Today is July 4, 2014, the 238th anniversary of the Continental Congress’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence, our break-up letter to our abusive partner Great Britain. No euphemisms here: it couldn’t seriously be said “it’s not you, it’s us”; it was most certainly them. King George, it seems, wasn’t a terribly nice guy. Dear…
Read More When, in the Course of Human Events…In Reis v. Volvo Cars of N. Am., decided July 1, 2014, the Court of Appeals held that the trial court erroneously charged the jury in a design defect case, requiring reversal and a new trial. Here are the facts of this product liability case: On May 24, 2002, plaintiff’s friend, Americo Silva, was showing plaintiff…
Read More Inappropriate Jury Charge in Product Liability Case Results in Tossing of $10 Million Jury VerdictThe law requires municipalities, such as New York City, to maintain their streets and highways in a reasonably safe condition for people who use them. However, anyone seeking to recover for personal injuries arising from a defective condition on a New York City “street, highway, bridge, wharf, culvert, sidewalk or crosswalk” must – in addition…
Read More New York City’s “Prior Written Notice” RequirementIn Henderson v. City of New York, plaintiff alleged that she tripped and fell on a manhole in a crosswalk at the intersection of Second Avenue and 74th Street in Manhattan. She claimed, in her notice of claim, that she fell due to a “raised, cracked, depressed, missing, broken and/or mis-leveled pavement and/or manhole cover…
Read More No Explicit Denial of Lack of Prior Written Notice Results in Denial of Summary Judgment to City in Trip/Fall CaseA recent First Department decision, Cambio v. City of New York (decided June 19, 2014), underscores the notice function of a “notice of claim” and held that the plaintiff’s subsequent deviation from allegations in his notice of claim mandated dismissal. The facts: Plaintiff, who is legally blind, alleged in his notice of claim that he…
Read More Trip/Fall Claims Dismissed Where Litigation Theory Deviated From That Asserted in Notice of ClaimThe U.S. Supreme Court recently held, in Riley v. California (decided together with U.S. v. Wurie) that the police may not conduct a warrantless search of the digital contents of a cell phone seized from an individual who has been arrested. Justice Roberts’ tour through the Court’s Fourth Amendment jurisprudence culminates with this terse observation:…
Read More Police Need Warrant to Search Cell Phones’ Digital Contents, U.S. Supreme Court HoldsBelow is the federal court complaint recently filed against PFIP LLC (doing business as Planet Fitness) and others. (News coverage here.) The suit alleges that about one month after the start of plaintiff’s employment, her (unnamed) manager “began making continual inappropriate sexual comments and innuendos towards and around Plaintiff.” She alleges, for example, he told her that…
Read More Sexual Harassment Suit Against Planet FitnessIt’s been said that the “close door” buttons on certain elevators don’t do anything. One unlucky plaintiff apparently encountered an elevator with a functioning “close door” button, with an unpleasant result. In Chanice v. Federal Express Corp. (decided June 26, 2014), plaintiff alleged that “the top portion of a bi-folding industrial elevator door struck plaintiff in the head…
Read More FedEx Elevator Accident Case ContinuesIn Chinnery v. NYS Office of Children and Family Svcs, decided April 25, 2014, Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Maas recommended that defendant OCFS be granted summary judgment on plaintiff’s disparate treatment, retaliation, and hostile work environment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While the court’s discussion of…
Read More Court Reiterates That “Mere Workplace Bullying” Unrelated to the Plaintiff’s Membership in a Protected Class Does Not Constitute a Hostile Work EnvironmentIn Brown v. Daikin America, the Second Circuit (in an opinion dated June 27, 2014) held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged that his direct employer and its Japanese parent engaged in national origin and race discrimination under Title VII and NYS Human Rights Law claims. While this decision arises in the context of defendants’ motion to…
Read More White American Plaintiff Successfully Pleads Race and National Origin Discrimination Claims Against His U.S. Employer and its Japanese Parent