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ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF LOST HER LABOR LAW 740 WRONGFUL TERMINATION TRIAL, SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE AWARDED ATTORNEY’S FEES TO DEFENDANT, PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM WAS NOT BASELESS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, modifying Supreme Court, determined the court should not have awarded attorney’s fees to the defendant in this Labor Law 740 action. Plaintiff had alleged ongoing sterility problems in defendant’s operating room. Plaintiff lost the trial, in which she claimed she had been wrongfully terminated because of her complaints. The Second Department found that her claims were not without basis and, therefore, the award of attorney’s fees to defendant was an abuse of discretion:

Labor Law § 740(6) provides that a court, in its discretion, may award an employer attorneys’ fees and costs if it determines that the employee’s action is ” without basis in law or in fact'” … . Here, the trial record included testimonial and documentary evidence of the plaintiff’s numerous complaints about ongoing sterility problems in the operating room, which problems arguably constituted a violation of applicable regulations and posed a present, substantial, and specific danger to patient health. The plaintiff and other witnesses testified that these issues arose hundreds of times over the relevant time period and were not seriously addressed until after the plaintiff finally complained to her supervisor’s supervisor. The plaintiff’s annual performance evaluations demonstrate that she met or exceeded expectations throughout her tenure as a nurse manager and, despite identifying areas for improvement, did not indicate a risk of dismissal until after she complained to upper management. While ultimately unpersuasive in light of the defendant’s evidence, the plaintiff’s action “cannot reasonably be characterized as being without basis in law or in fact'” … .  The Supreme Court therefore improvidently exercised its discretion in awarding the defendant attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to Labor Law § 740(6). Berde v North Shore- Long Is. Jewish Health Sys., Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 03955, Second Dept 6-6-18

​EMPLOYMENT LAW (WRONGFUL TERMINATION, ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF LOST HER LABOR LAW 740 WRONGFUL TERMINATION TRIAL, SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE AWARDED ATTORNEY’S FEES TO DEFENDANT, PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM WAS NOT BASELESS (SECOND DEPT))/LABOR LAW (WRONGFUL TERMINATION, ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF LOST HER LABOR LAW 740 WRONGFUL TERMINATION TRIAL, SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE AWARDED ATTORNEY’S FEES TO DEFENDANT, PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM WAS NOT BASELESS (SECOND DEPT))/ATTORNEYS (FEES, WRONGFUL TERMINATION, ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF LOST HER LABOR LAW 740 WRONGFUL TERMINATION TRIAL, SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE AWARDED ATTORNEY’S FEES TO DEFENDANT, PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM WAS NOT BASELESS (SECOND DEPT))/ATTORNEY’S FEES (WRONGFUL TERMINATION, ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF LOST HER LABOR LAW 740 WRONGFUL TERMINATION TRIAL, SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE AWARDED ATTORNEY’S FEES TO DEFENDANT, PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM WAS NOT BASELESS (SECOND DEPT))/WRONGFUL TERMINATION (LABOR LAW 740, ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF LOST HER LABOR LAW 740 WRONGFUL TERMINATION TRIAL, SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE AWARDED ATTORNEY’S FEES TO DEFENDANT, PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM WAS NOT BASELESS (SECOND DEPT))

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