Court: SDNY

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On June 29, 2015, a Manhattan federal jury awarded plaintiff Hanna Bouveng $18 million in her sexual harassment lawsuit against Benjamin Wey and his company, New York Global Group. This verdict is not necessarily the end of the matter; Judge Gardephe has already set a briefing schedule for post-trial motions. Here are the verdict form…

Read More Jury Awards Hanna Bouveng $18M in Sexual Harassment Suit Against Benjamin Wey
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In Massie v. Metro. Museum of Art, No. 11-CV-9549 JPO, 2015 WL 3833839 (S.D.N.Y. June 22, 2015), the Southern District of New York reiterated that, when asserting a hostile work environment claim, [a] plaintiff need not show that the incidents rendered the work environment “unendurable” or “intolerable,” but she must, to survive a motion for summary…

Read More Court Dismisses Hostile Work Environment Claim Based on “Severe” (but “Isolated”) Remarks
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The recent Southern District of New York case of Amar v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., 14-cv-2503 (SDNY June 15, 2015) is instructive on pleading a hostile work environment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Amar, Judge Ramos held that the plaintiff, an African American woman employed by defendant as…

Read More Asserted Racial Epithets and Physical Threats Plausibly Allege Racially Hostile Work Environment
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On June 12, 2015, a federal jury awarded plaintiff Augustina Balu $300,000 in compensatory damages, and $25,000 in punitive damages, in her sexual harassment / hostile work environment lawsuit against the City of New York and NYPD employee Denis McAuliffe. Here is the jury’s verdict sheet in the case, captioned Balu v. City of New York et…

Read More Jury Awards $325K (Including Punitive Damages) to Plaintiff in Sexual Harassment / Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit Against the NYPD
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In Catapano-Fox v. City of New York, No. 14 CIV. 8036 KPF, 2015 WL 3630725 (S.D.N.Y. June 11, 2015), the Southern District of New York denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim that she was fired in retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment. This decision provides a good overview of the legal principles governing the proper…

Read More Retaliation Claim, Based on Termination in Response to Sexual Harassment Complaints, May Proceed
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The Southern District of New York recently denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint alleging sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation against Urban Outfitters. In Swiderski v. Urban Outfitters, 14-cv-6307, 2015 WL 3513088 (SDNY June 4, 2015), the court held that the plaintiff pleaded an actionable hostile work environment claim based on the conduct…

Read More Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit (Based in Part on Customer Conduct) Against Urban Outfitters Continues
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In Orange v. Leake & Watts Inc., No. 13-CV-6110 KBF, 2015 WL 2340649 (S.D.N.Y. May 15, 2015), the court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed plaintiff’s race discrimination and retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plaintiff, an African American assistant teacher, alleged “that she suffered an adverse employment…

Read More Court Dismisses Race Discrimination Claim; Disciplinary Notice and Negative Evaluation Were Not “Adverse Employment Actions”
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A recent decision, Moultrie v. NYS Dep’t of Corr. & Cmty. Supervision, No. 13-CV-5138 NSR, 2015 WL 2151827 (S.D.N.Y. May 7, 2015), elaborates on how to prove employment discrimination with so-called “comparator” evidence. In this case, plaintiff, a Corrections Officer trainee at Sing Sing prison, was fired for, among other things, bringing a SIM card…

Read More Gender Discrimination Complaint Dismissed; Alleged Male Comparators Engaged in Less Serious Conduct
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Here is the federal court complaint filed by Philippa Okoye against her employer deVere Group on May 18, 2015. She alleges hostile work environment sexual harassment, gender discrimination, associational race discrimination (in light of her husband, Lawrence Okoye’s, race), religion-based discrimination, and retaliation under the New York City Human Rights Law.

Read More Philippa Okoye’s Employment Discrimination Lawsuit Against DeVere Group
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