In Tighe v. North Shore Animal League Am., 2016 NY Slip Op 05807 (App. Div. 2d Dept Aug. 17, 2016), a dog bite case, the court reversed a lower court’s denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The facts: On May 19, 2012, the plaintiff adopted a dog from an animal shelter, the defendant North Shore…
Read More Dog Bite Case Dismissed; Plaintiff Was Aware of Adopted Dog’s Vicious PropensitiesIn Cohen v. National Grid USA, 2016 NY Slip Op 05786 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Aug. 17, 2016), the court stated and applied the following employment law principle: Provisions contained in company policy manuals which, like the one in this case, can be amended or withdrawn unilaterally, do not constitute enforceable obligations owing from an employer to…
Read More Company Manual Did Not Create Enforceable Right to SeveranceIn City of Binghamton v. Whalen, 2016 NY Slip Op 04289 (App. Div. 3d Dept. June 2, 2016), the court held that plaintiff – the defendant’s former employer was entitled to summary judgment on its claim under the “faithless servant doctrine.” The court explained the doctrine as follows: New York law with respect to the disloyal or…
Read More 3d Dept. Rejects “Apportionment” Limitation on Faithless Servant Doctrine in Case of Larcenous Director of Parks & RecreationIn Philip v. Gtech Corp., No. 14 CIV. 9261 (PAE), 2016 WL 3959729 (S.D.N.Y. July 20, 2016), the court held that there were “triable issues of fact which, if resolved in Philip’s favor, would enable a reasonable jury to find that race was more likely than not a motivating factor in his termination.” For example, the…
Read More Race Discrimination Claims Survive Summary JudgmentIn Von Maack v. Wyckoff Heights Med. Ctr., 140 A.D.3d 1055 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. June 22, 2016), the court held that (1) an arbitration determination that plaintiff was terminated for just cause did not collaterally estop her from pursuing a retaliation claim under New York’s “health care whistleblower law”, codified at New York Labor Law…
Read More Health Care Whistleblower Claim Sufficiently Alleged; Arbitration Decision That Termination Was For “Just Cause” Did Not Preclude Retaliation ClaimIn Williams v. Rosenblatt Sec. Inc., No. 14-CV-4390 (JGK), 2016 WL 4120654 (S.D.N.Y. July 22, 2016), the court held that plaintiff – a former securities strategist – plausibly alleged various discrimination claims, including a hostile work environment claim based on his perceived mental illness. The court evaluated plaintiff’s claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act,…
Read More Plaintiff Plausibly Alleges Disability Discrimination/Hostile Work Environment Based on Perceived Mental IllnessIn Epstein v. County of Suffolk & Suffolk County Community College, No. 14-CV-0937, 2016 WL 4257349 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 11, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s claims for, e.g., age discrimination, disability discrimination (failure to provide reasonable accommodation), and hostile work environment. In this post I’ll discuss the court’s evaluation of plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate-disability and hostile work environment claims.…
Read More Professor’s Hostile Work Environment & Sleep-Related Disability Discrimination Claims Dismissed as Insufficiently PledIn Koss v. Strippit, Inc., No. 12-CV-486, 2016 WL 3963204 (W.D.N.Y. July 22, 2016), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York upheld the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation that defendant’s motion for summary judgment be granted and that plaintiff’s gender and disability discrimination claims be dismissed. This decision is instructive on how…
Read More Gender & Disability Discrimination Claims Dismissed; Denial of Training Was Not “Adverse Action” and Reduction-in-Force Termination Was Not PretextIn Misas v. N.-Shore Long Island Jewish Health Sys., No. 14-cv-8787, 2016 WL 4082718 (S.D.N.Y. July 25, 2016), the court reaffirmed that an employment discrimination/sexual harassment plaintiff seeking only so-called “garden variety” emotional distress damages does not put their medical condition in issue for discovery purposes. In this case, plaintiffs assert claims of, inter alia, sexual…
Read More Sexual Harassment Plaintiffs’ Assertion of “Garden Variety” Emotional Distress Damages Does Not Authorize Extensive Medical DiscoveryA recent decision, Campisi v. The City University of New York & Dean George Ranalli, No. 15 CIV. 4859 (KPF), 2016 WL 4203549 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 9, 2016), addresses the interplay between Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688). Plaintiff, a…
Read More Student Worker Plausibly Alleges Title IX Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Claim Against CUNY