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In La Marca-Pagano v. Dr. Steven Phillips, P.C., the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s retaliation claim under the New York State Human Rights Law. Here’s the law: In order to make out a cause of action for retaliation, [a] plaintiff must show that (1) she has engaged in protected activity, (2)…
Read More Retaliation Claim Survives Summary Judgment
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A recent state appellate decision, Cohen v. State of New York (App. Div. 2nd Dept. June 17, 2015), explains an employer’s duties regarding a requested accommodation for a disability under the New York State Human Rights Law. In Cohen, the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to defendant on plaintiff’s…
Read More Rejection of Accommodation Request Results in Reversal of Summary Judgment for Defendant in Disability Discrimination Case
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In Chiara v. Dernago, 2015 NY Slip Op 04444 (2nd Dept. May 27, 2015), the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion under CPLR 4404(a) to set aside a jury verdict in plaintiff’s favor. Here are the facts of this personal injury / car accident case: The evidence at the trial on the…
Read More Court Upholds $70k Punitive Damage Award Against Drunk Driver
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In Bisignano v. Raabe (App. Div. 2nd Dept. May 13, 2015) – a personal injury case arising from injuries sustained by the infant plaintiff who was punched and kicked by two teenage boys while attending a fair at St. Rose of Lima Church – the court reversed summary judgment for defendants. Here is the law applicable to this…
Read More Defendants Denied Summary Judgment in Personal Injury Case Arising From Fight at Church Fair
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In Blok v. Mammadov (App. Div. 2nd Dept. March 18, 2015), the Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed the denial of summary judgment to a pedestrian plaintiff. Here are the facts of this car accident case: While crossing Sheepshead Bay Road at or near its intersection with Emmons Avenue in Brooklyn, the plaintiff allegedly was injured…
Read More Struck Pedestrian Not Entitled to Summary Judgment
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In Palladino v. City of New York (App. Div. 2nd Dept. April 1, 2015), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s trip-and-fall case. Plaintiff alleged that she was injured when she “tripped on a depression in the asphalt surface abutting a metal plate which covered a valve box that served a nearby fire hydrant.” The…
Read More Trip/Fall Case Dismissed; Half-Inch Deep Depression Was “Trivial” as a Matter of Law
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A recent Second Department decision, Messana v. Long Is. R.R. Co., 2015 NY Slip Op 01787 (decided March 4, 2015) illustrates the breadth of the New York City Human Rights Law – namely, the relatively high standard that a defendant must meet to secure summary judgment dismissing a claim for disability discrimination and retaliation. In…
Read More Decision Illustrates Breadth of NYC Human Rights Law
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One of the so-called “rules of the road”, New York Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) § 1142[a], provides: Vehicle entering stop or yield intersection (a) Except when directed to proceed by a police officer, every driver of a vehicle approaching a stop sign shall stop as required by [VTL § 1172] and after having stopped shall yield the…
Read More Defendant’s Failure to Yield at Intersection Results in Summary Judgment for Plaintiff in Car Accident Case
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In Barris v. One Beard St., LLC, the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the grant of summary judgment to defendants. In this personal injury/premises liability case, “[t]he injured plaintiff, who was then 12 years old and accompanied by his father, allegedly slipped and fell on loose and broken pieces of asphalt as he was running…
Read More IKEA Slip/Fall Case Continues
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In Overbeck v. Alpha Animal Health, P.C. (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Jan. 28, 2015), the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the lower court’s order granting summary judgment to defendants on plaintiff’s sex discrimination and retaliation claims under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. This decision illustrates that even “voluntary” sexual conduct –…
Read More Evidence of Intimidation Into Sexual Relationship Overcomes Summary Judgment for Defendants on Sex Discrimination and Retaliation Claims