In Powers v. 31 E 31 LLC, 2014 NY Slip Op 07084, 24 NY3d 84 (Ct. App. Oct. 21, 2014), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. I had previously written about the Court of Appeals’ October 21, 2014 decision in plaintiff’s favor on various…
Read More Case Arising From Plaintiff’s Fall Down Air Shaft ContinuesIn Cullen v. Verizon Communications, No. 14-CV-464S, 2014 WL 6627494 (W.D.N.Y. Nov. 21, 2014), the Western District of New York dismissed, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), plaintiff’s complaint alleging disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (as amended) (ADA) and the New York State Human Rights Law. Here are the facts,…
Read More Recent Court Decision is Instructive as to the Circumstances Under Which Alcoholism Constitutes a “Disability” Under the Anti-Discrimination StatutesAccording to recent reports, motorcyclist Miguel Mercado was killed after being thrown from his motorcycle and struck by an oncoming vehicle on the Henry Hudson Parkway. One source, citing police reports, reported: Miguel Mercado, 44, of The Bronx, was traveling southbound in the left-hand lane about 9 p.m. Saturday when he hit the highway’s center…
Read More Fatal Motorcycle Accident on Henry Hudson ParkwayThere’s a joke sign that reads: Sexual harassment in this area will not be reported. However, it will be “graded.” Hilarious, right? For one sexual harassment plaintiff, the laughter stopped when the court dismissed her complaint, citing her use of a sticker with similar language. In Krupa v. Dunkirk Specialty Steel, LLC, No. 13–CV–76A, 2014…
Read More Sexual Harassment “Joke” Gets an “F”A recent First Department decision, Kim v. Harry Hanson, Inc., illustrates the effectiveness – or, in this case, the lack thereof – of a release in a personal injury case that purports to limit an alleged tortfeasor’s liability. In Kim, Plaintiff sustained injuries while engaged in a personal training program, under a trainer’s supervision and instruction,…
Read More Release Does Not Bar Personal Injury Case Against GymNew York City can be a dangerous place. Consider, for example, a recent case in which an expert testified that it was “common knowledge that mattresses left in the public areas of multiple dwellings are often set on fire”. There is a good way to set a bed on fire, and a bad way. This…
Read More Burning Mattress Personal Injury Case ContinuesIf you’re like me, the thought of (non-online) shopping on Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving (i.e, not that one, or that one, or that one) – or Thanksgiving Day itself (really?!?) ranks somewhere on the “fun” scale between a colonoscopy and being trapped on an elevator in a burning building with [insert annoying…
Read More Happy Thanksgiving! Don’t Get TrampledJudicial opinions are often difficult to distill into discrete bullet points. However, a recent decision can be taken as a cautionary instruction to male supervisors, for example, not instruct their female subordinates, in writing, to remember that they are “a man first and a supervisor second” and that being “sex[y]” is “crucial to the position”, and…
Read More “Mock” Sexual Harassment Letter From Alleged Harasser Supports Plaintiff’s Case Against School DistrictIn Corrado v. New York State Uniform Court System, the Eastern District of New York explained the difference between an “adverse action” for purposes of retaliation and an “adverse action” for purposes of discrimination based on a protected class (so-called disparate treatment). Specifically: To show a prima facie case of retaliation, plaintiff must demonstrate that…
Read More Court Explains Differing Standards for “Adverse Action” Depending on Whether Claim is For Retaliation or Status-Based Employment DiscriminationPerhaps this is the new frontier of employment law: punishing plaintiffs’ lawyers for daring to assert claims on behalf of their clients. In a recent complaint, prominent NYC plaintiffs’ lawyer Douglas Wigdor asserts that SoulCycle banned him after he sued the company (on behalf of a client) for violations of the New York Labor Law and…
Read More Plaintiffs’ Lawyers: The New Protected Class?