In Singh v. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center et al, 2019 WL 6977106 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 20, 2019), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s claims of civil battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress as against various entities, finding that the doctrine of respondeat did not apply. From the decision: These two causes of action concern…
Read More Sexual Misconduct Claim Not Imputed Under Respondeat SuperiorA recent case, Lopez v. Uno Express Cleaners Inc., 18-cv-10737, 2019 WL 6873796 (SDNY Dec. 17, 2019), illustrates how courts evaluate settlement agreements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as mandated by the Second Circuit’s decision in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015). In this case, plaintiff, who was…
Read More FLSA Settlement Rejected in Light of Overbroad ReleaseIn Garcia v. NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation, 19 Civ. 997, 2019 WL 6878729 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 17, 2019), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. From the decision: [Plaintiff’s complaint] describes an incident where Garcia was publicly questioned about his disability…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; Alleged Acts, While “Inappropriate”, Were Too Isolated to Be ActionableIn Jean-Pierre v. Citizen Watch Company of America, Inc., 18-CV-0507, 2019 WL 5887479 (S.D.N.Y., 2019), the court – invoking the principle that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is not a “general civility code for the American workplace” – dismissed plaintiff’s discrimination claims. It summarized the law in this regard: In determining…
Read More Discrimination Claims Dismissed; While “Inappropriate”, Comments Were Non-ActionableIn Katz v. The New York Historical Society, 19-CV-8637, 2019 WL 6529325 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 3, 2019), the court dismissed plaintiff’s age discrimination complaint, which it construed as asserting claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). As to the substantive law, the court explained: The ADEA makes it unlawful for an employer…
Read More Age Discrimination: A Dismissal and Some Judicial Guidance for the Amended ComplaintIn Pustilnik v. Battery Park City Authority et al, 18-CV-9446, 2019 WL 6498711 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 3, 2019), the court, inter alia, granted defendant’s motion to dismiss – under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) – plaintiff’s disability discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). From the decision: [Plaintiff]’s Complaint is devoid of facts…
Read More Disability Discrimination Claim Dismissed; Mere Knowledge of Disability InsufficientIn Crawford v. ExlService.com, LLC et al, 16-cv-9137, 2019 WL 6284228 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 25, 2019), the court held that the former in-house counsel for defendant “is not categorically precluded from testifying on grounds of attorney-client privilege”, reasoning that “not all conversations between an attorney and a client are privileged.” The court noted that “[a]t trial,…
Read More Former In-House Counsel May Testify in Hostile Work Environment CaseIn Katsoolis v. Liquid Media Group, Ltd., 2019 WL 6050972 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 15, 2019), the court ruled on proposed amendments to plaintiff’s employment discrimination complaint under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). This case is instructive as to how courts assess complaints for facial sufficiency vis-a-vis the issue of discriminatory motive/intent in an…
Read More Proposed Gender Discrimination Claims Sufficiently Alleged Against Liquid Media GroupIn a recent case, ANNA MARIE SCORSONELLI, Plaintiff, v. MADISON DENTISTRY, P.C., et al., Defendants., 2019 WL 6032787, at *1–2 (S.D.N.Y., 2019), the court, inter alia, held that plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate-disability claim could continue. From the decision: A reasonable jury could likewise find that Defendants failed to accommodate Scorsonelli’s disability. Even if Scorsonelli’s daily requests for…
Read More Failure to Accommodate Disability, Retaliation Claims Survive Summary JudgmentIn Bonilla v. City of New York et al, 18-cv-12142, 2019 WL 6050757 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 15, 2019), the court, inter alia, held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged race discrimination. Central to plaintiff’s claim was his being called “bobo” – which means “fool” in Spanish – several times. In reaching its conclusion, the court cited and applied…
Read More Race Discrimination Claim Stated; “Bobo” Slur Cited