In Carbonnier v. Board of Education of the City of New York, a student who was injured after being pushed by another student while playing on the monkey bars in a school playground. The Appellate Division yesterday directed the entry of judgment in favor of defendant. According to the court, defendant demonstrated its entitlement to summary…
Read More Monkey Bar Injury Case DismissedIn McGough v. Cryan, Inc. (decided Nov. 27, 2013), the Appellate Division, Second Department held that the trial court properly denied defendant’s, and should have denied plaintiff’s, respective motions for summary judgment. The court described the injury and the alleged condition causing it: The tip of the plaintiff’s right ring finger was severed when he sat…
Read More Neither Party Entitled to Summary Judgment in Bar Stool Severed Fingertip CaseThe U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced a $350,000 settlement in the case captioned EEOC v. La Rana Hawaii, LLC d/b/a Señor Frog’s & Altres, Inc., Case No. CV-11-00799 LEK BMK, which it filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. From the EEOC press release: The [EEOC alleged] that at least…
Read More $350,000 Settlement in Senor Frog Sexual Harassment CaseIn Orsos v. Hudson Tr. Corp., the Appellate Division, First Department recently affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint seeking damages for personal injuries she sustained in a bus accident. It held: Defendants established their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating the applicability of the emergency doctrine in this action where plaintiff…
Read More Application of “Emergency Doctrine” Results in Dismissal of Bus Accident CaseIn Devito v. Feliciano, decided November 26, 2013, the New York Court of Appeals held that the trial court erroneously failed to give a “missing witness” charge in a car accident case. The court held: [W]hen a missing witness charge is requested in a civil case, the uncalled witness’s testimony may properly be considered cumulative…
Read More Failure to Give “Missing Witness” Charge Results in New Trial Following Defense Verdict in Car Accident CaseA recent case, Cogle v. Bergstein (Supreme Court, New York County, decided Nov. 18, 2013) illustrates the pitfalls that exist when pleading defamation and discrimination claims in New York State courts. Plaintiff, a nurse, worked for the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation (HHC) at Bellevue Hospital. She alleged that she was suspended based on defamatory…
Read More Court Dismisses Plaintiff’s Defamation and Failure-to-Accommodate Disability Discrimination ClaimsIn Meadors v. Ulster County, the Northern District of New York held in favor of plaintiffs, county corrections officers, on various employment discrimination claims. Here we summarize the court’s holdings on plaintiffs’ sexual harassment, disparate treatment, retaliation, and pregnancy discrimination claims. Hostile Work Environment The court held that plaintiffs presented “barely” just enough evidence to survive…
Read More Court Rules in Favor of Corrections Employees on Sexual Harassment, Sex Discrimination, Retaliation, and Pregnancy Discrimination ClaimsIn Carrion v. City of New York, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed a summary judgment for plaintiff on his claim under Labor Law § 240(1). Plaintiff “allegedly was standing on an extension ladder that had been placed atop a scaffold when the scaffold unexpectedly tipped away from a wall, causing him to fall to the…
Read More Falling Worker Succeeds on Labor Law § 240(1) ClaimIn Smith v. Town of Hempstead Dept. of Sanitation Sanitary District No. 2, decided November 16, 2013, the Eastern District of New York discussed the application of the Supreme Court’s recent Nassar decision in the context of a summary judgment motion. Nassar modified the standard for proving retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of…
Read More Plaintiff Presented Sufficient Evidence of Retaliation to Survive Summary Judgment Under New “But For” Causation StandardIn Pelletier v. Lahm, decided November 20, 2013, the Appellate Division, Second Department upheld the trial court’s decision to instruct the jury as to the “emergency doctrine” and the resulting jury verdict for defendant Brittany Lahm in connection with a fatal car crash. Specifically, it affirmed the trial court’s denial of plaintiff’s motion, pursuant to CPLR…
Read More Emergency Doctrine Properly Applied to Exonerate Driver Brittany Lahm in “Bikini Top” Fatal Car Accident Case