D Motion for Summary Judgment Denied

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A trial court recently denied the motions by Bob’s Discount Furniture and Costco Wholesale Corporation to dismiss claims arising from Marion Hedges being struck by a shopping cart dropped from the fourth floor of the East River Plaza shopping complex (pictured). The complaint in Hedges v. East River Plaza LLC is here, my earlier post on…

Read More Marion Hedges’ Lawsuit Arising From Dropped Shopping Cart Survives Summary Judgment
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In Perez v. Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the Southern District of New York recently denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim that his termination violated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. § 1514A (SOX). Plaintiff, a Senior Manager of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at defendant who held a Ph.D and a master’s degree in organic chemistry,…

Read More Chemist’s Lawsuit Alleging Retaliatory Termination Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Survives Dismissal
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Plaintiff Ese O’Diah, a black man from Nigeria, sued his former employer Roastown Coffee and its owner Doug Shin for employment discrimination (alleging that he was fired because of his race, color, and national origin) and defamation. Defendants claimed that plaintiff was fired for stealing money from the store cash register. The Southern District of…

Read More Plaintiff Gets to Jury on Discrimination and Defamation Claims, Notwithstanding Theft Allegation
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A recent Southern District decision, Brown v. City of New York, outlines conduct that could easily form a roadmap for a corporate sexual harassment training course (in the “what not to do” sense). There, New York City employee Sheila Brown sued the City of New York, alleging (under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964…

Read More Conduct of Aggressive, Masturbating Misogynistic Co-Worker Results in Denial of Summary Judgment for Defendant on Sexual Harassment Claims
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Last week in Taveras v. City of New York the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department permitted a drowning death lawsuit to continue. In June 2005, Luis Alberto Peralta (a.k.a. Luis A. Peralta Taveras) drowned while swimming at the public ocean beach at Coney Island in Brooklyn. (New York Post story here). The administrators of…

Read More Drowning Death Lawsuit Proceeds
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A gender discrimination claim may lie where, for example, an employer takes an adverse action against an employee based on preconceived notions about women’s roles (so-called “gender stereotyping”). In the Eastern District’s recent decision in Apicella v. Rite Aid, the plaintiff was a pharmacist who claimed that defendant engaged in gender discrimination under Title VII, the Equal…

Read More Adverse Action Based on “Gender Stereotyping” Supports Discrimination Claim
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The Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department recently held, in Hutchings v. Yuter, 2013 NY Slip Op 04988 (July 2, 2013), that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur was appropriately invoked.  There, plaintiff alleged that “a garage door suddenly fell and struck him on the head”, causing injury. “Res ipsa loquitur” is Latin for “the thing itself…

Read More Res Ipsa Loquitur Does Not Require “Sole Physical Access” to the Injury-Causing Instrumentality
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In Najjar v. Mirecki, 11-cv-5138 (SDNY July 2, 2013), the Southern District of New York held that a pro se plaintiff raised a triable issue of fact as to various claims of discrimination. This case illustrates the difference between the heightened “but for” and lessened “mixed motive” causation standards, as well as the differences between the…

Read More Age/Disability Discrimination Case Illustrates Difference Between “But For” and “Mixed Motive” Causation Standards
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In Cadet v. Deutsche Bank Securities, 11-cv-7964, 2013 WL 3090690 (SDNY June 18, 2013), decided on June 18, 2013, the Southern District of New York (McMahon, J.) denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s race discrimination claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 42 U.S.C. 1981, but dismissed his…

Read More Plaintiff’s Title VII and Section 1981 Race Discrimination Claims Survive in Part
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In Malik v. American International Group, Inc., the Supreme Court, Queens County denied defendants’ summary judgment motions regarding a number of plaintiff’s claims, including sexual harassment (quid pro quo and hostile work environment), race discrimination, and disability discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law. Time Bar and Continuing Violation Doctrine Defendants argued that plaintiff’s claims…

Read More Issues of Fact Preclude Summary Judgment for Defendant on Sex, Race, and Disability Discrimination Claims
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