In Doe v. Fox Corp., No. 653743/2024, 2024 WL 4680514 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Oct. 31, 2024), the court granted plaintiff’s (unopposed) motion to proceed via pseudonym. From the decision: The First Department has held that trial courts must exercise their discretion to limit the public nature of proceedings sparingly, and only when…
Read More Sexual Assault Plaintiff May Proceed Anonymously, Court HoldsIn a recent case, Louis v. Victor Niederhoffer, 2023 WL 8777015 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 19, 2023), the court dismissed plaintiff’s claims asserted under the Gender-Motivated Violence Law, N.Y.C. Admin. Code s. 10-1101 et seq. Her complaint describes conduct – including sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and rape – that plaintiff alleges occurred during her employment at Mr.…
Read More Gender-Motivated Violence Law Claims, Based on Alleged Conduct Before Law’s Passage, DismissedIn a recent decision, Doe v. Polovets, No. 9521022023, 2023 WL 8623613 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Dec. 08, 2023), the New York State Supreme Court, NY County, denied plaintiff’s motion to proceed anonymously. The court summarized plaintiff’s allegations as follows: Plaintiff alleges, simply put, that defendant Stan Polovets, whom she met through a…
Read More Sexual Assault Plaintiff, in Lawsuit Against Stan Polovets et al, May Not Proceed Anonymously, Judge Engoron RulesIn Crandall v. Equinox Holdings, Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 34161(U), Index No. 157373/2018 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. Dec. 8, 2022) – arising from an alleged sexual assault in an Equinox steam room – the court, inter alia, denied plaintiff’s motion to vacate the Note of Issue, effectively precluding plaintiff from conducting depositions of…
Read More Failure to Comply With Court Order Results in Waiver of DepositionsIt was recently reported that former professional boxer Mike Tyson punched fellow airline passenger Melvin Townsend III. More details are emerging, and it appears that there are disputed versions of the event (regarding, among other things, whether Townsend threw a water bottle at Tyson). Let’s assume that this case proceeded to litigation against Tyson, and…
Read More Mike Tyson, Battery, Planes, and ProvocationAs you may have heard, actor/rapper Will Smith smacked comedian/actor Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars after Mr. Rock made a joke referring to Mr. Smith’s wife’s bald head. Many news organizations reported this event as a “assault.” However, in the civil (as opposed to criminal) context, there are, among potentially others, two distinct causes…
Read More Battery, Assault, and the Oscar Slap Heard (and Seen) Throughout the WorldIn Kouri v Eataly N.Y. LLC, No. 14538, 158476/14, 2021-00047, 2021 N.Y. Slip Op. 06044, 2021 WL 5113230 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. Nov. 04, 2021), the court affirmed the denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims arising from his ejection from Eataly. As to plaintiff’s public accommodation discrimination claims asserted under the New…
Read More Public Accommodation (Sexual Orientation) Discrimination Case Proceeds Against Eataly NY LLC