2016

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In Matter of Gifford v Mccarthy, 2016 NY Slip Op 00230 (App. Div. 3d Dept. Jan. 14, 2016), the Appellate Division, Third Department held that the NYS Division of Human Rights properly found an upstate farm guilty of an unlawful discriminatory practice based on sexual orientation. This decision provides useful guidance on, among other things, what…

Read More Court Upholds NYSDHR Determination That Liberty Ridge Farm Engaged in Public Accommodation Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation by Refusing to Host Same-Sex Wedding Ceremony and Reception
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In Rodriguez v Judge and Community Church of Astoria, 2015 NY Slip Op 07828 [132 AD3d 966] (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Oct. 28, 2015), the court explained and applied the well-known tort doctrine of “respondeat superior”, under which an employer is liable for the torts of its employees. Here are the (briefly-summarized) facts of this personal…

Read More Church Not Liable to Plaintiff for Assault/Battery by Employee’s Husband
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In a lawsuit filed on January 11, 2016 in New York Supreme Court, Sclafani v. Marie (NY Sup. Ct., Index No. 150205/2016), plaintiff alleges that while she was employed as a dental hygienist by defendant dentist Glenn Marie, he sexually harassed her and subjected her to a hostile work environment (by, e.g., asking her to give…

Read More Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, and Retaliation Against Dentist Who Allegedly Wanted Plaintiff Hygienist to Give His Penis a “Cleaning”
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In Marcus v. Leviton Mfg. Co., No. 15CV656SJFGRB, 2016 WL 74415 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 6, 2016), the Eastern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s age discrimination case for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Although this plaintiff loses, Judge Feuerstein’s decision is instructive regarding what judges look for when evaluating…

Read More Pleading Lessons From a Dismissed Age Discrimination Case
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In Taft v. Agric. Bank of China Ltd., No. 15 CIV. 5321 (PAE), 2016 WL 80209 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 6, 2016), the Southern District of New York ruled on defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s whistleblower retaliation claim under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Plaintiff alleged that “she was subjected to frequent sexually charged comments and gender-related…

Read More Court Interprets Retaliation Provision of the Bank Secrecy Act
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In Irizarry v. 1915 Realty LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 00009 (App Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 5, 2016), the Appellate Division, First Department reversed the lower court’s order granting summary judgment to defendant on plaintiff’s personal injury/premises liability/slip-and-fall case. Teh court explained: Triable issues of fact regarding whether defendant caused or created the wet stair condition…

Read More Wet Stairway Slip/Fall Case Survives Summary Judgment
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In Elsayed v. Al Farha Corp., 2015 NY Slip Op 07813, 132 AD3d 942 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Oct. 28, 2015), the Second Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff alleged that he fell into opened sidewalk cellar doors of a building owned by defendant T&T Steinway, LLC, from which defendant tenant…

Read More Cellar Door Personal Injury Case Continues; Defendant Failed to Establish That it Was an Out-of-Possession Landlord
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In Haight v. NYU Langone Med. Ctr., Inc., No. 13 CIV. 4993 (LGS), 2016 WL 29628 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 4, 2016), the Southern District of New York denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sex-based hostile work environment (sexual harassment) and disability discrimination claims, but granted it with respect to her negligent supervision/retention claims. (2014…

Read More Pediatric Nurse’s Sexual Harassment and Disability Discrimination Claims Against NYU Langone Medical Center Survive Summary Judgment
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