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In Creagh v. Trata Estiatorio and Watermill 27 Partners, LLC (decided March 14, 2011), the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of notice of the allegedly hazardous condition (here, water on the floor). Initially, the court summarized the law regarding premises liability, as well as the burdens of the parties on summary judgment…

Read More Court Denies Summary Judgment to Defendant Restaurant in Slip and Fall Case
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In Staub v. Proctor Hospital, 131 S.Ct. 1186 (2011), (slip opinion here), the Supreme Court clarified the circumstances – under the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. 4311 – under which an employer may be held liable for employment discrimination based on the discriminatory animus of an employee who influenced, but did not…

Read More U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies “Cat’s Paw” Liability Theory
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The EEOC recently issued its final regulations pertaining to the Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.  These new regulations significantly modify the existing legal landscape relating to the law of disability discrimination.  They include nine “rules of construction” derived from the statute or its legislative history, many of which relate to whether a…

Read More EEOC Issues New Regulations Regarding the ADA Amendments Act of 2008
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In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 131 S.Ct. 1325 (2011), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) anti-retaliation provision does not require the submission of a written complaint. That provision, codified at 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3), makes it unlawful to, inter alia, “discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee…

Read More FLSA Anti-Retaliation Provision Covers Oral, as Well as Written, Complaints
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Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga) today (Wednesday, March 16, 2011) introduced legislation (the “Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011”, H.R. 1113) which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect against discrimination on the basis of unemployment status.  The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.).  Click here for more information on…

Read More Proposed Legislation Would Add “Unemployment Status” As Protected Class
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This article, inspired by the apparent recent public dissemination of the Coca-Cola formula (albeit an earlier version of the formula), succintly highlights the difference between the protections provided by patent law, on the one hand, and trade secret law, on the other.  Simply put, patent law arguably offers more comprehensive protection, but provides that protection for a limited…

Read More Why Coca-Cola Never Patented Its Formula
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In Kampfer v. Buchanan et. al., No. 1:10-CV-1234 (N.D.N.Y. Feb. 18, 2011), the court dismissed plaintiff’s claim – brought under 42 U.S.C. 1981 (“Section 1981”) – which was solely based on defendant’s alleged comment alluding to the parties’ “Mormon contract”.  Plaintiff alleged that this constituted racial discrimination that interfered with his ability to make and enforce a…

Read More Section 1981 Inapplicable to Discrimination Based on Religion
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In Badiak v. Education and Assistance Corp., 2011 WL 233901 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 24, 2011), Plaintiff asserted several causes of action (under federal and state law) alleging age discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment against her former employer, a non-profit agency that provided “educational, vocational, counseling, mediation and intervention services” and ran “learning centers” that functioned as “alternative high school programs…

Read More Section 1983 Claim Against Private School Dismissed Because Complained-Of Acts Were Not Committed Under Color of State Law
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Plaintiff was injured after her son-in-law’s dog knocked her down.  Supreme Court (Kings Cty.) denied defendant’s, and granted plaintiff’s, respective motions for summary judgment.   (See Bannout v. McDaniels, 9920/09 (NYLJ 1202479668419, at *1)). The court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment – which was premised on plaintiff’s failure to offer evidence that an “insufficient handrail” proximately…

Read More Bad Dog! Summary Judgment for Woman Knocked Down by Overenthusiastic Pooch
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Field v. Grant, 10-23898 (Sup. Ct. Suffolk Cty. 2010): After attorney Gary P. Field discovered that someone was anonymously posting comments about him on two websites (Ripoff Report and LawyerRatingZ), Field sued the suspected author of the posts – Robert Grant, the ex-husband of one of Field’s clients – for defamation. The postings included statements…

Read More Lawyer’s Defamation Suit Over Online Insults Dismissed; Allegedly Defamatory Comments Constituted Non-Actionable Opinion
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