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Summa v. Hofstra (11-1743, Feb. 21, 2013):  The Second Circuit found that plaintiff student/football team manager Lauren E. Summa presented sufficient evidence to support her retaliation (but not her harassment) claims against the defendants.  Plaintiff claimed that she was harassed by several football players and then subjected to retaliation for complaining about it.  Among other things,…

Read More 2nd Circuit: Student/Coach May Continue Retaliation, But Not Harassment, Claims Against Hofstra University
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Gilchrist v. City of New York, decided on March 7, 2013, contains an important lesson for plaintiffs’ lawyers in personal injury cases:  wherever possible, make sure to specifically request that certain pieces of evidence be preserved.  Here, the defendants’ failure to preserve such specifically requested evidence resulted in sanctions for spoliation of evidence. In this…

Read More Defendants’ Spoliation of Evidence Results in Adverse Inference Charge and Denial of Summary Judgment Motion
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Winfield v. Trottier, 11-4404 (2nd Cir. March 6, 2013) (JACOBS, Pooler, Hall): Plaintiffs sued a Vermont state trooper under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that he violated their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by reading an item of mail uncovered during a search of plaintiff’s car during a traffic stop. The Second Circuit held that,…

Read More Second Circuit: Police Officer Entitled to Qualified Immunity For Reading Stopped Driver’s Mail
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In a letter to three federal judges, including the Honorable John G. Koeltl of the Southern District of New York, NELA/NY members Herb Eisenberg and Julian Birnbaum explain why recent proposed changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that would tend to limit discovery would for that reason be detrimental to employment discrimination plaintiffs.…

Read More Letter Highlights Evidentiary Difficulties Faced By Employment Discrimination Plaintiffs
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Revolutionary War, Part Deux? In a complaint captioned Bottoms v. World Class Learning Academy of New York et al filed on February 28, 2013 in NY state court by Sarah Bottoms against UK-based World Class Learning Academy of New York, plaintiff alleges breach of contract, as well as discrimination and retaliation under the NYS and…

Read More “Get Rid of the Americans”: Suit Against British School
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In a recent opinion (Desardouin v. City of Rochester, No. 12-187-cv (2nd Cir. Feb. 19, 2013)), the Second Circuit reversed a summary judgment for defendant and upheld plaintiff Jewanta Desardouin’s hostile work environment claim. It held that even though her case was not an “obvious” one of hostile work environment, plaintiff’s “allegations of repeated solicitation…

Read More Plaintiff’s Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives Summary Judgment Where Supervisor Said That Plaintiff’s Husband Was “Not Taking Care of Her in Bed”
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In a recent complaint, captioned Gurievsky v. Saatch & Saatchi, NY Sup. Ct. NY Cty., Index 151547/2013, plaintiff alleges (among other things) that a creative director referred to women as “pretty prostitutes” and said that he liked the style of plaintiff’s hair “because it made her look like she had ‘just been fucked’”, and that plaintiff…

Read More Sexual Harassment Suit Filed Against Branding Company
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As reported in the Huffington Post, a former Starbucks manager recently sued the company under the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws.  Plaintiff alleged that following her arrest for assaulting another employee, she was “accused” of having a lesbian relationship with that employee.  Plaintiff denies being gay. Plaintiff alleged (among other…

Read More Starbucks Manager Alleges She Was Fired After Opposing False Claim of Being Gay
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In a letter dated February 14, 2013, 37 senators urged President Obama to issue an Executive Order protecting LGBT employees of federal contractors against discrimination.  This would supplement the protections embodied in Executive Order No. 11246 (signed by President Johnson in 1965), which requires federal contractors to refrain from discriminating because of race, creed, color,…

Read More Senators Urge Pres. Obama to Issue Executive Order Protecting LGBT Employees of Federal Contractors Against Discrimination
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