More City Not Liable for Negligence Following Murder of Confidential Informant
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In Hoffman v. Brown, a premises liability case, the Second Department recently reversed a denial of summary judgment for defendants and dismissed plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff alleged that he sustained injuries while descending an exterior staircase abutting the side of defendants’ house.  Plaintiff claimed that as he stepped on the second step from the top of the…

Read More Defendant Wins in Staircase Injury Case; Plaintiff Fails to Prove Creation or Notice of Hazardous Condition
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In the recent decision of Newsome v. County of Suffolk, the Appellate Division, Second Department, considered the “professional judgment rule” in the context of a negligence claim arising from a police dog bite. Plaintiff, a custodian, was bitten by a “dog employed by the canine unit of the Suffolk County Police Department” while at a…

Read More Police Dog Bite Case Continues
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In Bock v. LouMarita Realty Corp., 2013 NY Slip Op 51396(U) (decided August 26, 2013), a slip-and-fall case, the trial court granted defendants’ summary judgment motion. Plaintiff alleged that he fell on the sidewalk outside defendant Pasticceria Bruno’s bakery in Greenwich Village after stepping on “an extremely slippery piece of rock or concrete off a very…

Read More Slippery When Wet: Court Dismisses Sidewalk Slip/Fall Case
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This week, in Hart v. Rick’s Cabaret, the Southern District (per Judge Engelmayer) held that exotic dancers (or “strippers”) are employees, and not independent contractors, under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL). The distinction between an “employee” and an “independent contractor” is significant. Employees are entitled…

Read More Strippers are “Employees” and Not “Independent Contractors” Under Federal and State Wage Laws
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In O’Neill v. Mermaid Touring Inc. (SDNY 11-9128 Sept. 10, 2013), the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment in part, and denied it in part. The decision is instructive on various issues in the wage/hour context, including the geographic limitations of the Labor Law, the extent to which “on call” time is compensable, and…

Read More Lady Gaga Wage Saga Continues
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