You are here: / / ALTHOUGH THE ALLEGED RETALIATORY ACTIONS BY THE EMPLOYER TOOK PLACE YEARS...
,

ALTHOUGH THE ALLEGED RETALIATORY ACTIONS BY THE EMPLOYER TOOK PLACE YEARS AFTER PLAINTIFF STOPPED WORKING FOR THE EMPLOYER, THE COMPLAINT STATED VALID CAUSES OF ACTION FOR RETALIATORY EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION AND PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL, SUPREME COURT REVERSED (FIRST DEPT). ​

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, reinstated the retaliation (employment discrimination) and promissory estoppel causes of action against Artforum International Magazine. Plaintiff, an art curator, alleged sexual harassment by an Artforum publisher. After meeting with the two other publishers about the alleged harassment, the publishers allegedly promised to ensure the harassment would never happen again. Instead, plaintiff alleged, the publishers retaliated against her. The central issue on appeal is whether the actions by Artforum, which took place after plaintiff had left the magazine’s employment, could still be subject to the employment-discrimination prohibitions of the New York City Human Rights Law (NYC Administrative Code 8-107). The First Department held that the close-knit nature of the fine art business, and the effect the alleged retaliation by Artforum can have on plaintiff’s career in the art world, warranted finding plaintiff had stated valid causes of action:

… [T]here is jurisprudential grounding for expanding the boundaries of the employment context that is central to discrimination and retaliation claims in section 8-107(7) to the extent necessary to provide redress when there exists some nexus between the retaliatory harm alleged and a relationship characterized in some manner as one of employment, past or present. …

Similar reasoning can be justified in reading some expansiveness into the undefined and similarly ambiguous term “employment” for remedying retaliation under Administrative Code section 8-107(7). However, some safeguards are necessary to avoid the unintended consequence of allowing a lawsuit against a party who happens to be a plaintiff’s former employer on a retaliation theory when there is no reasonable connection between the harm alleged and that economic relationship. The plaintiff, if not a current employee, should be shown to occupy a subordinate position in an ongoing economic relationship that is threatened by the “employer’s” retaliation, and the nature of the retaliation itself should have a demonstrable nexus to the harm being alleged. Schmitt v Artforum Intl. Mag., Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 09352, First Dept 12-26-19

 

You might also like
Material Breach and Abandonment of Subcontract Waived Notice of Termination and Opportunity to Cure and Warranted Cost-to-Complete Damages
DISMISSAL OF ACTIONS STEMMING FROM THE MADOFF PONZI SCHEME AFFIRMED PURSUANT TO THE DOCTRINE OF IN PARI DELICTO (COURT WILL NOT RESOLVE A DISPUTE BETWEEN TWO WRONGDOERS).
THE LANDOWNER AND THE TENANT TAXI COMPANY HAD THE SAME PRINCIPAL, A HOSE WAS USED BY INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS TO WASH THE TAXIS, PLAINTIFF ALLEGEDLY SLIPPED ON THE WATER FROM THE HOSE WHICH FROZE, THE LANDOWNER DID NOT ESTABLISH IT WAS AN OUT OF POSSESSION LANDLORD, THE LANDOWNER’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT).
APPEAL WAIVER INVALID, FLAWED ON-THE-RECORD EXPLANATION OF WAIVED RIGHTS NOT REMEDIED BY SIGNED WRITTEN WAIVER.
TERMINATION OF TENURED TEACHER WAS TOO SEVERE A SANCTION FOR INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR WHICH DID NOT VIOLATE ANY RULE.
BG, AN ADOLESCENT OFFENDER (AO) WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE “RAISE THE AGE ACT,” ASSAULTED A MAN AND THREW HIM ON THE SUBWAY TRACKS; A BYSTANDER JUMPED DOWN TO HELP THE ASSAULT VICTIM; THE BYSTANDER WAS KILLED BY A SUBWAY TRAIN WHICH STOPPED BEFORE REACHING THE ASSAULT VICTIM; THE JUDGE RULED THE MATTER SHOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO FAMILY COURT; THE PEOPLE SOUGHT A WRIT OF PROHIBITION WHICH WAS DENIED (FIRST DEPT).
Criteria for Liability for Acts of Independent Contractor and for Negligent Hiring of an Independent Contractor Explained (Criteria Not Met Here)
INSURER OF A BUS OBLIGATED TO DEFEND AND INDEMNIFY THE BUS COMPANY IN AN ACTION BROUGHT BY A PASSENGER WHO FELL ATTEMPTING TO PICK UP HER LUGGAGE OUTSIDE THE BUS (FIRST DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2025 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

FATHER’S VISITATION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO MOTHER’S CONSENT;... AN INQUIRY INTO DEFENDANT’S MENTAL HEALTH WAS REQUIRED BEFORE ALLOWING...