You are here: / / ​PLAINTIFF’S FIRST EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT WAS DISMISSED F...
, ,

​PLAINTIFF’S FIRST EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT WAS DISMISSED FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION UNDER THE NYS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW; PLAINTIFF’S SECOND COMPLAINT STATED A CAUSE OF ACTION UNDER THE SAME STATUTE; THE SECOND COMPLAINT WAS NOT BARRED BY THE DOCTRINE OF RES JUDICATA (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff stated a cause of action for employment discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). Plaintiff had filed a prior complaint which was properly dismissed for failure to state a cause of action. Plaintiff then filed the instant complaint under the same statute by on different grounds. The instant complaint was not precluded the the doctrine of res judicata:

… [T]his cause of action was not barred by the doctrine of res judicata. That doctrine “precludes a party from relitigating a claim that has been finally adjudicated on the merits” …  “Although, generally, a dismissal for failure to state a cause of action based on the insufficiency of the allegations in the pleading is not a dismissal on the merits, and does not bar the adequate repleading of the claim in a subsequent action, such a determination has preclusive effect as to a new complaint for the same cause of action which fails to correct the defect or supply the omission determined to exist in the earlier complaint” … . The first cause of action alleged in the present complaint was distinct from that alleged in the prior action, the latter of which was based upon an alleged failure of the defendants, among others, to provide a reasonable accommodation in the form of certain medical leave, as well as retaliation for engaging in a protected activity. Thus, the dismissal of those causes of action under CPLR 3211(a)(7) did not bar the first cause of action asserted in the present complaint. Duchemin v Village of E. Hampton, 2023 NY Slip Op 06350, Second Dept 12-13-24

Practice Point: Here the first complaint alleging employment discrimination was dismissed for failure to state a cause of action. That is not considered a dismissal on the merits. Therefore the second employment-discrimination complaint, brought under the same body of law, was not precluded by the doctrine of res judicata.

 

You might also like
THE JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE DISMISSED THE COMPLAINT SUA SPONTE; ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT WAS NOT SERVED, DEFENDANT’S APPEARANCE PRO SE WAIVED ANY LACK-OF-JURISDICTION ARGUMENT (SECOND DEPT).
NEGLIGENT HIRING AND RETENTION CAUSE ACTION BASED UPON A JANITOR’S CALLING PLAINTIFF’S DAUGHTER NAMES PROPERLY SURVIVED SUMMARY JUDGMENT, PROOF JANITOR WAS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR INSUFFICIENT, INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, DEFAMATION, AND PRIMA FACIE TORT CAUSES OF ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).
MOTHER’S PETITION SEEKING FINDINGS TO ALLOW HER CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUES SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, MOTHER WAS NOT REQUIRED TO BE FINGERPRINTED OR TO SUBMIT CERTAIN DOCUMENTATION, JUDGE’S COMMENTS ABOUT THE CHILD’S SPEAKING SPANISH REQUIRED TRANSFER TO A DIFFERENT JUDGE (SECOND DEPT).
ORAL AGREEMENTS BETWEEN PERSONS COHABITING TOGETHER ARE NOT PER SE REQUIRED TO BE IN WRITING, SEVERAL CAUSES OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED BECAUSE THE UNDERLYING AGREEMENTS WERE NOT SUBJECT TO THE STATUTE OF FRAUDS (SECOND DEPT).
Concise Description of the Application of the DeBour Street-Encounter Criteria Leading to the Seizure of a Weapon
THE HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION ACTED WITHIN ITS AUTHORITY WHEN IT REQUIRED A HOMEOWNER TO TAKE DOWN A FENCE; HOWEVER THE AUTHORITY FOR THE HEAVY FINE (OVER $35,000) WAS NOT VALID PURSUANT TO THE REAL PROPERTY LAW (SECOND DEPT).
AFTER THE JURY HAD FOUND DEFENDANT DID NOT VIOLATE LABOR LAW 240 (1), THE APPELLATE COURT DETERMINED PLAINTIFF SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION AT THE OUTSET, PLAINTIFF FELL FROM A LADDER WHEN THE LADDER SHIFTED.
PLAINTIFF HOMEOWNERS’ ACTION AGAINST THE INSURER FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT, FRAUD AND NEGLIGENCE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED; PLAINTIFF ACKNOWLEDGED THE HOME WAS VACANT WHEN THE POLICY WAS PURCHASED AND AT THE TIME OF THE FIRE AND THE POLICY EXCLUDED COVERAGE FOR VACANT PROPERTY (SECOND 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 © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

ALTHOUGH THE BACKHOE WHICH COLLIDED WITH PLAINTIFF’S VEHICLE HAD BEEN... DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO RENEW A MOTION FOR MORE TIME TO CONDUCT AN IME SHOULD...