2013

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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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In the recent case of Matter of John W. Danforth Group, Inc., the Western District of New York considered, and rejected, a company’s petition under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 27 to perpetuate evidence in anticipation of an as-yet unfiled employment discrimination action against it. Under limited circumstances, a potential party to litigation can obtain discovery…

Read More Employer, Anticipating Sexual Harassment Suit, Denied Pre-Lawsuit Discovery From Prospective Plaintiff’s “Facebook Friend”
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Your best bet for avoiding a cell phone-related ticket in New York?  Put the thing down while the car is running – even when stopped at a red light. One court (the Town Court of the Town of Brighton, Monroe County) recently held that a car stopped at a red light is still “in motion”…

Read More Car Is “In Motion” When Stopped at Red Light For Purposes of New York’s Cell Phone Driving Statute
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What does it mean to “engage in a call” for purposes of New York’s general cell phone driving statute, VTL § 1225-c(2)(a)? That section provides:  ”[N]o person shall operate a motor vehicle upon a public highway while using a mobile telephone to engage in a call while such vehicle is in motion.” Specifically, does using an iPhone’s “Siri” feature to…

Read More Activating “Siri” Feature Did Not Amount to Using Phone to “Engage in a Call” Within the Meaning of New York’s Cell Phone Driving Statute
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Last week in Taveras v. City of New York the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department permitted a drowning death lawsuit to continue. In June 2005, Luis Alberto Peralta (a.k.a. Luis A. Peralta Taveras) drowned while swimming at the public ocean beach at Coney Island in Brooklyn. (New York Post story here). The administrators of…

Read More Drowning Death Lawsuit Proceeds
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Below (and here) is the New York State Supreme Court (Manhattan) complaint filed on July 11, 2013 by Natalie Thorpe against Williams Lea, Inc. The relevant events occurred while plaintiff was placed by defendant at the Manhattan law firm Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft. The suit claims that Tyrone Turner, defendant’s manager, made offensive sexual advances and comments…

Read More Erotic Poetry Sexual Harassment Suit
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Last week the Second Circuit held, in Palma v. NLRB, that undocumented aliens were not entitled to back pay following a determination that their employer engaged in unlawful employment practices in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The court based its decision on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v.…

Read More Second Circuit: No Back Pay For Undocumented Aliens For NLRA Violation
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