Author: mjpospis

In Schmitt v. City of New York et al, 15-CV-05992, 2018 WL 5777019 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 1, 2018), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s disability-related hostile work environment claims. This decision teaches, among other things, that the facts underlying such claims must be evaluated as a whole, rather than piecemeal.…

Read More Disability-Related Hostile Work Environment Claims Survive Summary Judgment
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From Moore v. City of New York, 18-947-cv, 2018 WL 5779912 (2d Cir. Nov. 2, 2018) (Summary Order): In dismissing Moore’s claims, the District Court primarily held that Moore failed adequately to state a case of employment discrimination under Title VII and § 1981 because the allegations in the complaint itself showed that she could…

Read More Discrimination Claims Dismissed; Failure to Meet NYC Residency Requirement Rendered Plaintiff Unqualified For Position
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In Sager v. Waldo Gardens, Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 07359 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Nov. 1, 2018) – a personal injury slip-and-fall case – the court affirmed the lower court’s denial of summary judgment to the defendant. The outcome, like so many cases of this type, turned on the often difficult-to-prove issue of constructive notice. From…

Read More Slip/Fall Case Survives Summary Judgment; Court Cites Porter’s Failure to Mop the Area Despite Noticing it Was Wet
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In Felder v. United States Tennis Association Inc., 17-cv-5045, 2018 WL 5621484 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 30, 2018), the court, inter alia, explained and applied the :”joint employer” doctrine under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In sum, plaintiff (a 50 year old black man) was employed by a security company (AJ Security) that…

Read More Court Explains “Joint Employer” Doctrine; Finds it Inapplicable to Claim by US Tennis Association Subcontractor Employee
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In Hernandez v. New York City Department of Sanitation, 18-CV-1808, 2018 WL 5447540 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 29, 2018), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s race discrimination claims – reasoning that the complaint did “not allege facts sufficient to give rise to an inference of discriminatory intent on the part of Defendants.” Here is its summary of…

Read More Race Discrimination Claims Dismissed Against NYC Dept. of Sanitation
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In Moultry v. Rockland Psychiatric Center, 17v-4063, 2018 WL 5621485 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 30, 2018), the court, inter alia, held that plaintiff failed to plausibly allege race discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After summarizing the relevant substantive law and pleading standards, the court held: Plaintiff fails to state a facially plausible…

Read More Title VII Race Discrimination Claim Dismissed Against Rockland Psychiatric Center
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Happy Halloween! There are many instances of Halloween antics giving rise to litigation. As one (admittedly old) example, consider Daniels v. Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority, 689 N.Y.S.2d 463, 464, 261 A.D.2d 115, 115 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. 1999), in which the plaintiff sued a bus operator after being “struck in the left eye…

Read More Personal Injury Case Arising From Egg Thrown By “Halloween Miscreant” Dismissed
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In Ricaurte v. Inwood Beer Garden & Bistro Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 07242 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Oct. 30, 2018), the court held that the lower court should have granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s claim under New York’s Dram Shop Act, but that it should have denied it as to plaintiff’s…

Read More Negligence, But Not Dram Shop Act, Claim Survives Summary Judgment
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A new statute, New York Labor Law § 201-g (effective October 9, 2018), requires every employer to adopt a “sexual harassment prevention policy” that meets certain minimum requirements. The statute provides, inter alia: Such model sexual harassment prevention policy shall: (i) prohibit sexual harassment consistent with guidance issued by the department in consultation with the division…

Read More New York Requires Employers to Adopt Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy
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In Stern v. State University of New York et al, 2018 WL 4863588 (EDNY Sept. 30, 2018), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. The court summarized the well-established law in this area: To establish a hostile work environment under Title VII …, a plaintiff must show that ‘the workplace is permeated…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Not Sufficiently Alleged Against SUNY
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