2017

by

You may have read a recent news story about a group of teens who recorded and mocked a disabled man, Jamel Dunn, as he was drowning. If this happened in New York, could the observers be liable in a civil action to recover damages for personal injury/wrongful death?[1]Whether criminal liability may be found is beyond…

Read More Duty to Help Those in Danger
Share This:
by

In Bull v. Metro. Jewish Health Sys., Inc., No. 18128/12, 2017 WL 3045858 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. July 19, 2017), the Appellate Division held that the lower court should have dismissed plaintiff’s claims of age and disability discrimination. Plaintiff alleged, inter alia, “that the defendant discriminated against her on the basis of her age…

Read More Age, Disability Discrimination Claims Should Have Been Dismissed; Plaintiff Did Not Suffer From a “Disability” At the Time of Her Termination
Share This:
by

In McLeod v. The Jewish Guild for the Blind, No. 15-2898-CV, 2017 WL 3049541 (2d Cir. July 19, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit vacated a lower court’s award of summary judgment to defendant employer on plaintiff’s sexual harassment hostile work environment claim. Among other things, the court reiterated that it is improper for a…

Read More 2d Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment for Defendant on Hostile Work Environment Claim; Warns Lower Courts That All Circumstances Must Be Considered
Share This:
by

From McLeod v. Jewish Guild for the Blind, No. 15-2898-CV, 2017 WL 3044626 (2d Cir. July 19, 2017): Here, had the district court considered McLeod’s handwritten factual allegations alone, it would have been required to construe McLeod as having asserted claims under the NYSHRL and NYCHRL.1 McLeod’s allegations clearly suggest claims under the NYSHRL and NYCHRL,…

Read More 2d Circuit Vacates Dismissal of Sexual Harassment Claims Under New York State and City Human Rights Laws; Pro Se Plaintiff’s Failure to Check Boxes Not Fatal
Share This:
by

In Woods v. START Treatment & Recovery Centers, Inc., No. 16-1318-CV, 2017 WL 3044628 (2d Cir. July 19, 2017), the Second Circuit clarified the causation standard for retaliation claims brought under the Family & Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). One FMLA regulation, 29 C.F.R. 825.220(c), provides: The Act’s prohibition against interference prohibits an employer…

Read More 2d Circuit Adopts “Negative Factor”, Rather Than “But For”, Causation Standard For FMLA Retaliation Claims
Share This:
by

In Kleinman v. Fashion Institute of Technology, No. 16 CIV. 4348 (KPF), 2017 WL 3016940 (S.D.N.Y. July 14, 2017) (J. Failla), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Initially, the court noted that while the “Second Circuit has not yet decided whether a hostile work environment…

Read More Court Dismisses ADA Hostile Work Environment Claim Against FIT
Share This:
by

In Vaughn v. Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway et al, No. 14-CV-10297 (KMK), 2017 WL 3017503 (S.D.N.Y. July 14, 2017), the court (inter alia) denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim that he was subjected to discrimination – by being terminated and suspended – because of his race, in violation of Title VII…

Read More Race Discrimination Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Evidence Included Supervisor’s Use of the “N-Word” and Favorable Treatment of White Co-Worker
Share This:
by

In Fratello v. Archdiocese of New York, St. Anthony’s Shrine Church, and St. Anthony’s School, No. 16-1271, 2017 WL 2989706 (2d Cir. July 14, 2017), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the Title VII gender discrimination and retaliation claims brought by plaintiff, a former Roman Catholic school principal, under the “ministerial exception”. The Second Circuit, addressing…

Read More 2d Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Roman Catholic School Principal’s Gender Discrimination & Retaliation Claims Under the “Ministerial Exception”
Share This:
by

In Andersen v. El Triunfo Laundromat Corp., 54 N.Y.S.3d 166, 167–68 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. 2017), the court affirmed the denial of summary judgment to defendant in plaintiff’s slip-and-fall case. Plaintiff alleged that they slipped and fell due to the presence of a foreign substance on the floor of defendant’s premises. Summarizing the (familiar, now…

Read More Slip/Fall Plaintiff Survives Summary Judgment in Light of Fact Issue as to Constructive Notice
Share This:
by

In Falcon v. City University of New York, 15-cv-3421, 2017 WL 2982980, (E.D.N.Y. July 10, 2017), the court held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged a claim of retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. From the decision: Plaintiff has alleged sufficient facts to survive 12(b)(6) scrutiny regarding retaliation against her internal complaint…

Read More Title VII Retaliation Claim, Based on Internal/Informal Complaint, Survives Dismissal
Share This: