The Burrell Law Firm Obtains Summary Judgment Dismissing Disability Discrimination Case

On April 5, 2017, the Burrell Law Firm (the “Firm”) obtained a summary judgment order dismissing all claims brought against the Firm’s clients, a holding company and individual officers, in the matter Curtin v. JV-Successors, Inc. et al..

In 2014, the plaintiff filed a complaint against the Firm’s client, JV-Successors, Inc., alleging the plaintiff’s termination violated New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) when plaintiff lost plaintiff’s job after suffering a temporary injury.

In dismissing the lawsuit, the Court agreed with the Firm’s arguments stating that:

(1) the plaintiff had not established the bare minimum factual evidence supporting plaintiff’s discrimination claim, and

(2) even if the plaintiff had made that minimum showing, defendant had demonstrated a non-discriminative motive under the current legal framework tests established under the McDonnell-Douglas “burden-shifting” framework and the “mixed-motive” framework promulgated under Melman v. Montefiore Medical Center.

The case was captioned Curtin v. JV-Successors, Inc. , index no. 152151/2014 in the New York State Supreme Court, New York county, and James Burrell, II authored the winning brief and motion.

Defending allegations of NYCHRL can have significant cost consequences for business owners because the courts are reluctant to dismiss claims without satisfying a high legal and factual burden.  Business owners should speak to legal counsel and do research to see what prophylactic processes they can implement to reduce the likelihood of losing an NYCHRL lawsuit.

About The Burrell Law Firm: Under its principal attorney, James Burrell, II, the Firm is a boutique law practice based in New York City and focused on protecting the interests of growing businesses in transactional or litigation matters.