In Vitale v. Equinox Holdings, Inc., 2019 WL 2024504 (SDNY May 7, 2019), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s claim of gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Initially, the court held that certain remarks were too remote in time to be probative of discrimination: [C]omments that the plaintiff was…
Read More Gender Discrimination Claims Against Equinox DismissedIn Barbini v. First Niagara Bank, N.A., 16-cv-7887, 2019 WL 1922041 (S.D.N.Y. April 29, 2019), the court held, inter alia, that defendant waived the attorney-client privilege in connection with asserting the Faragher/Ellerth defense to plaintiffs’ sexual harassment claims. Under that defendant may escape liability if it can show two things, namely, (1) the employer exercised reasonable care…
Read More Invocation of Faragher/Ellerth Defense in Sexual Harassment Case Waives Attorney-Client Privilege, Court FindsIn Torres v. City of New York, 2019 WL 1765223 (S.D.N.Y. April 22, 2019), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s employment discrimination and hostile work environment claims. From the decision: The Complaint describes two incidents in which Chu made disparaging remarks in Plaintiff’s presence over the course of two years. The first incident occurred in…
Read More Court Dismisses NYPD Officer’s Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment ClaimsFrom Felder v. United States Tennis Association, 2019 WL 1517511, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. April 8, 2019): To succeed on a hostile work environment claim, a plaintiff must show that “the workplace was so severely permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult that the terms and conditions of her employment was thereby altered.” Alfano v. Costello,…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; Doctrine Inapplicable Where Plaintiff Was Not HiredIn Doe v. Solera Capital LLC, 18-cv-1769, 2019 WL 1437520 (S.D.N.Y. March 31, 2019) – in which plaintiff alleges employment discrimination and a hostile work environment on the basis of race and plaintiff’s status of a survivor of domestic violence, retaliation, and failure to pay overtime – the court, inter alia, dismissed defendant’s counterclaim alleging…
Read More “Faithless Servant” Counterclaim Dismissed; Alleged Wrongdoing InsufficientIn Ravina v. Columbia University and Geert Bekaert, 16-cv-2137, 2019 WL 1450449 (S.D.N.Y. March 31, 2019), a sexual harassment/retaliation case, the court – in addition to denying defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff’s retaliation claim – next evaluated the jury’s damage awards to plaintiff ($750,000 in emotional distress damages, $500,000…
Read More Court Remits Punitive Damages Award, from $500,000 to $250,000, in Sexual Harassment/Retaliation Case Against Columbia UniversityIn Ravina v. Columbia University and Geert Bekaert, 16-cv-2137, 2019 WL 1450449 (S.D.N.Y. March 31, 2019), a sexual harassment/retaliation case, the court denied defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff’s retaliation claim, but granted its motion for remittitur as to the jury’s damage awards for compensatory/emotional distress damages and punitive damages.…
Read More Jury Verdict of Retaliation for Complaints of Sexual Harassment Against Columbia University Professor UpheldIn an Order issued yesterday in Canada v. Perkins Coie LLP, 18-cv-11635 (SDNY April 2, 2019), an employment discrimination case, the court held that the EEOC charge submitted with plaintiff’s complaint was not subject to sealing and should be accessible to the public. In reaching this conclusion, Southern District of New York Judge Furman wrote:…
Read More EEOC Charge Subject to Public View, Court FindsIn a recent decision, Feldesman v. Interstate Hotels LLC, 16-cv-9352, 2019 WL 1437576 (S.D.N.Y. March 31, 2019), the court, inter alia, explained that, under the circumstances, so-called “sex neutral” events contributed to plaintiff’s actionable hostile work environment claim. From the decision: Interstate also asserts that the evidence establishes that struggles about money, authority, and bar…
Read More Court Finds “Sex Neutral” Events Contributed to Actionable Hostile Work Environment Against Hotel EmployerIn Nixon v. TWC Administration LLC, 16-cv-6456, 2019 WL 1428348 (SDNY March 29, 2019), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s age discrimination (wrongful termination) claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). Plaintiff conceded that she violated several of defendant’s policies, but claimed that her termination based on such violations was a…
Read More Age Discrimination Claim Dismissed; “Dinosaur” and Other Comments Lacked Sufficient Nexus to Termination