In Shenkelbakh v. Riera (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Qns. Cty Aug. 17, 2015), a personal injury bicycle accident case, plaintiff bicyclist sued after being hit by defendant driver. The jury returned a verdict in defendant’s favor, and absolved defendant of liability. The court granted plaintiff’s CPLR 4404(a) motion to set aside the jury verdict. Here are the undisputed facts,…
Read More Injured Bicyclist Wins New Trial on LiabilityIn Gewirtz v. New York City Dept. of Educ., 2015 NY Slip Op 50713(U) (NY Sup. Qns. Cty. May 4, 2015), the court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s disability discrimination (failure to accommodate) and retaliation claims under the New York State Human Rights Law (SHRL) and New York City Human Rights Law (CHRL).…
Read More Teacher’s Disability Discrimination (Failure to Accommodate) and Retaliation Claims ContinueA recent case, Gonzalez v. City of New York (decided by the Supreme Court, Queens County on May 4, 2015) represents yet another example of why parties to litigation – or persons who contemplate being a party to litigation – should refrain from posting on social media anything whatsoever concerning their claims. In this personal injury case,…
Read More Court Orders In Camera Inspection of Personal Injury Plaintiff’s Social Media PostingsNo one likes/wants to be sued. Process servers – people hired by attorneys to deliver litigation papers to a named defendant – are, therefore, not exactly “welcome” when they attempt to serve papers on a defendant. A recent case, Galtieri v. Uptown Communications & Electric, Inc. and Jonathan Smokler, Sup. Ct. Qns. Cty. 19589/2012, illustrates…
Read More Process Server’s Assault/Battery and False Imprisonment Claims ContinueIn Diggs v. Oscar De La Renta, LLC (decided Dec. 9, 2014), a race discrimination case, the Supreme Court, Queens County denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s discrimination claim under the NYC Human Rights Law and her retaliation claims under the NYC and NYS Human Rights Laws. According to plaintiff, twice on second…
Read More Co-Worker’s “N-Word” Use Supports Discrimination ClaimIf a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth… more. A recent decision, Franco v. Palmer (Supreme Court, Queens County, decided December 1, 2014), illustrates the significant benefits of video evidence in a car accident case. The court granted summary judgment to the plaintiff, finding that a surveillance video of an…
Read More Video Surveillance Tape Results in Summary Judgment for Plaintiff in Car Accident CaseIn Achaibar v. City of New York, a personal injury car accident case, the Supreme Court, Queens County denied defendant City’s motion for summary judgment. Here are the facts: [Plaintiff testified that] the traffic signal, at the intersection of Hillside Avenue and 212th Street, was blinking yellow-amber at the time of the occurrence. Notably, the…
Read More No Summary Judgment for Defendant City in Car Accident Case Involving Alleged Broken Traffic LightIn Panagos v. Brooklyn Botanic Garden Corp. (decided Sept. 2, 2014), a trip-and-fall case, the Supreme Court, Queens County denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint. In this personal injury case, plaintiff (a 73 year-old woman) sued after sustaining injuries after tripping and falling on a series of three steps near the Cherry Esplanade and…
Read More “Optically Confusing” Steps Create Issue of Fact in Trip-and-Fall CaseFire escape ladders are a ubiquitous feature of New York City’s residential neighborhoods. They can also, as demonstrated by numerous court decisions, be a source of injury. One such decision is Taveras v Quisqueya II Housing Company, decided by Supreme Court, Queens County on May 8, 2014. The facts: On October 19, 2008, at 3:20…
Read More Locked-Out Tenant Injured on Fire Escape Ladder Loses CaseIn Pacheco v. Grabowski, a rear-end car accident case, the New York Supreme Court, Queens County, granted summary judgment in favor of the driver of the front (i.e., rear-ended) car. Plaintiff Yesenia Pacheco was a passenger in a car driven by her father, defendant Angel Pacheco. While stopped at an intersection the Pacheco car was…
Read More Court Dismisses Claims Against Lead Driver in Rear-End Collision Case