December 2014

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Here is the complaint recently filed by plaintiff Michael Douglas against Bleecker Kitchen & Co. and its co-owner (and owner of Gold Bar) Joshua Berkowitz. Plaintiff – who is bi-racial (mixed Black and Asian Asian ancestry) – asserts, among other things, that Berkowitz made derogatory comments about black people, in violation of the New York City…

Read More Race Discrimination/Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit Against Bleecker Kitchen and Owner Joshua Berkowitz
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The U.S. Supreme Court held, in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk (Dec. 9, 2014, Justice Thomas) that the time spent by Amazon.com warehouse workers undergoing anti-theft security screening before leaving the warehouse each day is not compensable time under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In sum: [A]n activity is integral and indispensable to the principal activities…

Read More Amazon.com Security Checks Not Compensable Time, Supreme Court Holds
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In Delva v. New York City Tr. Auth., the Appellate Division, Second Department explained the “emergency doctrine” in the context of a pedestrian knockdown case. A jury found in favor of plaintiff, and defendants moved to set aside the verdict pursuant to CPLR 4404(a). The trial court denied defendants’ motion, and the appellate court affirmed. Specifically,…

Read More Trial Court Properly Declined to Charge Jury with the “Emergency Doctrine” in Bus Accident/Pedestrian Knockdown Personal Injury Case
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In Rivera v. Balter Sales Co. (decided 12/1/14), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged claims for aiding and abetting discriminatory conduct (under the New York State Human Rights Law) and false arrest. What is interesting about this case is that plaintiff sued not only her former employer, but also the…

Read More Fired Plaintiff Sufficiently Alleges “Aiding and Abetting” Claim Arising From Retaliatory Arrest
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If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth… more. A recent decision, Franco v. Palmer (Supreme Court, Queens County, decided December 1, 2014), illustrates the significant benefits of video evidence in a car accident case. The court granted summary judgment to the plaintiff, finding that a surveillance video of an…

Read More Video Surveillance Tape Results in Summary Judgment for Plaintiff in Car Accident Case
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An upstate appellate court recently held – despite contrary suggestions in popular culture – that chimpanzees are not “persons” (at least not in the legal sense). In People ex rel. Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. v. Lavery, the court affirmed the dismissal of a habeas corpus proceeding to secure the release of a chimpanzee named Tommy. Specifically, it addressed…

Read More Court Explains Why Chimpanzees Aren’t “Persons” For Purposes of New York’s Habeas Corpus Statute
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In Bennett v. Time Warner Cable, the Supreme Court, New York County, held that plaintiffs sufficiently pleaded age discrimination claims under both a “disparate treatment” and “disparate impact” theory. Here are the alleged facts, as summarized by the court: Plaintiffs, whose ages range between 51 and 69, are employees of TWC, and until about September…

Read More Plaintiffs Sufficiently Allege “Disparate Treatment” and “Disparate Impact” Age Discrimination Claims Against Time Warner Cable
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In Juarez v. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff stated a claim under 42 U.S.C. 1981 for discrimination against aliens without green cards. Section 1981 prohibits both public and private actors from discriminating on the basis of race or alienage in the making and enforcement of contracts,…

Read More Job Applicant Successfully Alleges Alienage Discrimination Based on Policy Targeting Legal Aliens Without Green Cards
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In Powers v. 31 E 31 LLC, 2014 NY Slip Op 07084, 24 NY3d 84 (Ct. App. Oct. 21, 2014), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. I had previously written about the Court of Appeals’ October 21, 2014 decision in plaintiff’s favor on various…

Read More Case Arising From Plaintiff’s Fall Down Air Shaft Continues
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In Cullen v. Verizon Communications, No. 14-CV-464S, 2014 WL 6627494 (W.D.N.Y. Nov. 21, 2014), the Western District of New York dismissed, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), plaintiff’s complaint alleging disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (as amended) (ADA) and the New York State Human Rights Law. Here are the facts,…

Read More Recent Court Decision is Instructive as to the Circumstances Under Which Alcoholism Constitutes a “Disability” Under the Anti-Discrimination Statutes
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