In Obergefell v. Hodges, No. 14-556, 2015 WL 2473451 (U.S. June 26, 2015), the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that “a State has no constitutional obligation to license same-sex marriages or to recognize same-sex marriages performed out of State.” Justice Kennedy reversed that decision, holding that the…
Read More SCOTUS Legalizes Same-Sex MarriageIn Aycardi v. Robinson, 2015 Slip Op 04249 (App. Div. 1st Dept. May 19, 2015), the court addressed the not-uncommon scenario where the plaintiff seeks to hold the employer of an alleged wrongdoer liable under the principle of vicarious liability. In this case, plaintiff pedestrian asserts that she was hit by a car being driven by…
Read More Questions of Fact Regarding Vicarious Liability Preclude Summary Judgment in Car Accident CaseIn Hand v. NYC Housing Preservation and Development Division of Code Enforcement, a summary order decided by the Second Circuit on May 26, 2015, the courtvacated the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s hostile work environment sexual harassment claim. The court explained: Based on record evidence that Hand’s supervisor felt her breast and repeatedly invaded her…
Read More Supervisor Breast-Touch Results in Continuation of Title VII Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment CaseIn La Marca-Pagano v. Dr. Steven Phillips, P.C., the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s retaliation claim under the New York State Human Rights Law. Here’s the law: In order to make out a cause of action for retaliation, [a] plaintiff must show that (1) she has engaged in protected activity, (2)…
Read More Retaliation Claim Survives Summary JudgmentThe recent Southern District of New York case of Amar v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., 14-cv-2503 (SDNY June 15, 2015) is instructive on pleading a hostile work environment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Amar, Judge Ramos held that the plaintiff, an African American woman employed by defendant as…
Read More Asserted Racial Epithets and Physical Threats Plausibly Allege Racially Hostile Work EnvironmentIn Rock v. Blaine, 2015 WL 3795886 (NDNY June 17, 2015), the court denied defendant State of New York’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s retaliation claim against it. Plaintiff, a corrections officer, sued the State of New York and three individuals under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleging retaliation for making a…
Read More Female Corrections Officer Sufficiently Alleges Retaliation Against the State of New YorkHere is the sexual harassment / hostile work environment federal court lawsuit, captioned Castelgrande v. Elie Tahari, Ltd. and Elie Tahari, SDNY 15-cv-04564, filed on June 16, 2015. Plaintiff alleges that the defendant(s) fired her two hours after she complained about sexual harassment, namely, Mr. Tahari’s attempt, while plaintiff was standing in a room with workers,…
Read More Sexual Harassment / Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit Against Elie TahariNews of the recent tragic death of Kasey Jones, who fell to her death as she tried to use a fire escape to re-enter her apartment, illustrates (perhaps ironically) the potential risks associated with these life-saving, and quintessentially New York City, building appendages. A case recently decided by the Appellate Division, First Department, Lombardi v. Partnership…
Read More Fire Escape Injury Case ContinuesA recent state appellate decision, Cohen v. State of New York (App. Div. 2nd Dept. June 17, 2015), explains an employer’s duties regarding a requested accommodation for a disability under the New York State Human Rights Law. In Cohen, the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to defendant on plaintiff’s…
Read More Rejection of Accommodation Request Results in Reversal of Summary Judgment for Defendant in Disability Discrimination CaseOn June 12, 2015, a federal jury awarded plaintiff Augustina Balu $300,000 in compensatory damages, and $25,000 in punitive damages, in her sexual harassment / hostile work environment lawsuit against the City of New York and NYPD employee Denis McAuliffe. Here is the jury’s verdict sheet in the case, captioned Balu v. City of New York et…
Read More Jury Awards $325K (Including Punitive Damages) to Plaintiff in Sexual Harassment / Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit Against the NYPD