Court: EDNY

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White Castle can’t buy advertising like this. Below is a recent federal complaint, in which plaintiffs allege that they were arrested and struck by NYPD officers after refusing the officers’ demand for their White Castle food. According to a recent Gothamist article: Brooklyn residents Danny Maisonet and Kenneth Glover say that they procured White Castle meals on Halloween 2012…

Read More Lawsuit Alleges NYPD Officers Subjected Men to False Arrest and Police Brutality For Refusing to Hand Over White Castle Food
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Recently, in Southerland v. Woo, 99 Civ. 3329, 2014 WL 704327 (EDNY 2014), Eastern District of New York Judge Brian Cogan denied attorney Brian King admission pro hac vice – a legal term meaning admission “for this occasion only” – in the retrial of a civil rights matter brought by a father and his children against a former…

Read More Citing Lack of Respect and Unfamiliarity With Rules, Court Denies Lawyer Admission Pro Hac Vice
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Happy Valentine’s Day! In keeping with what I hope will be a continued practice of keying blog posts to holidays, I present to you the case of Ashok v. Barnhart, 289 F. Supp. 2d 305 (EDNY 2003). In Ashok, plaintiff claimed that she was subjected to retaliation and a hostile work environment based on national…

Read More Allegedly “Humiliating” Valentine’s Day Poster Did Not Support Hostile Work Environment Claim
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In Saliba v Five Towns College, the Eastern District of New York held that plaintiff, an assistant professor, failed to state a claim for retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plaintiff alleged that she was terminated solely because she had voiced her concerns regarding rampant corruption in the administration of…

Read More Court Dismisses Professor’s Retaliation Claim Based on Complaints About Another Professor’s Sexual Harassment of Students
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A recent Eastern District of New York decision, Berroyer v. U.S., illustrates that paying taxes can be literally painful. Plaintiff and his wife sued the United States of America under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), seeking recovery for injuries sustained during a meeting with an IRS auditor. Plaintiff was injured when “his foot became caught…

Read More Fall in IRS Office Results in $712,000 Award
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In Xiong Chen v. Weiqi Zhang, the Eastern District of New York recently denied both parties’ motions for summary judgment. Plaintiff worked as a waiter for Andy’s Restaurant in Brooklyn and made $150 per week before tips.  There were no records detailing plaintiff’s employment, his weekly work schedule, the hours he worked, or the money he…

Read More Factual Issues Preclude Summary Judgment in Overtime Case
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In 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 Standard
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In Knight v. State University of New York at Stony Brook, the Eastern District of New York recently dismissed plaintiff’s race discrimination and retaliation claims, on the ground that plaintiff did not sufficiently allege that he was employed by the defendant. Plaintiff alleged that he worked as an electrician at a construction project for defendant…

Read More Court Dismisses Race Discrimination Case Because Plaintiff Didn’t Sufficiently Allege That He Was Employed by Defendant
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In Agosta v. Suffolk County (Nov. 8, 2013), the Eastern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Plaintiff alleged two ADA causes of action: First, the Plaintiff claims that the [defendants] maliciously, intentionally and/or recklessly violated the…

Read More Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies at the EEOC Leads to Dismissal of Americans with Disabilities Act Discrimination Claim
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In a lawsuit captioned Thomas v. City of New York, EDNY 13-cv-6139 (filed 11/6/13), plaintiff Justin Thomas – a School of Visual Arts senior – alleges that he was unlawfully arrested while filming the exterior of the NYPD’s 72nd Precinct station house for his senior class video project. Here is the Gothamist article with embedded video footage…

Read More Visual Arts Student Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Following Arrest for Filming NYPD Precinct
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