Kaplan v. New York State Department of Labor et al
| Fredy Kaplan |
| New York State Department of Labor, Roberta Reardon, Kathy Dix, Michael Paglialongo and Pico Ben-Amotz |
| 1:2018cv03629 |
| April 24, 2018 |
| US District Court for the Southern District of New York |
| Foley Square Office |
| New York |
| Katherine Polk Failla |
| Employment |
| 42 U.S.C. ยง 2000 |
| Plaintiff |
Follow case documents by RSS
Available Case Documents
The following documents for this case are available for you to view or download:
| Document Text |
|---|
Filing
153
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT, GENERAL RELEASE, AND ORDER OF DISMISSAL: NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises, covenants, representations and other consideration contained in this Settlement Agreement, Plaintiff and Defendant hereby stipulate and agree as follows: (As further set forth herein.) SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 8/13/2021) (va)
|
|
Filing
148
ORDER OF DISCONTINUANCE: By letter dated July 21, 2021, the parties reported to the Court that they have reached a settlement in principle in this case. Accordingly, it is hereby: ORDERED that this action be conditionally discontinued without preju dice and without costs; provided, however, that within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order, the parties may submit to the Court their own Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal for the Court to So Order. Otherwise, within such time Plainti ff may apply by letter for restoration of the action to the active calendar of this Court in the event that the settlement is not consummated. Upon such application for reinstatement, the parties shall continue to be subject to the Court's j urisdiction, the Court shall promptly reinstate the action to its active docket, and the parties shall be directed to appear before the Court, without the necessity of additional process, on a date within ten (10) days of the application, to sched ule remaining pretrial proceedings and/or dispositive motions, as appropriate. This Order shall be deemed a final discontinuance of the action with prejudice in the event that Plaintiff has not requested restoration of the case to the active calendar within such 30-day period. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate all pending motions, adjourn all remaining dates, and close this case. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 7/21/2021) (rro)
|
|
Filing
138
OPINION AND ORDER re: 117 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by New York State Department of Labor. For the foregoing reasons, Defendant's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Plaintiff's claim for discrimination in the form of a hostile work environment is dismissed, while Plaintiff's claim for retaliation is sustained. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate the motion at docket entry 117. The parties are directed to meet and confer, and to submit a joint letter to the Court outlining proposed next steps in the case, on or before April 23, 2021. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 3/22/2021) (nb)
|
|
Filing
136
ORDER terminating 135 Letter Motion for Discovery. The Court is in receipt of Plaintiff's above request to reopen discovery for the limited purpose of re-deposing Ms. Dix. (Dkt. #135). Plaintiff is directed to submit an in camera letter on o r before March 10, 2021, providing further information on the basis for their request, as well as the genesis of this information. The Court will then determine whether it requires any response from Defendant. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 3/5/2021) (nb)
|
|
Filing
130
ORDER granting 128 Letter Motion to Seal. Application GRANTED. Plaintiff may file the two documents under seal, viewable to the Court and parties only. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 9/21/2020) (rro)
|
|
Filing
116
ORDER granting 115 Letter Motion for Extension of Time to File. Application GRANTED. Defendant's opening papers are due on or before August 18, 2020; Plaintiff's opposition papers are due on or before September 18, 2020; and Defendant's reply papers are due on or before October 2, 2020. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 7/7/2020) (rro)
|
|
Filing
101
MEMO ENDORSEMENT on 98 denying 95 Letter Motion to Compel; denying 99 Letter Motion to Compel; denying 99 Letter Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery. ENDORSEMENT: The Court has reviewed the entirety of the transcript, wh ich, while frequently disturbing, does not substantiate one of counsel for Ms. Dix's principal arguments - that Plaintiff's counsel referred to Ms. Dix as Hitler. That said, the Court observes that Plaintiff's counsel assumed the role not only of questioner, but of Greek Chorus as to many of Ms. Dix's answers,thereby unnecessarily prolonging her deposition. Counsel's treatment of the witness was also unnecessarily rude, and by the end of the deposition, counsel appeared unwilling or unable to let Ms. Dix complete her answers to his questions. Accordingly, the Court sees no reason to order the continuation of Ms. Dix's deposition, and no reason to impose costs on her or her counsel. Application DENIED. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 4/17/2020) (rro)
|
|
Filing
94
