Pleading

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In Lehman v. Bergmann Associates (decided March 31, 2014), the Western District of New York held that plaintiff adequately pleaded some, but not other, employment discrimination claims. The case provides a good review of federal pleading standards for various employment-related claims. Plaintiff alleged that she was the first woman to hold a senior management position at…

Read More Court Provides Guidance on Pleading Employment Discrimination Claims
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The Appellate Division, First Department held, in Walzer v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (decided May 13, 2014), that plaintiff’s gender discrimination claims should not have been dismissed: Applying the liberal pleading standards applicable to employment discrimination claims under the State and City Human Rights Law, plaintiff has stated causes of action for violations of the Human…

Read More First Department Reinstates Gender Discrimination Claims
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In Kaplan v. NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene (NY Sup. Ct. Kings Cty. Index No. 506658-2013), the court dismissed plaintiff’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims – asserted under the NYC Human Rights Law – arising from a male boss’s masturbating in front of his female subordinate. Plaintiff alleged that, at the beginning of a training…

Read More Male Boss Masturbating in Front of Female Subordinate Was Merely a “Trivial Inconvenience”, and Hence Not Sexual Harassment, Court Rules
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The New York Court of Appeals held, in Webb-Weber v. Community Action for Human Servs., Inc. (decided May 13, 2014) that plaintiff adequately stated a claim under New York’s Whistleblower Law, Labor Law § 740(2)(a). That statute provides, in pertinent part: An employer shall not take any retaliatory personnel action against an employee because such employee … discloses,…

Read More Court of Appeals Broadly Interprets New York’s General Whistleblower Statute, Labor Law § 740
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In Betts v. Shearman et al, decided May 2, 2014, the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s claims for false arrest and malicious prosecution arising from his wife’s an encounter in which, he claims, his wife falsely accused him of assaulting her. Plaintiff alleged the following: On January 20, 2011 at approximately 11:30 p.m., while…

Read More Complaining Victim’s Allegedly False Accusation of Assault Insufficient to Establish False Arrest Claim
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The Second Department’s recent decision in Croci v. Town of Haverstraw et al. is instructive as to how to plead causes of action, under the New York State Human Rights Law, against co-workers engaging in allegedly discriminatory conduct. In this case plaintiff sued one of her co-employees and their employer, alleging “ that she was subjected…

Read More Co-Worker Harassment Suit Dismissed Due to Failure to Allege Aiding and Abetting Theory Against Individual Defendant
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In Zavala v. Cornell University, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York recently denied defendant’s Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings on plaintiff’s disability discrimination claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq. Plaintiff, who suffers from diabetes, worked as a network technician for…

Read More Diabetic Plaintiff’s Disability Discrimination Complaint Survives Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings
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In Pryor v. Jaffe & Asher, the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff adequately stated claims for hostile work environment, gender discrimination, and constructive discharge. Here are the facts, taken from plaintiff’s complaint: Defendant Jaffe & Asher is a law firm doing business in New York, New York. Defendant Jeffrey Tseng, an employee…

Read More Plaintiff Sufficiently Alleged Hostile Work Environment, Gender Discrimination, and Constructive Discharge Claims Against Law Firm
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In Chepak v. Metropolitan Hospital (Summary Order), the Second Circuit recently vacated a trial court’s judgment dismissing plaintiff’s Equal Pay Act and Title VII discrimination claims for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The court noted that “a complaint alleging workplace discrimination and retaliation need not allege specific facts…

Read More Second Circuit Revives Equal Pay Act and Title VII Discrimination Claims
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A recent decision from the Supreme Court, New York County, provides us with a practice tip: when making a motion to dismiss based on an alleged pleading – such as under CPLR 3211(a)(7) – be sure to attach a copy of the challenged pleading. In Anderson v. City of New York, plaintiff alleged race and…

Read More Failure to Attach Complaint Results in Denial of Motion to Dismiss Employment Discrimination Complaint
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