Author: mjpospis

In Littlejohn v. City of New York, No. 14-1395-CV, 2015 WL 4604250 (2d Cir. Aug. 3, 2015), the Second Circuit clarified the pleading standards applicable to employment discrimination claims. Plaintiff, an African American woman, alleged that, while employed by the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, she was subjected to a hostile work environment and…

Read More Second Circuit Clarifies Pleading Standard For Employment Discrimination Cases
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In Caceres v. Standard Realty Assoc., Inc. (App. Div. 1st Dept. Aug. 25, 2015), plaintiff worker was injured when he fell from a ladder. The appellate court reversed the lower court and granted plaintiff summary judgment on liability on his claim under New York Labor Law § 240(1) (the so-called “scaffold law”). Here are the facts…

Read More Fall From A-Frame Ladder; Plaintiff Gets Summary Judgment on Labor Law § 240(1) Claim
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In Anderson v. HotelsAB, LLC, No. 15CV712-LTS-JLC, 2015 WL 5008771 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 24, 2015), plaintiff alleged that defendants discriminated against her in violation of the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) by refusing to hire her because of her relationship with her disabled son. This decision addresses the geographical reach of the NYCHRL. The facts, briefly:…

Read More Court Addresses Geographical Reach of NYC Human Rights Law in Associational Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
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Here is the complaint, captioned Ekberg v. City of New York (NY Sup. Ct., NY Cty., Index # 158642/2015, filed 8/20/15) in which plaintiff alleges that she was injured after being bitten by a NYPD horse while on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. (I’m very curious to know why, in 2015, large animals with teeth are present in…

Read More Lawsuit: Bitten by Police Horse
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One of the most serious types of car accidents is the so-called “pedestrian knockdown” case, in which a motor vehicle hits a pedestrian. Unsurprisingly and for obvious reasons, in the “car v. pedestrian” scenario, the pedestrian is at significantly greater risk. In Zhu v. Natale (App. Div. 2nd Dept. 8/19/15), plaintiff was walking in a crosswalk…

Read More Pedestrian Wins on Liability in Auto Accident Knockdown Case
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In a recent complaint captioned Donahue v. Asia TV USA Ltd., SDNY 15-cv-06490 (filed 8/18/15), plaintiff (a 58 year-old American man) alleges discrimination on the basis of his national origin, age, and disability. As to his anti-American bias claim, the complaint refers to testimony “that [defendant’s] Indian management said that Americans were ‘fat, lazy, dying,…

Read More Lawsuit Alleges Anti-American Bias at Asia TV
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Dog-bite injuries can be serious and in some cases deadly. If it happens to you, can you (successfully) sue under New York law for damages? It depends. Unlike in other types of personal injury cases, a person injured by a domestic animal (e.g., a dog) may not proceed on a theory of negligence. Rather, under…

Read More Who’s a Bad Boy? “Vicious Propensities” and New York Dog Bite Law
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In Shenkelbakh v. Riera (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Qns. Cty Aug. 17, 2015), a personal injury bicycle accident case, plaintiff bicyclist sued after being hit by defendant driver. The jury returned a verdict in defendant’s favor, and absolved defendant of liability. The court granted plaintiff’s CPLR 4404(a) motion to set aside the jury verdict. Here are the undisputed facts,…

Read More Injured Bicyclist Wins New Trial on Liability
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