MEMO ENDORSEMENT on 93 terminating 92 Letter Motion to Compel; terminating 92 Letter Motion for Local Rule 37.2 Conference. ENDORSEMENT: The Court is in receipt of Defendants' letter regarding the identification ofmental health practiti oners (Dkt. #92), and Plaintiff's response (Dkt. #93).The Court accepts, on the record before it, that Plaintiff did not hide thefact that he received mental health treatment from healthcare professionalsother than the two for whom HIPAA-complia nt authorizations were disclosed inMarch 2020, and that the issue was instead one of Plaintiff's inability torecall the names of these professionals. (See Dkt. #93 at 1 ("As wasconveyed to counsel on numerous occasions - both during Plainti ff'sdeposition and in later communications - Plaintiff is unable to recall frommemory the names of two (2) psychiatrists with whom he claims to have soughttreatment for a finite time after his termination.")). Plaintiff has, as ofyesterday, provided the name of one of these psychiatrists and the relevantpaperwork to enable Defendant to obtain the records. The Court will extenddiscovery until June 1, 2020, for the sole and limited purpose of permittingDefendant to serve the release and obtain those records.The Court rejects, out of hand, Plaintiff's counsel's assertion that "therewas no delay in exchanging this information with Defendant." (Dkt. #93 at2). There was absolutely a delay, and Plaintiff's only r efuge is in anargument that the delay was justified because of his deficiencies inrecollection. The Court reminds Plaintiff that he brought this case, andthat he is responsible for substantiating his claims of injury. The Courtexpects no further surp rises from Plaintiff in this regard.Finally, the Court notes that Defendant's concern of prejudice may beoverstated. As a matter of practice, the Court does not permit counsel tosuggest a specific figure for non-economic damages to the jury, and so the$10 million figure remains with the Court and the parties. See generallyConsorti v. Armstrong World Indus., 72 F.3d 1003, 1016 (2d Cir. 1995) ("Suchsuggestions anchor the juror's expectations of a fair award at a place setby counsel, rather than by the evidence."), vacated on other grounds, 518U.S. 1031 (1996). (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 4/8/2020) (rro)
|
|
Filing
91
ORDER denying 90 Letter Motion for Discovery. Application DENIED. The Court has personally observed counsel's auditory abilities in numerous court appearances, both in-person and telephonic, and continues to believe that depositions by video conference strike the best balance between counsel's needs and everyone's health concerns. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 3/31/2020) (rro)
|
|
Filing
89
MEMO ENDORSEMENT on 88 granting 87 Letter Motion to Compel. ENDORSEMENT: The Court is in receipt of Defendant's letter requesting a modification of Plaintiff's subpoenas for depositions (Dkt. #87), and Plaintiff's response (Dkt. #88). After carefully reviewing the parties' submissions, the Court finds that it would be an undue burden on Defendant's three witnesses and on Ms. Dix to require them to appear for in-person depositions, given the current pandemic. Accor dingly, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(d)(3)(A)(iv), the Court ORDERS that all four depositions take place by video conference. Depositions by video conference will substantially mitigate the many health risks to all parties, while also ensuring that Plaintiff's counsel is able to understand deponents. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 3/30/2020) (rro)
|
|
Filing
86
ORDER granting 85 Letter Motion for Discovery. The Court is in receipt of Plaintiff's letter regarding whether Kathy Dix may be included in the tranche of witnesses for which the deadline to depose is April 17, 2020, as well as requestin g the Court's guidance on whether witnesses may be deposed by video conference. The Court GRANTS the request to extend the deadline by which Ms. Dix must be deposed to April 17, 2020. However, there will be no further extensions, and the Cou rt is of the opinion that if Mr. Luibrand is unable to physically meet with his client to review materials with her, he should expect to review said materials with her via telephone or video conference. As for the guidance regarding the Court 9;s prior order, the Court does prefer that those depositions take place in-person insofar as it is safe to do so. However, if live depositions cannot take place due to health concerns, the Court believes that video conferences are an acceptable substitute, given that they still provide counsel with the ability to see all parties. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 3/25/2020) (mro)
|
|
Filing
70
OPINION AND ORDER re: 61 MOTION to Dismiss filed by Roberta Reardon, Michael Paglialongo, New York State Department of Labor, Pico Ben-Amotz, 58 MOTION to Dismiss filed by Kathy Dix. For the foregoing reasons, De fendant Dix's motion to dismiss is GRANTED. The State Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Plaintiff's state and local law claims against all Defendants are dismissed for lack of jurisdiction pursuant to the Eleventh Amendment. Plaintiff's Title VII claims against Commissioner Reardon were withdrawn and are dismissed. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate Defendants Reardon, Dix, Paglialonga, and Ben-Amotz from this action. Plaintiff 's Title VII claims against DOL for hostile work environment and retaliation survive. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate the motion at docket entries 58 and 61. The Court observes that many of Plaintiff's claims seem to hinge on the existence of a letter from DOL that Plaintiff argues differs from the August 16 Letter. If this letter is not produced in discovery, the Court is skeptical that Plaintiff's claim can survive further motion practice. DOL is hereby ORDERED to file its answer on or before July 29, 2019. The parties remaining in this litigation are hereby ORDERED to submit a joint letter and proposed case management plan on or before August 5, 2019. SO ORDERED. (Michael Paglialongo (in their individual capacities as aiders and abettors), Roberta Reardon (as Commissioner), Pico Ben-Amotz (in their individual capacities as aiders and abettors) and Kathy Dix (in their individual capacities as aiders and abettors) terminated.) (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 7/19/2019) (rro)
|
Use the links below to access additional information about this case on the US Court's PACER system. A subscription to PACER is required.
Access this case on the New York Southern District Court's Electronic Court Filings (ECF) System
- Search for Party Aliases
- Associated Cases
- Attorneys
- Case File Location
- Case Summary
- Docket Report
- History/Documents
- Parties
- Related Transactions
- Check Status
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
