In Cruz v. Perspolis Realty LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 01531 (App. Div. 1st Dept. March 5, 2019) – a slip-and-fall case – the court reversed the lower court’s order granting summary judgment to defendants. The court explained: Triable issues of fact exist in this action where plaintiff was injured when, while descending the interior…
Read More Ice Cream Slip/Fall Case Survives Summary JudgmentIn Nguedi v. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 16-cv-636, 2019 WL 1083966 (S.D.N.Y. March 7, 2019), the court, inter alia, granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. From the decision: The [New York City Human Rights Law] “is not a ‘general civility code.’ ” Mihalik, 715 F.3d at…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed Against Federal Reserve Bank of New YorkFrom Fox v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, 2019 WL 1050643, at *7 (C.A.2 (N.Y.), 2019): The district court demanded too much of Fox. Fox is not required to list the shift, week, or month to be able to present this issue to a jury. See Aulicino v. N.Y.C. Dep’t of Homeless Servs., 580 F.3d 73, 84…
Read More Plaintiff’s ADA Disability Disability Discrimination Claim Survives Summary Judgment Summary Judgment ClaimIn Hazelwood v. Highland Hospital, 17-4139 (2d Cir. March 1, 2019) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s (a deaf woman) claims of failure to accommodate and unlawful retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The court provides some guidance as to what qualifies as an ADA “reasonable accommodation”: A reasonable…
Read More 2d Circuit: Disability Accommodation (Effective, Though Not Preferred) Was ADA-CompliantIn Diggs v. Oscar De La Renta, LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 01390 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Feb. 27, 2019), the court upheld a jury’s verdict in plaintiff’s favor on her race discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation claims under, inter alia, the New York City Human Rights Law. in reviewing the jury verdict, the…
Read More Plaintiff Discrimination Verdict UpheldThe IRS has addressed and clarified an ambiguity in a recently-enacted tax law that relates to deductions of attorney fees in sexual harassment cases, where a nondisclosure agreement is in play. Section 162(q) of the Internal Revenue Code provides: (q) Payments related to sexual harassment and sexual abuse No deduction shall be allowed under this…
Read More IRS Clarifies Ambiguity in New Deduction Section Relating to Confidential Settlements in Sexual Harassment CasesToday, March 3, 2019, marks the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919), an important First Amendment case setting the stage for the modern interpretation of the First Amendment. The unanimous Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., upheld the convictions, under…
Read More “Shouting Fire in a Theatre”: Schenck v. United States Turns 100In Sarmiento v. Ampex Casting Corp., 2019 NY Slip Op 30431(U), Index NO. 150294/2011 (Sup. Ct. NY Cty. Feb. 21, 2019), the court (inter alia) denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s gender discrimination and retaliation claims. The court addressed the “central question” of “whether plaintiff has stated an issue of fact in her…
Read More Sexual Harassment Claim Survives Summary JudgmentIn Dotson v. City of Syracuse, et al., No. 18‐1020 (2d Cir. Feb. 27, 2019) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim of gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court’s review/analysis was “limited to the issue whether [plaintiff] Dotson…
Read More Title VII Sex Discrimination Claim RevivedIn Akinde v. New York City Health & Hosps. Corp., 2019 NY Slip Op 01493 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Feb. 28, 2019), the court unanimously affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s discrimination and hostile work environment claims on statute-of-limitations grounds, and of plaintiff’s retaliation claim on the merits. As to the former, the court explained: Plaintiff’s…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissal, on Statute of Limitations Grounds, Affirmed