In Urena v. GVC Ltd., 2018 NY Slip Op 02426 (App. Div. 1st Dept. April 10, 2018) – a rear-end car accident case – the court affirmed the lower court’s decision to grant plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment judgment on the issue of liability and dismissal of all affirmative defenses and counterclaims alleging comparative fault. The First…
Read More Plaintiff Properly Awarded Summary Judgment in Hit-in-Rear CaseIn New York City Transit Authority v. Phillips, 2018 NY Slip Op 02442, 2018 WL 1719789 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept. April 10, 2018), the court reversed a lower court decision and held that the arbitrator should have found that a Transit Authority employee (Aiken) subjected another (Melendez) to inappropriate and unwelcome comments of a sexual…
Read More Arbitrator Should Have Found That Transit Authority Employee Engaged in Sexual Harassment, First Department HoldsIn Harrington v. City of New York, 2018 NY Slip Op 00381, 2018 WL 503144 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 23, 2018), the Appellate Division, First Department modified a lower court order and reinstated plaintiff police officer’s claims for sexual orientation discrimination and retaliation under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. As…
Read More Police Officer’s Sexual Orientation Discrimination Claims Sufficiently Alleged, First Department HoldsFrom Jones v. New York City Hous. Auth., 2018 NY Slip Op 00027 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 2, 2018): Defendant established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in this action where plaintiff was injured when he slipped and fell on ice. Defendant submitted evidence, including the testimony of its supervisor of…
Read More Ice Slip/Fall Case Survives Summary JudgmentIn Basso v. EarthLink, Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 00030 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 2, 2018), the court affirmed summary judgment in defendants’ favor on plaintiff’s claims of gender and age discrimination under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. From the decision: Plaintiff carried her “de minimis burden” of showing a prima…
Read More Age/Gender Discrimination Claims Properly Dismissed; Pretext Not ShownIn Ortegas v. G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 09262 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Dec. 28, 2017), the court affirmed the dismissal, under CPLR 3211(a)(1), of plaintiff’s discrimination claims as time-barred. The court explained: Plaintiff’s employment application “utterly refutes” her discrimination claims and conclusively establishes defendants’ defense as a matter of law……
Read More Employment Discrimination Claim Time-Barred; Employment Application Limited Statute of Limitations to Six MonthsIn Breitstein v. Michael C. Fina Co., 2017 NY Slip Op 08883 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Dec. 21, 2017), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s religious discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation causes of action under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. This decision teaches/confirms that, in a discrimination case, the question is not…
Read More Religious/Age Discrimination & Retaliation Claims Properly Dismissed Against Michael C. FinaIn O’Connell v. Macy’s Corporate Services, Inc., 154 A.D.3d 628 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. Oct. 31, 2017), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s personal injury claim against Macy’s. In sum, plaintiff alleges that on or about November 28, 2013, she was struck by an all terrain-vehicle driven by the Defendant Jeff Stanton.…
Read More Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Handler Volunteer’s Injury Claim Properly Dismissed in Light of ReleaseIn Ada Damla Demir, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Sandoz Inc., et al., Defendants-Appellants., 2017 WL 5328744 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Nov. 14, 2017), the court held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged violations of New York’s Whistleblower Law (Labor Law 740) and employment discrimination claim (under the New York State Human Rights Law). Initially, the court held that plaintiff’s Whistleblower…
Read More Whistleblower, Discrimination, and Hostile Work Environment Claims Survive DismissalIn Castillo v. Montefiore Med. Ctr., 2017 NY Slip Op 07769 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Nov. 9, 2017), the First Department affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s pregnancy discrimination claims under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. Here are the facts, as summarized by the court: On August 6, 2012, defendant hired plaintiff as a…
Read More Pregnancy Discrimination Dismissal Affirmed; Court Cites Negative Performance Feedback and Employer’s Lack of Knowledge of Pregnancy