Generally speaking, sexual harassment[1]This discussion is confined to the employment context. is a form of sex-based discrimination typically characterized by unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical sexual conduct. The cause of action for sexual harassment is statutory, and is prohibited (in New York City) by Title VII of the…
Read More What is Sexual Harassment?Today’s case summary comes out of the Second Department. In the illuminating decision of Conneally v. Diocese of Rockville Centre, decided April 23, 2014, the court affirmed the trial court’s denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment. This case addresses a landowner’s duty to properly light their premises. “At about 9:00 p.m. on August 20, 2009,…
Read More Plaintiff Survives Summary Judgment in Premises Liability Case Involving Alleged Inadequate LightingIn Atchison v. Metropolitan Enterprises, a recent trip-and-fall case, a Brooklyn trial court rejected defendants’ attempt to subject plaintiff to a second Independent Medical Examination (IME). They sought the second examination due to intervening events which, to put it mildly, raised questions as to the first doctor’s credibility. (Note: As a plaintiff’s lawyer, I – as…
Read More Perjury Allegation Against Medical Expert Does Not Justify Second Medical Examination of Plaintiff in Trip-and-Fall Personal Injury SuitThe New York Court of Appeals (New York’s highest court) recently clarified the standards applicable when a party to litigation seeks information, or discovery, from a non-party. The case, Matter of Kapon v. Koch, arises from billionaire William I. Koch’s lawsuit to recover damages for the alleged sale of counterfeit wine. (The court issued the decision on…
Read More NY Court of Appeals Clarifies Burdens Relating to Nonparty Subpoenas Under CPLR 3101(a)(4)In Bisram v. Long Island Jewish Hospital, a recent construction accident case, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the lower court’s decision to grant plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim, but modified the decision and granted defendants’ motion as to plaintiff’s claims based on Labor Law § 200 and certain claims…
Read More Defendant’s Failure to Secure Steel Beam Results in Summary Judgment for Plaintiff on Labor Law 240(1) ClaimIn Brown v. Crowdtwist, the Southern District of New York (Judge Baer) recently denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s age discrimination claim under the New York City Human Rights Law. The court held that the plaintiff, a 43-year old male, presented sufficient evidence that he was terminated by internet startup technology company Crowdtwist…
Read More Age Discrimination Claim Against Internet Startup Crowdtwist Survives Summary JudgmentIn a decision illustrating New York’s strong public policy favoring an employee’s right to earn a living free from contractual restrictions, an upstate New York federal court recently rejected a company’s attempt to enforce a non-competition provision against a departing employee. The decision is Veramark Technologies Inc v. Bouk, decided April 2, 2014. After one-time Veramark employee…
Read More Court Rejects Employer’s Request for Preliminary Injunction Against Departing Employee and New EmployerBelow is the complaint filed on April 15, 2014 against the City of New York and several “John Doe” police officers by Theodora Ray, who is one of the bystanders shot by the NYPD during the botched September 14, 2013 attempt to apprehend an (unarmed) Glenn Broadnax. (I previously wrote about a similar suit, arising from a…
Read More Lawsuit by Pedestrian Shot During NYPD’s Botched Apprehension of Unarmed ManIn 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 Case