42 USC § 1983

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In Kennedy v. NYS, 14-CV-990S, NYLJ 1202751641711 (WDNY Mar. 3, 2016), the Western District of New York held that plaintiff – a member of NYS Assembly Member Dennis Gabryszak’s staff – plausibly alleged hostile work environment sexual harassment against Mr. Gabryszak under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and therefore denied defendants’ motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ.…

Read More Assembly Staff Member Sufficiently Alleges § 1983 Sexual Harassment Claim Against Dennis Gabryszak
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It has been reported that Queens physical education teacher Peter Maliarakis has settled his “whistleblowing” retaliation lawsuit against the New York City Department of Education, Principal Namita Dwarka, and others. He alleges in his 2014 lawsuit (here and below), among other things, that the school administration retaliated against him after he told an Office of Special Investigation (OSI)…

Read More Grade-Changing Whistleblower Lawsuit Settled
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The Second Circuit’s decision in Shamir v. City of New York, No. 14-3606, 2015 WL 6214708 (2d Cir. Oct. 22, 2015) (Newman, Walker, Jacobs) is instructive on pleading police misconduct cases – namely, claims for excessive force. This case arises from plaintiff’s arrest after putting a sleeping bag on the ground while attending an Occupy Wall Street…

Read More Excessive Force/Tight Handcuffing Claim Sufficiently Alleged
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In Graham v. City of New York, No. 08-CV-3518 MKB, 2015 WL 5258741 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 10, 2015), the court upheld a jury verdict that NYPD officers falsely arrested the plaintiff for “obstructing governmental administration” in violation of NY Penal Law § 195.05. Here is plaintiff’s complaint. This case arose from a factual scenario that could…

Read More Court Explains Reasons for Upholding $150,000 False Arrest Jury Verdict
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In Uzoukwu v. City of New York, No. 13-3483-CV, 2015 WL 6742739 (2d Cir. Nov. 5, 2015), a false arrest/excessive force case, the Second Circuit vacated a judgment entered following a jury verdict for defendants. The facts, briefly: Plaintiff was sitting on a park bench near a playground. Park rules prohibited adults unaccompanied by children…

Read More Second Circuit Revives False Arrest Case Following Improper Jury Instruction on “Obstruction of Governmental Administration”
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In a recent lawsuit, Kaplan-DiNola v. NYC Dept. of Education, 15-cv-8139 (SDNY filed 10/16/15), elementary school teacher Rosanne Kaplan-DiNola alleges that she is a homosexual female who “has been forced to work in an environment of blatant homophobia and discrimination perpetrated by her immediate supervisors.” She alleges, for example, that defendants berated her for her…

Read More Teacher’s Sexual Orientation Discrimination Lawsuit Against NYC Dept. of Education
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In Postell v. Rochester City Sch. Dist., No. 11-CV-6550L, 2015 WL 5882287 (W.D.N.Y. Oct. 8, 2015), the court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s race discrimination claim under 42 USC 1981. Plaintiff, an African American school counselor for John Marshall High School, alleged (among other things) that the defendant subjected her to race…

Read More African American School Counselor Survives Summary Judgment on Race Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
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A recent Southern District decision, Villar v. City of New York, No. 09-CV-7400 DAB, 2015 WL 5707125 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 29, 2015), illustrates how a plaintiff can overcome summary judgment on a gender discrimination claim by demonstrating that a defendant’s proffered legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the discriminatory act is a “pretext” for discrimination. Plaitniff, a Hispanic…

Read More Wrongful Termination Gender Discrimination Claim Against NYPD Survives Summary Judgment
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In Gordon v. City of New York, 14-545-cv (2d Cir. 2015), the Second Circuit affirmed, in a summary order, the dismissal of plaintiffs’ First Amendment retaliation and hostile work environment claims. The facts, as summarized by the court: While working as emergency medical technicians (“EMTs”) for the New York City Fire Department (“FDNY”), plaintiffs Tomeko…

Read More Second Circuit: No Hostile Work Environment Where Black Woman and White Male Were Subjected to Similar Treatment
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In Vega v. Hempstead Union Free Sch. Dist., No. 14-2265-CV, 2015 WL 5127519 (2d Cir. Sept. 2, 2015), the Second Circuit held that plaintiff, a state employee, stated a claim for discrimination (based on his Hispanic ethnicity) and retaliation, and thus vacated the lower court’s order granting defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings under…

Read More Second Circuit Holds That Teacher Stated Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
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