In Luis S. v. City of New York, 2015 NY Slip Op 06022 (1st Dept. July 9, 2015), the plaintiff broke his knee after attempting to clear a hurdle which was part of a middle gym class obstacle course. The Appellate Division, First Department reversed a denial of summary judgment to defendants and dismissed the action. The court…
Read More Middle School Gym Obstacle Course Injury Case DismissedModel/actress Shoshana Roberts made headlines awhile back when she made a video, titled “10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman”, to illustrate the issue of “street harassment”. In a recently-filed $500,000 lawsuit, she asserts against various defendants (including Rob Bliss Creative LLC, Hollaback! Inc., Google, and YouTube) the following claims: [Q]uantum meruit, breach of…
Read More Street Harassment Model Shoshana Roberts’ Lawsuit Against Google, Hollaback!, etc.In Roberts v. UPS, 13-cv-6161 (Eastern District of New York), a jury recently awarded a discrimination plaintiff $50,000 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages under the New York City Human Rights Law ($25k compensatory for discrimination, $25k punitive for discrimination, $25k compensatory for retaliation, $25k punitive for retaliation). Federal subject matter jurisdiction was…
Read More $100,000 Jury Verdict for Victim of Sexual Orientation Discrimination and HarassmentIn O’Grady v. Bluecrest Capital Mgmt. LLP, No. 15-CV-1108 SHS, 2015 WL 3740701 (S.D.N.Y. June 15, 2015), the court dismissed, under FRCP 12(b)(6), plaintiff’s claims for a bonus and severance pay. This case illustrates that courts will look to the terms of an employee’s employment agreement when assessing those claims. As to plaintiff’s claim for a…
Read More Court Rejects Terminated Employee’s Claim to Bonus and SeveranceIn Chaney v. Starbucks Corporation, 2015 WL 3883251 (SDNY June 23, 2015), a trip-and-fall case, the Southern District of New York granted Starbucks’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the case. The facts, from the opinion: On August 9, 2013, plaintiff John Chaney went to a Starbucks café in the Bronx for lunch. Upon entry, he…
Read More Starbucks Granted Dismissal in Phone Charger Trip/Fall CaseOn June 29, 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed law number 2015/063, a Local Law to amend the NYC Administrative code in relation to prohibiting discrimination based on one’s arrest record or criminal conviction. The amendments are reflected here (website URL here). The law, also known as the “Fair Chance Act“, was effectively designed to “ban the…
Read More NYC Law Amended to “Ban the Box” Pertaining to Arrest Record or Criminal ConvictionIn Figueroa v. Johnson, 109 F. Supp. 3d 532 (EDNY 2015), the Eastern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s “quid pro quo” sexual harassment claim due to lack of temporal proximity. The court explained: Under Title VII, a plaintiff may seek relief for sex discrimination under two theories: (1) quid pro quo or (2) hostile…
Read More Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment Claim Fails Where Too Much Time Passes Between the “Quid” and the “Quo”In Levin v. Mercedes-Benz Manhattan, Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 06025 (App. Div. 1 Dept. July 9, 2015), a personal injury case, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed a summary judgment for plaintiff under the doctrine of “res ipsa loquitur“. Generally, res ipsa loquitur permits a factfinder to infer negligence based upon the sheer occurrence of…
Read More Res Ipsa Loquitur Applicable; Plaintiff Granted Summary Judgment in Garage Door Fall Personal Injury CaseIn Rosas v. Alice’s Tea Cup LLC, 14-cv-8788 (SDNY July 6, 2015), the court emphasized that “the protections of the FLSA are available to citizens and undocumented workers alike”, and entered a protective order precluding defendants from seeking discovery of the plaintiffs’ immigration status, tax returns, or current employers. Plaintiffs asserted that defendants failed to pay them…
Read More Court Denies FLSA Defendants Access to Plaintiffs’ Immigration Status, Tax Returns, or Current EmployersOn June 25, 2015, the EEOC issued a revised Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues. This document supersedes the Enforcement Guidance dated July 14, 2014. The EEOC left much of the prior guidance intact, but modified portions of it (relating to disparate treatment and light duty) in response to the Supreme Court’s decision…
Read More EEOC Issues Revised Pregnancy Discrimination Enforcement Guidance in Light of Young v. UPS