Below is the age and disability discrimination complaint, captioned Staropoli v. St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital and Debra Tompkins, 14 CV 3317, filed in the Southern District of New York on May 7, 2014. Plaintiff, who is 60 years old and suffers from Tourette Syndrome and Type II Diabetes, alleges, among other things, that “[b]y failing…
Read More Tourette Syndrome Discrimination LawsuitIn Catalanello v. Kramer (decided May 7, 2014), Southern District Judge Paul Engelmayer dismissed plaintiff Robert Catalanello’s complaint alleging defamation and false light invasion of privacy against law professor Zachary Kramer. Applying New Jersey law, the court held that the alleged defamatory statements (which were contained in Kramer’s law review article titled “Of Meat and Manhood” and…
Read More Court Dismisses Defamation and False Light/Privacy Claims Brought By Alleged Harasser Against Law ProfessorA recent Southern District decision, James v. NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, illustrates that the anti-discrimination laws are not a “general civility code” and underscores the critical requirement that, in order to be actionable, any alleged discrimination or harassment must be “because of” a protected characteristic (here, the plaintiff’s sex). Plaintiff, a female Special Officer in…
Read More Workplace Slap Was Not “Because Of” Plaintiff’s Sex; Sexual Harassment Claim DismissedIn Greene v. Middletown, filed April 29, 2014, the Southern District of New York granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s disability discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In reaching its decision, Judge Cote cited and applied the “stray remarks” doctrine, which is used to evaluate whether allegedly discriminatory comments are…
Read More Amputee’s Disability Discrimination Case Dismissed Due to “Oblique and Remote” Nature of Alleged Discriminatory RemarkIn Donohue v. Finkelstein Memorial Library, the Southern District of New York recently denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs’ sexual harassment (hostile work environment) claims. Generally, a plaintiff asserting a hostile work environment claim must establish two things: first, conduct rising to a sufficient level that constitutes a “hostile” or “abusive” working environment, and second,…
Read More SDNY Applies “Alter Ego/Proxy” Theory in Denying Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment in Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment CaseIn Brown v. Crowdtwist, the Southern District of New York (Judge Baer) recently denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s age discrimination claim under the New York City Human Rights Law. The court held that the plaintiff, a 43-year old male, presented sufficient evidence that he was terminated by internet startup technology company Crowdtwist…
Read More Age Discrimination Claim Against Internet Startup Crowdtwist Survives Summary JudgmentBelow is the federal complaint, captioned Chang et al. v. Phoenix Satellite Television (US), Inc. et al., 1:14-cv-02686, filed yesterday by three plaintiffs against Phoenix Satellite Television US, Inc., Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Limited, and Zhengzhu Liu. Gothamist reported on the lawsuit here. Mr. Liu, it might be recalled, was featured as the alleged harasser…
Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Phoenix Satellite Television and Alleged Intern Harasser Zhengzhu LiuBelow is the federal court complaint, captioned Natasha Velez v. Chipotle Mexican Grill et al., 1:14-cv-02625, filed yesterday by plaintiff Natasha Velez against her former employer Chipotle. Plaintiff alleges that she was fired after disclosing that she was a victim of domestic violence and showing her manager a recently-obtained order of protection against her assailant. She…
Read More Lawsuit: Domestic Violence Victim Status Discrimination Case Against ChipotleIn Walsh v. NYC Housing Authority, the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment to defendant on plaintiff’s gender discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law, and dismissed without prejudice her claim under the New York City Human Rights Law. In…
Read More Court Dismisses Female Prospective Bricklayer’s Gender Discrimination SuitIn Suares v. Cityscape Tours, the Southern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s claims for, among other things, hostile work environment and retaliation, and granted defendants’ motions for summary judgment. Plaintiff worked as a NYC double-decker bus tour guide. Plaintiff alleged that, at a holiday party, a co-worker (Singh) assaulted her. Specifically, she alleged that Singh…
Read More Court Dismisses Hostile Work Environment Claim, Citing “Swift Termination” of Co-Worker Who Sexually Assaulted Plaintiff