Governmental Liability

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In Giscombe v. New York City Dept. of Education, the Southern District of New York denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s retaliation claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Here’s plaintiff’s amended complaint. Plaintiff, a physical education teacher, claimed that the DOE re-opened an investigation into claims that he…

Read More NYC Gym Teacher’s Retaliation Claims, Following (Retracted) Allegations of Inappropriate Sexual Conduct Towards Students, Continues
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In Lapaix v. City of New York (decided Aug. 12, 2014), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff – a retired Marine Colonel – adequately pleaded various employment discrimination claims. Here’s plaintiff’s complaint. Initially the court held that plaintiff stated military status discrimination claims under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and the New…

Read More Retired Marine States Military Status, Race, and National Origin Discrimination Claims
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In an Order issued on August 12, 2014 in the matter of Gaifman v. City of New York, Index No. 155965-2014 – a sidewalk trip-and-fall case – the Supreme Court, New York County (Judge Freed) denied plaintiff’s application to file a late notice of claim. According to the supporting memorandum of law in the Gaifman case, plaintiff tripped and…

Read More Court Rules That City is not Liable When Sidewalk Defects Are Caused By Tree Roots
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In Benn v. New York Presbyt. Hosp., a pedestrian knockdown motor vehicle accident personal injury case decided August 6, 2014, the Appellate Division, Second Department denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment. In this case, a 13 year-old student was struck by a city ambulance while in the middle of a crosswalk after exiting a city…

Read More Ambulance-Hit-Pedestrian Lawsuit Continues; “Emergency Vehicle” Recklessness Standard Inapplicable
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In Luckey v. City of New York, the Appellate Division, First Department held on August 7, 2014 that the trial court should not have dismissed the plaintiff’s negligence claims against the City of New York. “Plaintiff’s’ decedent was an inmate at Rikers Island who was treated for chronic asthma during the few weeks in which she was…

Read More Inmate Asthma Death Suit Continues
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Here is the complaint filed on July 30th in Bronx Supreme Court by alleged “rape cop” Kenneth Moreno against various parties, including the woman he was accused (but acquitted) of raping, the City of New York, and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. According to a Reuters article on the suit, plaintiff “claims that city prosecutors ignored credibility…

Read More Alleged “Rape Cop” Kenneth Moreno’s $175 Million Lawsuit Against Accuser and Others
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If you have been injured due to the negligence of a municipal entity (such as the City of New York), you will need to file a document known as a “Notice of Claim” within a fixed deadline after the accident or event in order to protect your rights. Failure to do so may result in dismissal…

Read More What is a “Notice of Claim”?
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The 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” Requirement
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In 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 Case
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