Dog-bite injuries can be serious and in some cases deadly. If it happens to you, can you (successfully) sue under New York law for damages? It depends. Unlike in other types of personal injury cases, a person injured by a domestic animal (e.g., a dog) may not proceed on a theory of negligence. Rather, under…
Read More Who’s a Bad Boy? “Vicious Propensities” and New York Dog Bite LawIn Shenkelbakh v. Riera (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Qns. Cty Aug. 17, 2015), a personal injury bicycle accident case, plaintiff bicyclist sued after being hit by defendant driver. The jury returned a verdict in defendant’s favor, and absolved defendant of liability. The court granted plaintiff’s CPLR 4404(a) motion to set aside the jury verdict. Here are the undisputed facts,…
Read More Injured Bicyclist Wins New Trial on LiabilityMany employers use handbooks or manuals that provide details and instructions to employees regarding the terms and conditions of employment. Under certain limited circumstances, an employment manual/handbook may the source of contractual rights. A recent decision, Kunda v. Caremark PhC, L.L.C., No. 14-CV-6125 JFB AYS, 2015 WL 4768817 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 13, 2015), addresses the issue. In that case, the…
Read More CVS’ Employment Handbook Was Not a Contract, Court HoldsIn Pena v. Penny Lane Realty Inc., “[p]laintiff, a resident in defendant’s building, claimed that she was robbed at gunpoint and assaulted in the lobby as she was leaving for work. She alleged that the assailant gained access to the premises as a result of a malfunctioning lock on one of the entryway doors.” The…
Read More Defective Lock, Assaulted/Robbed TenantIn Viscecchia v. Alrose Allegria LLC, No. 14-CV-6064 JFB SIL, 2015 WL 4602729 (E.D.N.Y. July 30, 2015), plaintiff asserted claims of gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law. Specifically, the defendant fired plaintiff – a line cook – after he failed to comply…
Read More Selective Enforcement of Employee Hair Policy Gives Rise to Plausible Gender Discrimination ClaimsIn a recent lawsuit captioned Ikezi v. Cipriani Club 55 LLC et al, 15-cv-06145 (SDNY filed 8/5/15), plaintiff Henry Ikezi accuses the Cipriani Club and others of discriminating against him on account of his race. Plaintiff alleges, among other things, that On or about April 2015, when Cipriani Club advised the Plaintiff that Cipriani Club…
Read More Public Accommodation Race Discrimination Lawsuit Against Cipriani ClubIn Rensselaer Cnty. Sheriff’s Dep’t v. New York State Div. of Human Rights, No. 520239, 2015 WL 4757612 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dept. Aug. 13, 2015), the court upheld the determination of the New York State Division of Human Rights that the petitioner engaged in unlawful gender discrimination. The court discussed some of the evidence presented…
Read More Court Upholds Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Finding in Corrections Employee’s Favor by State Division of Human RightsIn Feliciano v. City of New York, No. 14 CIV. 6751 PAE, 2015 WL 4393163 (S.D.N.Y. July 15, 2015), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff, a Hispanic Lieutenant employed by the New York City Sheriff’s Department, sufficiently alleged a prima facie case of discriminatory failure to promote based on race and national origin…
Read More Lieutenant Sufficiently Alleges Discriminatory Failure to Promote and (Limited) Retaliation ClaimIn Torres v. Nine-O-Seven Holding Corp., the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sidewalk trip-and-fall case. After examination of the photographs and the other evidence presented in the record, including plaintiff’s deposition testimony, and considering all the relevant factors, this Court finds that as a matter of law the alleged defect in the…
Read More Trip-and-Fall Case Dismissed; Sidewalk Defect Was “Trivial” as a Matter of LawIn Castiglione v. Kruse – a personal injury/car accident/pedestrian knockdown case – the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the lower court and granted the injured pedestrian-plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability. The injured plaintiff was struck by defendants’ vehicle, which was making a left turn from Keith Lane to proceed eastbound on…
Read More Plaintiff Wins Summary Judgment in Pedestrian Knockdown Case