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In Geras v. Hempstead Union Free Sch. Dist., No. 13-CV-5094(ADS)(AYS), 2015 WL 9182980 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 17, 2015), the court noted that “although the standard for establishing a hostile work environment is high, … [t]he environment need not be unendurable or intolerable.” From the decision: [T]here is testimonial evidence that the Plaintiff was “harassed [and] belittled on…

Read More “Reverse” Race Discrimination Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives Summary Judgment
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In Bright v. Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, Inc., No. 14-4465-CV, 2015 WL 9261278 (2d Cir. Dec. 18, 2015), the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision granting summary judgment judgment, of plaintiffs’ race-based hostile work environment claims. As to the merits, the Second Circuit incorporated the district court’s analysis and conclusion, adding that “[m]any of the comments and incidents…

Read More Second Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Dismissing Hostile Work Environment Claims; Says District Court Properly Declined to Consider Post-Deposition Affidavits
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In Dingle v. Bimbo Bakeries USA/Entenmann’s, No. 14-1215-CV, 2015 WL 8952903 (2d Cir. Dec. 16, 2015), the Second Circuit vacated the dismissal, for failure to state a claim under FRCP 12(b)(6), of plaintiff’s employment discrimination complaints. Plaintiff’s allegations, in a nutshell: Dingle alleged that a photo of a nude man resembling Dingle was distributed among employees who made…

Read More Second Circuit Revives “Perceived Sexual Orientation Discrimination” Claim
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It has been reported that Queens physical education teacher Peter Maliarakis has settled his “whistleblowing” retaliation lawsuit against the New York City Department of Education, Principal Namita Dwarka, and others. He alleges in his 2014 lawsuit (here and below), among other things, that the school administration retaliated against him after he told an Office of Special Investigation (OSI)…

Read More Grade-Changing Whistleblower Lawsuit Settled
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In Taveras v 1149 Webster Realty Corp., 2015 NY Slip Op 09192, the court held that plaintiff’s trip-and-fall case should not have been dismissed: [W]e find that defendants in this case failed to meet their initial burden of establishing, prima facie, their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by asserting that plaintiff could not…

Read More Plaintiff Adequately Identified Defect Causing Him to Fall; Summary Judgment for Defendants Overturned
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Forman v. Henkin, 2015 NY Slip Op 09350 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Dec. 17, 2015), decided by the First Department on December 17, 2015, represents yet another data point in an evolving body of case law assessing whether a party to litigation is entitled to the other side’s social media postings. This issue typically arises in…

Read More First Department Limits Facebook Discovery in Personal Injury Case
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Consider this law-school-exam-like scenario: Person goes to hospital, where she is prescribed medication that makes her drowsy (but not told that it will do so). She then, under the influence of the medication, drives and hits plaintiff with her car. Can plaintiff sue the hospital for negligence? These are the (simplified/summarized) facts of the Court…

Read More Court of Appeals: Hospital Owed Duty to Third Party
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In Lopez v. Hollisco Owners’ Corp., No. 14-CV-3738, 2015 WL 7748358 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 30, 2015), the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s disability discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the NYC Human Rights Law. In sum, the court held that an employer may “condition an employee’s return to…

Read More Hepatitis Disability Discrimination Claim Dismissed Under the ADA’s “Business Necessity” Exception
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