2018

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In Forman v. Henkin, 2018 NY Slip Op 01015 (N.Y. Ct. App. Feb. 13, 2018), a personal injury case, the New York Court of Appeals provided guidance on how courts should evaluate discovery requests for discovery of information from litigants’ social media accounts. Judge DiFiore wrote: [C]ourts addressing disputes over the scope of social media discovery should…

Read More NY Court of Appeals Outlines Standards for Social Media Discovery
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In Matthews v. Hewlett-Packard Company, 15-cv-3922, 2017 WL 6804075 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 22, 2017), a race discrimination/hostile work environment/retaliation case, the court explained and applied the principles applicable to the admissibility of expert testimony – under FRE 702/Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) – as to emotional distress damages. In sum, the court…

Read More Court Precludes Expert Testimony on Emotional Distress in Race Discrimination Case
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In Reiter v. Maxi-Aids, Inc., 14-cv-3712, 2018 WL 557864 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 19, 2018), the court, inter alia, upheld a jury’s determination that plaintiff was subject to “associational discrimination” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In sum, defendant’s principal (Zaretsky) terminated plaintiff shortly after plaintiff advised Zaretsky about an issue concerning his daughter, Bailey, who…

Read More Father’s ADA Claim, Alleging Discrimination by Association With Suicidal Daughter, Jury Verdict Upheld
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In Giove v. City of New York, 15-cv-2998, 2018 WL 736008 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 5, 2018), the court addressed whether sexual orientation discrimination and retaliation claims brought by a teacher were barred by collateral estoppel due to a prior finding at a hearing pursuant to NY Education Law § 3020-a. Under the facts of this case, the…

Read More Sexual Orientation Discrimination & Retaliation Claims Not Barred By Adverse 3020-a Hearing Determination
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In Picault v. World Business Lenders, 16-cv-3682, 2018 WL 748975 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 7, 2018) (J. Oetken), the Southern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s (a Haitian-American man) national origin discrimination lawsuit. The court explained that a discrimination plaintiff “must satisfy his initial burden by showing (1) that he belonged to a protected class; (2) that…

Read More Citing “Stray Remarks” Doctrine, Court Dismisses National Origin Discrimination Case Based on “Haitian Voodoo” Comment
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A recent study (summary here, abstract here) indicates that plaintiffs bringing sex discrimination cases fare better when a female judge is assigned to the case. The summary lists the following “key findings”: Whenever a female judge is assigned to the case, plaintiffs are 6.7 percentage points more likely to settle and 7.1 percentage points more…

Read More Sex Discrimination Cases Are More Likely to Settle Under Female Judges, Study Finds
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In Pertillar v. AAA Western and Central New York, 16-238, 2018 WL 583115 (N.D.N.Y. Jan. 26, 2018), the court dismissed plaintiff’s race discrimination and hostile work environment claims, but held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged retaliation. The court summarized the requirements for pleading retaliation: A plaintiff claiming retaliation under Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act…

Read More Retaliation Claim Sufficiently Alleged, Based on “Very Close” Temporal Proximity Between Protected Activity & Adverse Action
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In Canty v. The Dept. of Educ. of the City of New York (Sup. Ct. Kings Cty. 500257/2015 Feb. 1, 2018), the court held, inter alia, that plaintiff – a 61 year-old, African teacher – stated a cause of action for retaliation and discrimination under the NYC Human Rights Law. In sum, the court held that…

Read More Teacher States Age/Race Discrimination and Retaliation Claims Under the NYCHRL
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