Court Opinion

ID: 9966027
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-05-03 20:09:44.790969+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:24:57.488417
License: Public Domain

Smith v City of New York
               2024 NY Slip Op 31532(U)
                     April 30, 2024
           Supreme Court, New York County
        Docket Number: Index No. 160575/2019
                  Judge: Hasa A. Kingo
Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip
 Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York
 State and local government sources, including the New
  York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service.
 This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official
                       publication.
 [FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/30/2024 04:38 P~                                                                       INDEX NO. 160575/2019
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 42                                                                                               RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/30/2024

                                   SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
                                             NEW YORK COUNTY
            PRESENT:             HON. HASA A. KINGO                                                  PART                             05M
                                                                                       Justice
            ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------X      INDEX NO.          160575/2019
             CYRESS SMITH,
                                                                                                     MOTION DATE         12/01/2023
                                                         Plaintiff,
                                                                                                     MOTION SEQ. NO.         001
                                                 - V -

             THE CITY OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK CITY POLICE
                                                                                                       DECISION + ORDER ON
             DEPARTMENT DEPUTY CHIEF JOHN COSGROVE
                                                                                                             MOTION
                                                         Defendant.
            ------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------X

            The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
            21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37, 38, 39,40,41
            were read on this motion to/for                                                       JUDGMENT-SUMMARY

                   Plaintiff Cyress Smith ("Plaintiff'), a retired employee of the New York City Police
           Department (NYPD), commenced this action against Defendants the City of New York and New
           York City Police Department Chief John Cosgrove (collectively, "Defendants") alleging that
           Defendants discriminated against him based on his purported disability in violation of the New
           York City Human Rights Law ("NYCHRL"), N.Y.C. Admin. Code§ 8-107 et seq .. This action
           was commenced after the dismissal of Plaintiff's federal action in the United States District Court
           for the Southern District of New York (federal action), Smith v. City ofNew York, 385 F. Supp. 3d
           323 (S.D.N.Y. 2019), in which Plaintiff's exact same NYCHRL claim was dismissed with
           prejudice except to the limited extent it is based on Plaintiff's 2015 and 2016 performance
           evaluations. U.S. District Court Judge Valerie Caproni declined to exercise supplemental
           jurisdiction only over that limited basis of Plaintiff's NYCHRL claim for his 2015 and 2016
           performance evaluations.

                   With the instant motion, Defendants move, pursuant to CPLR §3212, for partial summary
           judgment to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint except to the limited extent it is based on Plaintiff's 2015
           and 2016 performance evaluations on the grounds that it is barred by the doctrine of collateral
           estoppel and that any cause of action or adverse employment action not pled in the complaint is
           now time-barred. In opposition, Plaintiff argues that Defendants' motion should be denied because
           Plaintiff has not had a full and fair opportunity to litigate his NYCHRL disability discrimination
           claim in state court even though he already litigated this exact same claim in federal court, where
           most of the claim, as well as all other claims he brought there, were dismissed. Despite certifying
           that discovery is complete, Plaintiff also belatedly seeks additional discovery months after filing
           his Note oflssue and over four years after filing the complaint.

             160575/2019 SMITH, CYRESSvs. CITY OF NEW YORK                                                               Page 1 of4
             Motion No. 001

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 [FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/30/2024 04:38 P~                                                 INDEX NO. 160575/2019
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 42                                                                       RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/30/2024

                                                       DISCUSSION

                   To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the proponent must make a prima facie
           showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter oflaw, through admissible evidence demonstrating
           the absence of any material issue of fact (see Klein v. City of New York, 89 NY2d 883 [1996];
           Ayotte v. Gervasio, 81 NY2d 1062 [1993]). Once the moving party has satisfied these standards,
           the burden shifts to the opponent to rebut that prima facie showing, by producing contrary evidence
           in admissible form sufficient to require a trial of material factual issues (Amatulli v. Delhi Constr.
           Corp., 77 NY2d 525 [1999]).

