If a lawsuit is a house, then the complaint is its foundation. Buried in a footnote of Brannon v. City of New York, No. 09CV4335-LTS, 2016 WL 270399 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 21, 2016) is an important pleading point for employment discrimination cases – namely, that the failure to plead a particular theory of recovery (here, hostile work…
Read More Failure to Plead Hostile Work Environment Results in Dismissal of That ClaimIn Henry v. Morgan’s Hotel Grp., Inc., No. 15-CV-1789 (ER)(JLC), 2016 WL 303114 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 25, 2016) – a race and sexual orientation discrimination case – the court quashed subpoenas seeking documents from plaintiff’s prior employers. Specifically, the court quashed the subpoenas because they (1) failed to provide adequate notice, (2) would cause prejudice to plaintiff,…
Read More Court Quashes Subpoenas Seeking Documents Held By Discrimination Plaintiff’s Prior EmployersIn Koke v. Baumgardner, No. 15-CV-9673 (LAK), 2016 WL 93094 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 5, 2016), the court considered the applicability of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to claims of discrimination based on sexual orientation. Plaintiff sued in New York state court for alleged discrimination “because of her gender and her actual or…
Read More Federal Court Rejects Jurisdictional Challenge to Sexual Orientation Discrimination Case Brought Under Title VIIIn a lawsuit captioned Nolan-Griffin v. NYSARC, SDNY 16-cv-370 (filed Jan. 17, 2016), plaintiff alleges, among other things, that her “coworkers regularly made ‘jokes’ wherein the punch line centered on [her] Griffin’s Italian ancestry and her ‘whiteness.’” She also asserts a claim under the “healthcare whistleblowing” statute, NY Labor Law section 741.
Read More Lawsuit Alleges Discrimination Based on Italian Ethnicity, Violation of Healthcare Whistleblower LawIn a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on January 19, 2016, Mikolaenko v. NYU School of Medicine et al (16-cv-00413), plaintiff – a doctor – asserts (among other things) that her supervisor threatened to give her poor reviews and terminate her unless she had sex with him, propositioned plaintiff for sex, and made inappropriate…
Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against NYU School of Medicine and OthersIn Taft v. Agric. Bank of China Ltd., No. 15 CIV. 5321 (PAE), 2016 WL 80209 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 6, 2016), the Southern District of New York ruled on defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s whistleblower retaliation claim under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Plaintiff alleged that “she was subjected to frequent sexually charged comments and gender-related…
Read More Court Interprets Retaliation Provision of the Bank Secrecy ActIn Martinez v. Mount Sinai Hosp., No. 14 CIV. 2548 (PAC), 2015 WL 9450624 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 22, 2015), the court dismissed plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate-disability claims under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The law: To prevail on her NYCHRL and NYSHRL claims, Plaintiff bears the initial burden…
Read More Failure to Request Specific Accommodation Results in Dismissal of Disability Discrimination (Failure to Accommodate) ClaimsIt has been reported that Queens physical education teacher Peter Maliarakis has settled his “whistleblowing” retaliation lawsuit against the New York City Department of Education, Principal Namita Dwarka, and others. He alleges in his 2014 lawsuit (here and below), among other things, that the school administration retaliated against him after he told an Office of Special Investigation (OSI)…
Read More Grade-Changing Whistleblower Lawsuit SettledIn Ihim v. St. Vincent’s Hosp. Westchester, No. 11 CIV. 8024 JCM, 2015 WL 5698038 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 2015), the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims of race and national origin discrimination. Plaintiff – an African American man whose ancestors are from Nigeria – alleged that his suspension without pay was…
Read More “Where Are You From?” Held Not Probative of Discrimination; Title VII Race/National Origin Discrimination Claims DismissedIn Hernandez v. PFIP, LLC, No. 14 CIV. 4069 (LGS), 2015 WL 7758875 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 1, 2015), the Southern District of New York denied defendants Planet Fitness’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s retaliation claim under the NYC Human Rights Law. Here is Judge Schofield’s analysis of that claim: Plaintiff alleges two theories of retaliation.…
Read More Court Denies Summary Judgment to Defendant Employer and Holds That Rejecting Sexual Harasser’s Advances Can Support a Retaliation Claim Under the NYC Human Rights Law