August 2015

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In Matter of Castillo v. Schriro (N.Y. Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. July 17, 2015), Judge Ling-Cohan granted the Article 78 petition filed by terminated probationary corrections officer, who alleged that she was discriminated against under the NYC Human Rights Law due to her disability and domestic violence victim status. From the decision: [R]espondents having been noticed…

Read More Court Orders Reinstatement of Corrections Officer Subject to Discrimination Because of Disability and Domestic Violence Victim Status
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In the movie “A Civil Action”, the protagonist says Lawsuits are war. And they begin the same way. With a declaration of war: the complaint. Examples of the litigation/war analogy are everywhere: war/fighting-related language and logo imagery are common features of attorney websites; law firms often have “war rooms”; tales of litigation exploits by experienced attorneys…

Read More Lawyer Demands “Trial by Combat”
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In Anderson v. Edmiston & Co., Inc. (App. Div. 1st Dept. Aug. 4, 2015), the court held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged claims of gender discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation under the NYC Human Rights Law, and affirmed Supreme Court’s denial of defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint under CPLR 3211(a)(7). Plaintiff alleged, among other things, that her superior…

Read More Allegations of Vulgar Remarks About Women Sufficient to Plead Gender Discrimination and Hostile Work Environment
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In Nunez v. New York State Dep’t of Corr. & Cmty. Supervision, No. 14-CV-6647 JMF, 2015 WL 4605684 (S.D.N.Y. July 31, 2015), the court held that plaintiff – a parole officer – plausibly alleged sexual harassment under the New York City Human Rights Law, but not the New York State Human Rights Law. Plaintiff alleged that…

Read More Parole Officer Sufficiently Alleges Sexual Harassment Under NYC Human Rights Law
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In Schwarz v. Consolidated Edison, Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 25258 (Sup. Ct. NY Cty. Aug. 3, 2015), the court dismissed the discrimination complaint brought by Charles Schwartz against Con Edison under CPLR 3211(a)(7) for failure to state a claim. Mr. Schwartz – one of the police officers involved with the Abner Louima case (and who…

Read More Court Dismisses Abner Louima Officer’s Conviction Discrimination Complaint Against ConEd
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Here is the recently-filed sexual harassment complaint, captioned Campisi v. City University of New York and Dean George Ranalli, SDNY 15-cv-04859, in which plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to sexual harassment. She seeks relief under Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. 1681, and the New York City Human Rights Law.

Read More Title IX Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against CUNY and Dean George Ranalli
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In Wynn v. New York City Hous. Auth., No. 14-CV-2818 SAS, 2015 WL 4578684 (S.D.N.Y. July 29, 2015), the court held that a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) did not foreclose plaintiffs from pressing their employment discrimination claims. In this case, plaintiffs allege that NYCHA systematically undercompensated them due to a policy of race discrimination. Defendant argued…

Read More Collective Bargaining Agreement Does Not Deprive Court of Subject Matter Jurisdiction Over Employment Discrimination Claims
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In Covert v. Wisla Corp. (App. Div. 2nd Dept. July 29, 2015), the court affirmed the Supreme Court’s decision granting plaintiff’s motion to amend the complaint to add a cause of action alleging a violation of the Dram Shop Act (General Obligations Law § 11-101). From the decision: [W]here a plaintiff alleges that he or she was…

Read More Plaintiff Permitted to Amend Complaint to Add Dram Shop Act Claim
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A recent Second Department decision, Bergin v. Golshani, is instructive on the issue of when summary judgment is properly awarded to a defendant in a slip-and-fall case. Here is the law: A defendant landowner moving for summary judgment in a slip-and-fall case has the initial burden of establishing that it did not create the alleged…

Read More Lack of Inspection Evidence Properly Results in Denial of Summary Judgment for Defendants in Personal Injury Slip-and-Fall Case
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