In this case, plaintiff Candace Harper sued her former employer, Government Employees Insurance Company, seeking overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York law, claiming she was not exempt from overtime requirements. After denying the defendant's summary judgment motion, the court addressed the defendant's appeal of a magistrate judge's order granting conditional certification of a collective action. The district court affirmed the magistrate's decision, holding that the correct legal standard was applied by requiring only a modest factual showing that potential class members were similarly situated, based on shared duties, use of the same manuals and programs, and exemption status. The court rejected the argument for a stricter standard due to partial discovery completion, noting that the first stage of the two-step certification process under Second Circuit precedent applies until full discovery is done.
This case is a civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 brought by a plaintiff, after his acquittal on murder charges, against Nassau County and Village of Hempstead police officers and municipalities. The plaintiff alleged false arrest, malicious prosecution, denial of rights to remain silent and to counsel, and conspiracy, plus related state-law claims. The court granted summary judgment to all defendants. It reasoned that the acquittal alone does not show lack of probable cause or police misconduct, that witness credibility was a jury question, and that the plaintiff offered only bare allegations without evidence that officers knowingly framed him.
Plaintiff Joseph Greco, a former Verizon employee, sued Verizon, his union (Communication Workers of America, Local 1104), and former coworkers in state court, asserting state common-law tort claims including intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligence, assault, and libel per se based on alleged workplace harassment, graffiti, and retaliation spanning 2002 to 2006. The defendants removed the case to federal court and moved to dismiss, arguing the claims were preempted by Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act because they required interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement governing workplace complaints and union duties. The court granted the motions to dismiss, holding that the remaining claims against Verizon were preempted as they necessitated construing the CBA and, alternatively, were time-barred by one-year statutes of limitations; any potential claim against the union for breach of the duty of fair representation was also untimely. The individual defendants were never served.
This case involves three plaintiffs who sued moving companies for alleged deceptive practices in interstate shipments of household goods, including low-balling price estimates and overcharging for add-on services like fuel and insurance, asserting both federal and state law claims such as violations of New York consumer protection statutes, fraud, unjust enrichment, and negligence. After previously denying a motion to dismiss based on field preemption and the Carmack Amendment, the court granted defendants' Rule 12(c) motion to dismiss all remaining state law claims. The court held that these claims are expressly preempted by 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c)(1) of the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, which broadly displaces state laws related to the prices, routes, or services of motor carriers transporting property, even if the state laws might align with federal consumer protection goals. The decision relied on the statute's plain language and Supreme Court precedent interpreting similar preemption provisions, while noting that federal remedies remain available for the surviving claims.
The Town of Babylon sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, alleging that their guidance and actions on Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) home improvement financing programs—which create first-priority liens—violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Tenth Amendment, and constituted tortious interference with contracts. The town sought declaratory and injunctive relief to set aside the agencies' directives. The court granted the defendants' motions to dismiss under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), holding that the town lacked Article III standing against the OCC because it could not show redressability, as banks would independently weigh the risks of such liens regardless of any withdrawn bulletin.
This case was a federal civil rights action brought by John Whitson under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Police Officer Thomas Gilberg, alleging false arrest after Whitson was identified as the seller in a May 2007 undercover drug transaction and later charged; the prosecutor eventually declined to pursue the case. The district court granted the officer’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the complaint. The court held that probable cause supported the arrest because Gilberg identified Whitson from the transaction video and a mug shot, and another officer positively identified him from a still photograph; the court further concluded that qualified immunity would apply even if probable cause were lacking, because arguable probable cause existed, and the related state claim was dismissed along with the federal claim.
