In Chaney v. Starbucks Corporation, 2015 WL 3883251 (SDNY June 23, 2015), a trip-and-fall case, the Southern District of New York granted Starbucks’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the case. The facts, from the opinion: On August 9, 2013, plaintiff John Chaney went to a Starbucks café in the Bronx for lunch. Upon entry, he…
Read More Starbucks Granted Dismissal in Phone Charger Trip/Fall CaseIn Bivens v. Institute for Community Living, 15-cv-07173 (SDNY April 17, 2015), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff plausibly alleged gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (and, necessarily, the New York City Human Rights Law). In addition to providing guidance on pleading these types of claims,…
Read More Instructive Decision on Pleading a Title VII Gender Discrimination ClaimIn Graham v. Macy’s, Inc., SDNY 14-cv-3192 (March 23, 2015), Southern District Judge Paul Engelmayer granted defendant Macys’ motion to dismiss the pro se plaintiff’s claims of discrimination based on disability (here, arthritis and bipolar disorder) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Although Judge Engelmayer determined that plaintiff’s complaint was deficient – citing, for example,…
Read More Disability Discrimination RoadmapIn a lawsuit filed against Deutsche Bank, [B.E] v. Deutsche Bank (SDNY 15-cv-01398) (amended complaint), plaintiff alleges (inter alia) that he was subjected to retaliation after complaining about sexual harassment by a gay male co-worker. Below is the complaint:
Read More Sexual Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, and Retaliation Lawsuit Against Deutsche BankA recent Southern District of New York decision, Daniel v. T&M Protection Resources LLC (SDNY 13-cv-4384, Feb. 19, 2015), illustrates that even conduct that rises to the level of what may be considered “crude” and “contemptible” may not be (and, in this case, was not) enough to survive summary judgment on a Title VII hostile…
Read More Court Explains That Even “Crude and Contemptible” Conduct May Not Rise to the Level of a Hostile Work EnvironmentBelow is the complaint filed on May 12, 2014 in the Southern District of New York by television writer/producer and professor Mollie Fermaglich against New York University and others. The lawsuit is captioned Mollie Fermaglich v. New York University et al., 1:14-cv-03434, and has been assigned to Judge Engelmayer. Ms. Fermaglich, who is Jewish, asserts (among other things)…
Read More NYU Professor and TV Writer/Producer Mollie Fermaglich’s Federal Discrimination Suit Against NYUIn 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 ProfessorIn Boutros v. JTC Painting, the Southern District of New York denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint seeking unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. Plaintiffs are painters who worked for defendant JTC, a painting contractor owned by co-defendant Caruso. They allege that JTC failed to pay…
Read More Overtime Complaint Was Not Moot in Light of Open-Ended Allegation of Hours Worked