It was recently reported that former professional boxer Mike Tyson punched fellow airline passenger Melvin Townsend III. More details are emerging, and it appears that there are disputed versions of the event (regarding, among other things, whether Townsend threw a water bottle at Tyson). Let’s assume that this case proceeded to litigation against Tyson, and…
Read More Mike Tyson, Battery, Planes, and ProvocationIn Kouri v Eataly N.Y. LLC, No. 14538, 158476/14, 2021-00047, 2021 N.Y. Slip Op. 06044, 2021 WL 5113230 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. Nov. 04, 2021), the court affirmed the denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims arising from his ejection from Eataly. As to plaintiff’s public accommodation discrimination claims asserted under the New…
Read More Public Accommodation (Sexual Orientation) Discrimination Case Proceeds Against Eataly NY LLCIn a recently-filed lawsuit, captioned J.C. v. Robert Allen Zimmerman a/k/a Bob Dylan (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. Index No. 951450/2021), the plaintiff – proceeding pseudonymously – asserts (under the Child Victims Act and pursuant to CPLR 214-g and 22 NYCRR § 202.72) that the defendant sexually abused her over a six-week period between April and…
Read More Child Victims Act Sex Abuse Lawsuit Against Bob DylanIn a recent Order in Doe v. Cuba Gooding, Jr. (SDNY, 20-cv–6569) – in which the plaintiff alleges that defendant, Cuba Gooding, Jr., forcibly raped her in 2013 – the Court (i) granted the plaintiff’s motions to proceed pseudonymously, (ii) granted the plaintiff’s motion for default judgment as to defendant’s liability, and (iii) reserved judgment as…
Read More Default Judgment Issued in Cuba Gooding, Jr. Rape CaseIn November 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law an update to New York’s anti-SLAPP law that expands the rights and protections of defendants in lawsuits based on their right to free speech. “SLAPP” is an acronym for “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.” While New York had an anti-SLAPP law on the books for…
Read More Court Applies NY’s Recently-Enhanced Anti-SLAPP Law to Dismiss Defamation Claim Asserted By Queens DoctorIn Engelman v. Rofe, 2021 NY Slip Op 01321 (NY App. Div. 1st Dept. March 4, 2021), the New York Appellate Division, First Department, held that the seven-year statute of limitations codified in the “Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law” (VGM) – which is codified as Chapter 11 of the New York City Administrative Code,…
Read More Court Holds That Seven-Year Statute of Limitations Applies to NYC’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection LawIn Black v. ESPN, Inc. et al, No. 155236/2020, 2021 N.Y. Slip Op. 50118(U), 2021 WL 668760 (Sup Ct NY Cty, Feb. 19, 2021), the court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s disability discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation claims asserted under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. In sum, plaintiff, a…
Read More Disability Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, & Retaliation Claims Sufficiently Alleged Against ESPN et alIn a lawsuit filed on Oct. 3, 2016, captioned Jane Doe v. Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, SDNY 16-cv-7673, plaintiff alleges, among other things: 10. Defendant [Donald J.] Trump initiated sexual contact with Plaintiff at four different parties. On the fourth and final sexual encounter with Defendant Trump, Defendant Trump tied Plaintiff to a…
Read More Donald Trump Rape LawsuitIn a recently-filed lawsuit, Latchminarine v. Tombalakian (NY Sup Ct Index # 150450/2016 filed 1/19/16), plaintiff Nazmoon Latchminarine – a Manhattan nanny – claims that her (ex) boss Celia Tombalakian slapped her after she quit following a dispute about after-hours work-related texting. She asserts claims for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Read More Lawsuit: Manhattan Mom Slaps Nanny, Tells Her to “Get the Fuck Out” of Her HouseIn Rodriguez v Judge and Community Church of Astoria, 2015 NY Slip Op 07828 [132 AD3d 966] (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Oct. 28, 2015), the court explained and applied the well-known tort doctrine of “respondeat superior”, under which an employer is liable for the torts of its employees. Here are the (briefly-summarized) facts of this personal…
Read More Church Not Liable to Plaintiff for Assault/Battery by Employee’s Husband