Court: NY App. Div. Dept. 1

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The New York State and City Human Rights Laws are powerful weapons in the civil rights plaintiff’s arsenal. For example, they reach a broader range of people, and offer broader coverage, than their federal counterparts. However, as illusratd by a recent First Department decision, Benham v. eCommission Solutions (decided June 24, 2014), they are limited…

Read More Citing Geographical Limitations of NY State and City Human Rights Laws, First Department Dismisses Plaintiff’s Employment Discrimination Complaint
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New York Labor Law § 240(1) is a very important statute, as it provides significant protections to workers who are exposed to gravity-related risks without being provided with adequate safety devices. However, in order for its considerable protections to kick in, it must be determined, in the first instance, whether it applies. Labor Law § 240(1) provides, in pertinent…

Read More Replacement of Windows Was “Repair”, Rather Than “Routine Maintenance”, Entitling Plaintiff Worker to Summary Judgment in Labor Law 240(1) Construction Accident Case
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In Soto v. New Frontiers 2 Hope Hous. Dev. Fund Co. (decided June 10, 2014), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff, a postal worker, was allegedly injured “when the mailbox receptacle unit in defendants’ building fell into the wall as she was closing the unit after placing the mail in the individual…

Read More Court Affirms Dismissal of Postal Worker’s Personal Injury Suit Arising From Defective Mailbox
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In Quintana v TCR, Tennis Club of Riverdale, Inc., a slip-and-call case decided June 5, 2014, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The court held: Defendant’s sole argument on this appeal is that it is entitled to summary judgment because plaintiff failed or is unable to identify the…

Read More Slip-and-Fall Case Continues, Where Plaintiff Expressly Testified That She “Slipped in Water”
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In Ji Sun Jennifer Kim v Goldberg, Weprin, Finkel, Goldstein, LLP (decided June 3, 2014), the Appellate Division, First Department held that the plaintiff’s claims of retaliatory termination under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws were not collaterally estopped by a prior federal court decision dismissing her claims under the Family and…

Read More Dismissal of FMLA Claims Does Not Preclude Assertion of State/City Human Rights Law Retaliation Claims, First Department Holds
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In DeRose v. Bloomingdale’s Inc., the Appellate Division, First Department held that plaintiff was entitled to partial summary judgment on liability on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim. While this case is but one data point in the ocean of Labor Law § 240(1) case law, it underscores the important point that a worker should not pay…

Read More Injured Carpenter Entitled to Summary Judgment on Liability, Where Supervisor Instructed Worker Not to Use Appropriate Scaffold
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Kosarin-Ritter v. Mrs. John L. Strong, LLC, decided by the First Department on May 22, 2014, illustrates the often difficult burden encountered by a discrimination plaintiff. In affirming the trial court’s grant of summary judgment for defendants, the court stated: Defendants established that there is no evidentiary route that could allow a jury to believe…

Read More Alleged Ageist Remarks Insufficient to Support Discrimination Claim
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In Prince v. Lovelace, decided March 4, 2014, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed a trial court’s decision that plaintiff did not suffer a “serious injury” under New York’s “No-Fault” Law, Insurance Law § 5102(d): Defendant failed to establish prima facie that plaintiff did not suffer a serious injury to his right knee as a…

Read More “Serious Injury” to Knee in Car Accident Case
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Jahn v. SH Entertainment, LLC is a slip-and-fall case decided by the First Department on May 8, 2014. The court affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff was injured when he slipped and fell on water. Generally, “[a] defendant who moves for summary judgment in a slip-and-fall case has the initial burden of…

Read More Slip/Fall Case Continues; Employees May Have Left Out Bags of Ice
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