Federal diversity jurisdiction provides a neutral forum for litigants from different states, preventing state court bias against out-of-state defendants. But just as defendants often prefer their case be venued in federal court, plaintiffs often prefer to stay in their home state court. Enter the fraudulent joinder, where the plaintiff attempts […]
The New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law (the “Human Rights Laws”) impose civil liability on New York employers who fail to promote an employee or hire a prospective employee based on discriminatory considerations such as race, sex, religion, or disability. But do these […]
New York Labor Law (NYLL) Section 191 requires employers to pay manual workers on a weekly basis. In 2019, the First Department in Vega v. CM & Associates Construction Management, LLC (Vega) held that applied together, NYLL Sections 191 and 198 provide an express and implied private right of action […]
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) 45(c) restricts federal courts’ powers to compel testimony from a third-party witness in civil litigation to locations: (1) “within 100 miles of where the person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person;” or (2) within the state of residence, employment, or regularly […]
New York’s Anti-SLAPP (“Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation”) legislation was significantly expanded in 2020 to provide greater protection to public discourse by the everyday consumer. From a litigator’s standpoint, however, it was an open question as to whether the amended statute applied retroactively to anti-SLAPP lawsuits filed prior to its […]