2014

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In Saliba v Five Towns College, the Eastern District of New York held that plaintiff, an assistant professor, failed to state a claim for retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plaintiff alleged that she was terminated solely because she had voiced her concerns regarding rampant corruption in the administration of…

Read More Court Dismisses Professor’s Retaliation Claim Based on Complaints About Another Professor’s Sexual Harassment of Students
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In a lawsuit filed on December 12, 2013 in the Southern District of New York, Zayas v. City of New York et al. (SDNY 13-cv-8808), plaintiff – photojournalist Angel Zayas – alleges that he was “forced out of the subway for trying to photograph police performing a stop-and-frisk and was then arrested for complaining about…

Read More Photojournalist’s False Arrest Lawsuit Against the City of New York
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In Dove v. Manhattan Plaza Health Club, the Appellate Division, First Department dismissed plaintiff’s complaint seeking recovery for injuries after slipping on water around a health club’s indoor pool. Defendants “showed that the presence of such water was ‘necessarily incidental’ to the use of the pool.” In response, plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue…

Read More Pool Slip/Fall Case Dismissed; Water Was “Necessarily Incidental” to Use of Pool
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In Doe v. Guthrie Clinic, Ltd., the New York Court of Appeals considered the following question: Whether, under New York law, the common law right of action for breach of the fiduciary duty of confidentiality for the unauthorized disclosure of medical information may run directly against medical corporations, even when the employee responsible for the breach is…

Read More Medical Corporation Not Absolutely Liable For Employee’s Disclosure of Patient’s Medical Information
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In Matter of Arcuri v. Kirkland, the Appellate Division, Third Department annulled a decision by a State Division of Human Rights (SDHR) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that GPA Development Corporation subjected its employees, Adam Bargy and Orlando Colon, to a hostile work environment based on sexual harassment and retaliated against them for complaining about it. The…

Read More Court Annuls NYS Division of Human Rights Finding That Male Employees Were Subjected to Gender-Based Hostile Work Environment and Retaliation
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In Dixson v Waterways at Bay Pointe Home Owners Assn., Inc., the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff’s injury claim under Labor Law § 241(6). The court held that plaintiff, who was injured while power washing buildings in preparation for painting them, was indeed engaged in a specifically enumerated activity under the…

Read More Power Washing in Preparation for Painting Was Sufficient to Support Personal Injury Action by Worker Under Labor Law § 241(6)
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In Pacheco v. Grabowski, a rear-end car accident case, the New York Supreme Court, Queens County, granted summary judgment in favor of the driver of the front (i.e., rear-ended) car. Plaintiff Yesenia Pacheco was a passenger in a car driven by her father, defendant Angel Pacheco.  While stopped at an intersection the Pacheco car was…

Read More Court Dismisses Claims Against Lead Driver in Rear-End Collision Case
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A recent Appellate Division, First Department case, Vivas v. VNO Bruckner Plaza LLC (decided January 7, 2014) illustrates the obvious point that in slip/trip and fall cases, specific attention must be paid to exactly where the accident occurred. The court reversed the trial court’s denial of defendant Payless Shoesource, Inc.’s motion for summary judgment, and…

Read More Tenant Absolved of Liability Where Slip/Trip and Fall Occurred in Location Outside Leased Premises
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In Trezza v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Appellate Division, First Department recently affirmed and modified a decision by the Supreme Court, Bronx County relating to the damages phase of a car accident case. The trial court entered a judgment on a jury’s verdict awarding plaintiff damages in the amounts of $500,000 for past pain and…

Read More First Department Finds “Serious Injury” Based on Shoulder and Spine Injuries, and Conditionally Modifies Damages in Car Accident Case to $300,000 for Past Pain & Suffering
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