January 2019

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In Barracato v. SP Plus Corp., 2019 NY Slip Op 00698 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 31, 2019), a personal injury motor vehicle accident case, the First Department unanimously affirmed the lower court’s decision denying defendants’ motion for summary judgment. In sum, plaintiff was unloading merchandise from the drivers’ side of his truck on a a two…

Read More Should’ve Honked: Plaintiff Overcomes Summary Judgment in Accident Case
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From Deutsch v. City of New York Dept. of Envtl. Protection, 2019 NY Slip Op 30063(U), Index 161139/2017 (NY Sup. Ct. NY Cty. Jan. 7, 2019): Furthermore, none of the complaint allegations suggest that plaintiff complained about something that his employer was doing that would fall into the category of creating and presenting a danger to the public health…

Read More Whistleblower (Labor Law 740) Claim Dismissed Against NYC DEP
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In Daeisadeghi v. Equinox Great Neck, Inc., 16-CV-01698, 2019 WL 331637 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 25, 2019), the court, inter alia, dismissed on summary judgment plaintiff’s national origin-based hostile work environment claim. This case teaches, among other things, that even “insulting” conduct does not necessarily result in the establishment of a hostile work environment claim. From the decision:…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed Against Equinox
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A recent decision, Williams v. Suttle, 2019 NY Slip Op 00163 (App. Div. 2d Dept. Jan. 9, 2019), illustrates the perils of failing to comply with discovery orders. From the decision: Here, the willful and contumacious character of the plaintiffs’ actions can be inferred from their repeated failures to comply with the defendant’s notices to appear…

Read More Dismissal of Complaint Affirmed Due to Discovery Failures
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In Vasquez-Santos v. Mathew, 2019 NY Slip Op 00541 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 24, 2019), a car accident personal injury case, the court ruled on an increasingly-prevalent issue in litigation: the extent to which a plaintiff’s social media posts are discoverable by the other side. Plaintiff, a formerly semi-professional basketball player, sued after sustaining injuries in…

Read More Defendant Entitled to Social Media Discovery in Auto Accident Case
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From DeFreitas v. Bronx Lebanon Hosp. Ctr., 2019 NY Slip Op 00375 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 22, 2019): In opposition to defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint alleging age discrimination in employment, plaintiffs met their burden under the New York State Human Rights Law (Executive Law § 296[1][a]) of showing that a material issue…

Read More Age Discrimination Case Proceeds Against Bronx Lebanon Hospital
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From Schneider v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 2019 WL 294309 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 23, 2019): [T]he Court will examine whether Defendants’ stated reason for Plaintiff’s termination, his accumulation of four written coachings in a twelve-month period, is mere pretext for discrimination. Pretext may be demonstrated by additional evidence that the employer’s proffered reason is not credible or…

Read More Written “Coachings” Were Not Pretext For Discrimination; Disability Discrimination Claim Dismissed on Summary Judgment
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From Plotzker v. Kips Bay Anesthesia, P.C., 745 Fed.Appx. 436, 437–38 (C.A.2 (N.Y.), 2018) (Summary Order): After reviewing the record de novo, we agree with the District Court that there is no genuine dispute of material fact with respect to at least one element of Plotzker’s retaliation claim, namely, that his employer was aware of his…

Read More Dismissal of Retaliation Claim Affirmed; Employer Unaware of Protected Activity
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From Franco v. City of New York, 2019 NY Slip Op 00377 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 22, 2019): Plaintiff established entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in this action where he was injured when defendants’ tow truck was left unattended by its driver, defendant Millar, and rolled backwards into plaintiff’s car, which was…

Read More Plaintiff Entitled to Judgment in Rolling Tow Truck Case; Alleged Mechanical Failure Did Not Raise Issue of Fact
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