A Nassau County trial court recently granted summary judgment to a plaintiff whose car was hit while stationary. The case is Fontaine v. Curtin, 5659/12, NYLJ 1202616726798, at *1 (Sup., NA, Decided July 26, 2013). The facts: Plaintiff … was traveling westbound on Lafayette Street and came to a stop at the stop sign located at…
Read More Court Awards Summary Judgment to Plaintiff Whose Car Was Hit While StoppedRecently, in Askins v. NYC, the Second Circuit explained the relationship between the liability of individual police officers, on the one hand, and that of a municipality (such as the City of New York), on the other. Specifically, it held that the dismissal of claims against individual police officers on qualified immunity and statute of…
Read More Second Circuit: Plaintiff Can Assert Municipal Liability Claims Even if Officers Have Qualified ImmunityIn a recent Summary Order the Second Circuit, in Dowrich-Weeks v. Cooper Sq. Realty, affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff-appellant’s discrimination, constructive discharge, and hostile work environment claims. This case illustrates, by negative example, what an employment discrimination plaintiff must allege to survive a motion to dismiss. Discrimination – No “Adverse Action” The court found that plaintiff…
Read More Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Discrimination, Constructive Discharge, and Hostile Work Environment ClaimsThe New York Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) imposes monetary penalties and driver violation points for using a cell phone to talk or text while driving. More information is available here. The two relevant statutes are VTL § 1225-c and VTL § 1225-d. Using a Mobile Telephone to Engage in a Call VTL § 1225-c(2)(a) provides: “[N]o person shall…
Read More New York’s Cell Phone Driving Laws and RulesIt’s a perfect example of being caught between a rock and a hard place – or, in this case, jury duty and a work place. If you’re fired for a jury duty-related work absence, whether you have any recourse depends on whether you are summoned to jury duty in New York or federal court. As explained…
Read More Call of (Jury) Duty: Your Rights as an Employee-Juror in New YorkA recent case, Antolino v. Distribution Management Consolidators Worldwide, illustrates the breadth of the New York Labor Law when it comes to protecting employees who are subjected to retaliation for alleging the failure to pay wages. There, the court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss under CPLR 3211(a)(7), and held that the plaintiff (defendant’s senior vice…
Read More Plaintiff Sufficiently Alleged Retaliation For Opposing Employer’s Deprivation of WagesAn upstate trial court recently held, in King v. Cornell University, that defendant Cornell University was not entitled to summary judgment in a lawsuit brought by the parents of an intoxicated student (Khalil Jamal Godfrey King) who died after falling from a 200-foot tall cliff into the Fall Creek gorge on Cornell’s campus. The (tragic) facts,…
Read More Lawsuit Against Cornell Can Continue; Drunk Student Was Not “Hiking” When He Fell Off CliffHere and below is the letter recently filed by the attorney for plaintiffs Victoria Burhans and Chloe Rivera in their sexual harassment lawsuit against Vito Lopez and Sheldon Silver. It responds to Silver’s letter in which he outlines his proposed motion to dismiss the case. As to their Section 1983 claims, plaintiffs contend, in part: Silver contends that plaintiffs’…
Read More Plaintiffs Submit Further Details and Argument Supporting Claims Against Sheldon Silver in Vito Lopez Sexual Harassment CaseIn Muktadir v. Bevacco Inc., the Eastern District of New York recently denied defendants’ motion to dismiss in its entirety, holding that the plaintiff’ (who is represented by my colleague Bryan Arce) “easily satisf[ied]” the pleading standard for his race discrimination, national origin discrimination, religious discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation, and individual liability claims. As to…
Read More Federal Judge Denies “Patently Meritless Motion” to Dismiss Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, and Retaliation ClaimsLast week an upstate trial court granted petitioner’s request to undo his termination for drinking on the job. The decision is Peterson v. City of Poughkeepsie. Petitioner Carleton Peterson was employed by the City of Poughkeepsie as a Street Supervisor. On Christmas Eve 2009, while working his shift from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., petitioner was…
Read More Court Rules That Termination for Drinking at Work Was Too Harsh a Penalty