In Carriero v. Nazario, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit arising from injuries sustained by plaintiff when he dove into a shallow pool. Defendants “established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating that the plaintiff’s act of diving into the shallow pool was the…
Read More Pool Injury Case DismissedIn Miller v. City of New York, a car accident case decided April 16, 2014, the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the lower court’s decision denying defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and held that they were entitled to dismissal of plaintiffs’ complaint and all claims against them. This is a long way of saying “plaintiffs lose.”…
Read More Traffic Agent’s Alleged Negligent Acts Were “Discretionary”, Precluding Liability in Car Accident CaseOne type of “premises liability” case is involves an allegation that the property owner has failed to provide adequate security, which leads to an on-premises assault. In one such case, Terrero v New York City Housing Authority, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of summary judgment to the defendant. Plaintiff sued on behalf of her…
Read More Negligent Security Lawsuit Arising From Roof Sexual Assault Survives Summary JudgmentIn McGuinness v Concentric Health Care LLC, the Appellate Division, First Department permitted plaintiff’s New York City Human Rights Law-based age discrimination and retaliation claims to continue. As to plaintiff’s discrimination claim: Defendants failed to demonstrate that they did not discriminate against plaintiff on the basis of her age. Plaintiff, who was 49 when she was…
Read More Age Discrimination and Retaliation Claims Continue Against Pharmaceutical Advertising AgencyBelow is the federal complaint, captioned Chang et al. v. Phoenix Satellite Television (US), Inc. et al., 1:14-cv-02686, filed yesterday by three plaintiffs against Phoenix Satellite Television US, Inc., Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Limited, and Zhengzhu Liu. Gothamist reported on the lawsuit here. Mr. Liu, it might be recalled, was featured as the alleged harasser…
Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Phoenix Satellite Television and Alleged Intern Harasser Zhengzhu LiuIn Ferrara v. Middleton, the Appellate Division, First Department recently held that plaintiff raised an issue of fact as to whether he satisfied the “serious injury” threshold of New York’s “No Fault Law” sufficient to defeat defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Defendants met their initial burden on summary judgment: Defendants established prima facie that plaintiff did…
Read More Plaintiff Raises Fact Issue as to Whether Shoulder Injury Constitutes a “Serious Injury” Under the No-Fault LawThe Supreme Court, Nassau County recently held, in Gbajumo v. Mecchella, that the plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment in a rear-end car accident case. The facts: [P]laintiff had entered the Long Island Expressway eastbound, and had been traveling in the right lane for about 100 tcct (5 car lengths) when the accident occurred. Defendant testified that:…
Read More Rear-Ended Plaintiff Awarded Summary Judgment in Car Accident CaseIn Hettich v 125 E. 50th St. Co., LLC, the Appellate Division, First Department recently modified a lower court order to deny defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, and affirmed the denial of plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on liability. In this case, plaintiff was injured when the hoist cable for the dumbwaiter in…
Read More Dumbwaiter Injury Suit ContinuesYesterday Mayor de Blasio signed legislation designed to protect interns from discrimination, including sexual harassment. The City Council passed the legislation last month, in the wake of a recent federal court decision, Wang v. Phoenix Satellite Television, which held that interns were not employees under, and hence were not entitled to the protections of, the New York City Human…
Read More Mayor de Blasio Signs Legislation Protecting Interns Against Employment Discrimination and Sexual HarassmentBelow is the federal court complaint, captioned Natasha Velez v. Chipotle Mexican Grill et al., 1:14-cv-02625, filed yesterday by plaintiff Natasha Velez against her former employer Chipotle. Plaintiff alleges that she was fired after disclosing that she was a victim of domestic violence and showing her manager a recently-obtained order of protection against her assailant. She…
Read More Lawsuit: Domestic Violence Victim Status Discrimination Case Against Chipotle