2015

by

In Raghavendra v. Bollinger, 2015 NY Slip Op 03775 (App. Div. 1st Dept. May 5, 2015), the court affirmed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to defendant. This employment discrimination case (asserted under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws) illustrates how courts evaluate so-called failure to rehire cases, for statute of…

Read More Initial Rehire Refusal Triggers Statute of Limitations; Discrimination Action Was Time-Barred
Share This:
by

In a shocking development, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska has issued a decision dismissing the “”lawsuit“” (one set of sarcastic quotation marks wasn’t enough, so I used two) filed last week by plaintiff Sylvia Ann Driskell against “Homosexuals”. (In her complaint, Ms. Driskell identifies herself as the “Ambassador” for God and Jesus…

Read More Court Dismisses Nebraska Woman’s Lawsuit Against Homosexuals
Share This:
by

In her personal injury lawsuit captioned Brouillette v. Lisa Kistermann et al. and filed in New York Supreme Court on May 4, 2015, plaintiff Robin Brouillette alleges that on March 25, 2015, defendants Lisa Kistermann and Jessica Kistermann caused her “to be precipitated down a set of stairs” and suffer injuries.

Read More Injury Lawsuit by Robin Brouillette Against Lisa and Jessica Kistermann
Share This:
by

In Palladino v. City of New York (App. Div. 2nd Dept. April 1, 2015), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s trip-and-fall case. Plaintiff alleged that she was injured when she “tripped on a depression in the asphalt surface abutting a metal plate which covered a valve box that served a nearby fire hydrant.” The…

Read More Trip/Fall Case Dismissed; Half-Inch Deep Depression Was “Trivial” as a Matter of Law
Share This:
by

In Rollins v. Fencers Club, Inc. (App. Div. 1st Dept. May 5, 2015), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint alleging age discrimination in violation of the NYC Human Rights Law. As a result, plaintiff gets a trial on her claims. The court analyzed plaintiff’s…

Read More Age Discrimination Plaintiff Defeats Summary Judgment; Age-Related Comments Were Not “Stray Remarks”
Share This:
by

In Petyan v. New York City Law Dept., 14-cv-1434, 2015 WL 1855961 (SDNY April 23, 2015), the court recommended the dismissal of plaintiff’s national origin (Israeli) discrimination and hostile work environment claims, but held that plaintiff plausibly alleged retaliation in the form of a negative performance evaluation. The court held: The law in [the Second] Circuit…

Read More Retaliation Claim, But Not National Origin Discrimination Claim, Survives Dismissal
Share This:
by

In 2010, plaintiff Geralyn Ganci alleged, in a federal court complaint against U.S. Limousine Service Ltd. and Raymond Townsend, that she was subjected to hostile work environment and quid pro quo sexual harassment (including in person and by phone calls/text messages) by her boss Raymond Townsend and fired for rejecting his advances. Among the “vile and…

Read More $700,000+ Award in Limousine Company Sexual Harassment Case
Share This:
by

In Moriarty v. Lenox Terrace Development Associates (NY Sup. Ct. 3/24/15), the plaintiff sought to recover for injuries she sustained after tripping and falling upon exiting a misleveled elevator in her building. She relied, in part, on the theory of “res ipsa loquitur”. The court explained that, in order to invoke that doctrine, a plaintiff…

Read More Elevator Misleveling Trip-and-Fall Case Proceeds to Trial on Res Ipsa Loquitur Theory
Share This:
by

“To make out a prima facie [employment] discrimination claim [under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964], a plaintiff must demonstrate … (1) [he] was within the protected class; (2) [he] was qualified for the position; (3) [he] was subject to an adverse employment action; and (4) the adverse action occurred under circumstances giving…

Read More Second Circuit Clarifies What an “Adverse Employment Action” Is For Purposes of a Discrimination Claim
Share This:
by

In Linder v. Innovative Commercial Sys. LLC, decided April 30, 2015, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint alleging failure to pay commissions. Citing the Court of Appeals’ decision in Pachter v. Bernard Hodes Group, Inc., the court explained: Given the seven-year course of dealing between the parties, in which plaintiff…

Read More At-Will Commission Salesman Not Entitled to Commissions on Post-Termination Payments
Share This: