Author: mjpospis

by

This week, “Treme” and “Finding Forrester” actor Rob Brown filed two class action lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Both lawsuits – one against Macy’s (13-cv-8092) and the other against the City of New York (13-cv-8094) – arise from his alleged unlawful detention for credit card fraud on June 8, 2013…

Read More Actor Rob Brown’s “Shop and Frisk” Lawsuits Against Macy’s and the City of New York
Share This:
by

In DiDonna v. Houck, a pedestrian-knockdown car accident case decided November 13, 2013, the Appellate Division, Second Department agreed with the trial court that the jury’s finding as to liability was not supported by a fair interpretation of the evidence. In particular, it found that it attributed too much liability to plaintiff, and too little…

Read More Jury Attributed Too Much Fault to Struck Pedestrian in Car Accident Case, Court Holds
Share This:
by

Recently, in Cajamarca v. Regal Entertainment Group, the New York Supreme Court (NY County) dismissed plaintiff’s sexual harassment and related claims arising from the alleged conduct of her co-worker (Gadsden). In this “pure” hostile work environment case (i.e., one in which plaintiff did not suffer a “tangible employment action”), plaintiff alleged that shortly after Gadsden…

Read More Theater Not Strictly Liable for Sexual Harassment by Co-Worker; Masturbation in Plaintiff’s Presence Did Not Constitute Assault
Share This:
by

Below and here is the complaint recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York by sewer maintenance worker Lisa Sprada against her employer, the Town of Cheektowaga. (News coverage here and here.) The case is captioned Sprada v. Town of Cheektowaga, WDNY 13-00985. Plaintiff alleges that upon transferring into her…

Read More Female Sewer Maintenance Worker’s Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
Share This:
by

In Torres v. 1420 Realty LLC, the Appellate Division, First Department recently applied the doctrine of “superseding cause” to affirm the dismissal of plaintiff’s personal injury case. Under that doctrine, a defendant is relieved of liability where, after his negligence, an unforeseeable superseding event breaks the causal connection between his negligence and a plaintiff’s injuries.…

Read More Court Dismisses Personal Injury Case, Finding That Use of Inverted Bucket as Step Stool on Uneven Floor Was “Superseding Cause” of Injury
Share This:
by

In Palacios v. 29th St. Apts., LLC, the Appellate Division, Second Department dismissed plaintiff worker’s claims under Labor Law §§ 200, 240(1), and 241(6). The court described the accident as follows: The plaintiff, who was assigned to work on the roof of an apartment building …, was injured when, instead of using the interior staircase of…

Read More Court Dismisses Claims Under Labor Law §§ 200, 240(1), and 241(6) Where Worker Injured After Using Fire Escape as “Shortcut”
Share This:
by

In Agosta v. Suffolk County (Nov. 8, 2013), the Eastern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Plaintiff alleged two ADA causes of action: First, the Plaintiff claims that the [defendants] maliciously, intentionally and/or recklessly violated the…

Read More Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies at the EEOC Leads to Dismissal of Americans with Disabilities Act Discrimination Claim
Share This:
by

Oral argument is scheduled in the Supreme Court today in the case of Lawson and Zang v. FMR, LLC (information here).  The decision below is Lawson v. FMR, LLC, 670 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2012). The case concerns the scope of protection provided by the “whistleblower” section (Section 806) of the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 18 U.S.C.…

Read More SCOTUS Hears Oral Argument on Whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Protects Employees of Privately-Held Contractors or Subcontractors of Public Companies
Share This:
by

In Matthews v. 400 Fifth Realty LLC, the Appellate Division, First Department reinstated plaintiff’s claims under Labor Law §§ 200 and 240(1).There, plaintiff was injured when a metal grate fell on him while he was working in the elevator shaft of a building owned by defendant 400 Fifth Realty. As to plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240(1) claim, the…

Read More Plaintiff Wins Under § 240(1) in “Falling Object” Case; No Requirement That Object Fell While Being Hoisted or Secured
Share This: