Judge: William M. Skretny

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In Cullen v. Verizon Communications, No. 14-CV-464S, 2014 WL 6627494 (W.D.N.Y. Nov. 21, 2014), the Western District of New York dismissed, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), plaintiff’s complaint alleging disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (as amended) (ADA) and the New York State Human Rights Law. Here are the facts,…

Read More Recent Court Decision is Instructive as to the Circumstances Under Which Alcoholism Constitutes a “Disability” Under the Anti-Discrimination Statutes
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In Battle v. Carroll, the Western District of New York denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s Title VII race discrimination claim. Plaintiff Ola Battle, a black woman, worked for 17 years as a Holiday Inn housekeeper until she was fired following an expletive-laced confrontation with her supervisor, David Carroll, in which she told him…

Read More Supervisor’s “You People” Remark Supports Race Discrimination Claim
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In Lehman v. Bergmann Associates (decided March 31, 2014), the Western District of New York held that plaintiff adequately pleaded some, but not other, employment discrimination claims. The case provides a good review of federal pleading standards for various employment-related claims. Plaintiff alleged that she was the first woman to hold a senior management position at…

Read More Court Provides Guidance on Pleading Employment Discrimination Claims
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What does it mean to have a lot of Facebook friends?  According to one federal judge, not much. In In re Air Crash Near Clarence Ctr., WDNY 09-md-2085 (Nov. 18, 2013), which arose from the February 12, 2009 crash of Flight 3407, defendant sought production of the Facebook “friend list” of Kevin Guo. Kevin, whose father died in…

Read More Your (Facebook) Friends Are Irrelevant
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