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In Beceren v. Joan Realty LLC, decided January 14, 2015, the Appellate Division, Second Department held that a defendant property owner was entitled to dismissal of plaintiff’s slip-and-fall case. In this case, plaintiff alleged that she was injured when she slipped and fell on water in a vestibule area in Brooklyn apartment building owned or maintained…

Read More Slip/Fall Case Dismissed; “Inherently Slippery” Smooth Floor Was Not An Actionable Defect
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In Atkins v. Pitney Bowes Management Services et al., decided Jan. 12, 2015, Southern District of New York Judge Koeltl granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on pro se plaintiff’s Title VII race and religious discrimination and retaliation claims. The court held that defendants proffered a non-discriminatory reason for plaintiff’s termination – namely, plaintiff’s failure…

Read More “You People” Remark Insufficient to Support Race Discrimination Claim
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Here is the complaint recently filed by a student, identified only as “V.V.”, against the New York City Department of Education. Plaintiff asserts, in sum, that she and other students were sexually harassed by cross-dressing teacher Sean Shaynak and that the DOE failed to institute corrective measures to stop it. Plaintiff seeks to recover under Title…

Read More Lawsuit Against NYC Department of Education re Sexual Harassment by Brooklyn Tech Teacher Sean Shaynak
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In Rodriguez v. County of Westchester, a snow/ice slip-and-fall case, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the denial of the motion for summary judgment filed by the listing broker for the property on which plaintiff fell. Here are the facts, as summarized by the court: The plaintiff allegedly was injured when she fell while walking…

Read More Snow/Ice Slip-and-Fall Case Continues Against Property’s Listing Broker
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In Dziedzic v. State University of New York at Oswego (decided Dec. 19, 2014), the Northern District of New York reiterated that, in order to establish a hostile work environment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a plaintiff must establish two elements: [1] the workplace is permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule,…

Read More Court Reiterates That Actionable Hostile Work Environment Must Be Related to Protected Class/Status
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In Turley v. ISG Lackawanna, the Second Circuit clarified the standards for awarding punitive damages in employment discrimination cases. It provides a good review of the law, as well as how it applies in specific cases. In this race discrimination case, the plaintiff “endured an extraordinary and steadily intensifying drumbeat of racial insults, intimidation, and…

Read More Second Circuit Weighs in on Punitive Damages in Employment Discrimination Cases
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Growing up, I spent a lot of time playing “manhunt” with my friends. Thankfully, unlike the plaintiff in a recent case, we never suffered any injuries while playing. Here are the facts of Wolfe v. North Merrick Union Free School District, 2014 NY Slip Op 07499, 122 AD3d 620 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Nov. 5,…

Read More Plaintiff Injured During Game of “Manhunt” Did Not Assume Risk; Case Continues
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In Sherman v. County of Suffolk, the Eastern District of New York addressed plaintiff’s discrimination claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The court held that plaintiff presented enough evidence to overcome summary judgment on his ADA discrimination claim: [W]hile the Plaintiff does not point to any direct evidence of discriminatory intent, such as derogatory…

Read More ADA-Based Discrimination and Retaliation, but not Hostile Work Environment, Claims Survive Summary Judgment
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In Ndiaye v. NEP W. 119th St. LP, a slip-and-fall personal injury case, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed the trial court’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff sued to recover damages for injuries she allegedly suffered when she slipped and fell on ice on the front steps of defendant’s building. Defendant claimed…

Read More Court Rejects “Storm-In Progress” Argument in Reversing Summary Judgment for Defendant in Ice Slip/Fall Case
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In Gorman v. Covidien Sales, LLC, decided December 31, 2014, the Southern District of New York discussed the affirmative defense based on the so-called “after-acquired evidence” doctrine/defense. In this employment discrimination case, plaintiff sought “damages for alleged discrimination on the basis of military status and medical disability, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress during his…

Read More Defendants May Amend Answer to Assert the “After-Acquired Evidence” Defense in Discrimination Case Where Plaintiff Recorded Phone Conversations With Supervisor
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