In 2010, plaintiff Geralyn Ganci alleged, in a federal court complaint against U.S. Limousine Service Ltd. and Raymond Townsend, that she was subjected to hostile work environment and quid pro quo sexual harassment (including in person and by phone calls/text messages) by her boss Raymond Townsend and fired for rejecting his advances. Among the “vile and…
Read More $700,000+ Award in Limousine Company Sexual Harassment CaseIn Moriarty v. Lenox Terrace Development Associates (NY Sup. Ct. 3/24/15), the plaintiff sought to recover for injuries she sustained after tripping and falling upon exiting a misleveled elevator in her building. She relied, in part, on the theory of “res ipsa loquitur”. The court explained that, in order to invoke that doctrine, a plaintiff…
Read More Elevator Misleveling Trip-and-Fall Case Proceeds to Trial on Res Ipsa Loquitur Theory“To make out a prima facie [employment] discrimination claim [under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964], a plaintiff must demonstrate … (1) [he] was within the protected class; (2) [he] was qualified for the position; (3) [he] was subject to an adverse employment action; and (4) the adverse action occurred under circumstances giving…
Read More Second Circuit Clarifies What an “Adverse Employment Action” Is For Purposes of a Discrimination ClaimIn Linder v. Innovative Commercial Sys. LLC, decided April 30, 2015, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint alleging failure to pay commissions. Citing the Court of Appeals’ decision in Pachter v. Bernard Hodes Group, Inc., the court explained: Given the seven-year course of dealing between the parties, in which plaintiff…
Read More At-Will Commission Salesman Not Entitled to Commissions on Post-Termination PaymentsHere is the complaint, captioned Matthew Luke v. Al Jazeera America and Osman Mahmud, NY Sup. Ct. NY Cty. Index No. 154219-2015 (Apr. 28, 2015), filed against news organization Al Jazeera and others. Plaintiff alleges that defendants retaliated against him after he opposed defendant Mahmud’s discriminatory acts against his colleagues on the basis of their gender,…
Read More Discrimination Lawsuit Against Al Jazeera AmericaIn Connolly v. 129 East 69th St. Corp., a personal injury trip-and-fall case, one defendant moved for summary judgment to dismiss plaintiff’s case. The Supreme Court granted the motion. The Appellate Division, however, reversed that decision, finding that the defendant filed its motion one day after the motion filing deadline: Supreme Court’s individual part rules…
Read More Summary Judgment Motion Filed One Day Late Deemed Untimely in Personal Injury CaseIn Kane v. 247 Real Media, 14-cv-2482, 2015 WL 1623832 (SDNY April 7, 2015), the court explained and applied the “administrative exhaustion” requirement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plaintiff – a transgender woman – alleged that she was subjected to discrimination based on her race, color, gender, and national origin.…
Read More Failure to File at EEOC Dooms Federal Transgender Discrimination ClaimsA recent decision, Martinez v. Lincoln Center (Sup. Ct. Bx. Cty. Apr. 8, 2015), illustrates that attorneys who engage in obstructionist conduct at depositions do so at their peril. In this personal injury action, plaintiff, a laborer, was injured when he slipped and fell on debris in an underground garage at Lincoln Center. The court granted…
Read More Violation of Deposition Rules Results in $250 Sanction Against Defense Attorney in Personal Injury CaseAn employer recently learned the hard way that firing an employee – because she rejected his sexual advances – by text message is a bad idea. In Comm’n on Human Rights ex rel. Martinez v. Joseph “J.P.” Musso Home Improvement & Joseph Musso, OATH Index No. 2167/14 (Feb. 27, 2015), the New York City Office of Administrative…
Read More OMG LOL: Text Message Firing of Employee Who Opposed Sexual Harassment May Cost Employer $37KIn Greathouse v. JHS Security, 12-4521-cv (2nd Cir. April 20, 2015), the Second Circuit (panel: Carney, Pooler, Korman) held that, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kasten v. Saint-Gobain (2011), the FLSA’s retaliation provision (29 USC 215) is not restricted to written complaints to a government agency, but is broad enough to prohibit retaliation…
Read More Second Circuit: FLSA Anti-Retaliation Provision Covers Oral Complaints to Employer, Not Just Written Complaints to Government