                    The doctrine of collateral estoppel precludes a party from re-litigating in a subsequent
            action or proceeding, an issue clearly raised in a prior action or proceeding and decided against
            that party, whether or not the tribunals or causes of action are the same (see Ryan v. NY. Tel. Co.,
            62 NY2d 494, 500-01 [ 1984 ]). Collateral estoppel allows "the determination of an issue of fact or
            law raised in a subsequent action by reference to a previous judgment on a different cause of action
            in which the same issue was necessarily raised and decided" (id. at 500). The issue must have been
            material to the first action and essential to its decision while also being the issue to be determined
            in the second action (id. at 501).

                    In the instant matter, Defendants have made a prima facie that the requirements for
            applying collateral estoppel have been met. First, there is a complete identity of issues because
            Plaintiff pleads the exact same alleged adverse employment actions purportedly in violation of
            NYCHRL. Second, Plaintiff was afforded a full and fair opportunity to litigate the factual and legal
            issues decided in his federal case (see Smith, 385 F.Supp.3d 323, supra). To be sure, the parties
            exchanged document discovery, conducted depositions, and the case was ultimately dismissed on
            summary judgment except for the single NYCHRL claim for disability discrimination based on
            Plaintiffs 2015 and 2016 performance evaluations (id. at 343 ("[A]s a matter oflaw, none of those
            actions constitutes an adverse employment action ... [and e]ven if Plaintiff had offered evidence
            of adverse employment actions, Plaintiff has failed to present evidence that raises an inference of
            discriminatory intent to almost all of the actions about which he complains."). As in Peterkin v.
            Episcopal Social Servs. of NY., Inc., 24 AD3d 306,307 (1st Dept 2005), where the federal court
            granted summary judgment on the federal claims and dismissed the NYSHRL and NYCHRL
            claims, the state-law causes of action are precluded by collateral estoppel because they "stem from
            the same alleged conduct that was the subject of the prior federal action." Therefore, Plaintiffs
            disability and race discrimination claims under Title VII, NYSHRL, and NYCHRL which accrued
            on or before December 2017 based on all alleged adverse employment actions except for his
            performance evaluations from 2015 and 2016 are barred by collateral estoppel.

                    In addition, "The [s]tatute of [!]imitations period for [T]itle VII claims ... is 180 days,
            unless the claim is instituted with the State or local agency, and then the limitations period is 300
            days" (Patrowich v. Chem. Bank, 98 AD2d 318,324 [1st Dept 1984]). "The ADA has a 300-day
            [s]tatute of [!]imitations" (Martinez-Tolentino v. Buffalo State College, 277 AD2d 899, 899 [4th
            Dept 2000]). And claims under the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL are subject to a three-year statute
            oflimitations (Jeudy v. City of NY., 142 AD3d 821 [1st Dept 2016]).

             160575/2019 SMITH, CYRESSvs. CITY OF NEW YORK                                         Page 2 of 4
             Motion No. 001

                                                             2 of 4
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 [FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/30/2024 04:38 P~                                                                INDEX NO. 160575/2019
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 42                                                                                     RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/30/2024

                    In his complaint, Plaintiff asserts the most recent adverse employment action as his transfer
            to the Manhattan "Viper" unit at the end of 2017 (Complaint, Exh. A, at ,i 48). During Plaintiffs
            deposition, he further alleged adverse employment actions leading to his termination on July 31,
            2020, including additional unit transfers, unavailability of terminal leave, continued inability to
            receive overtime, denial of a request for accommodation for a training session, and removal of his
            firearm (Plaintiffs Tr., Exh. C, at pp 24, 38, 43-46, 77, 121-22, 155).

                    To the extent that Plaintiff seeks to amend his complaint to include claims under Title VII,
            ADA, NYSHRL, and NYCHRL related to events mentioned in the complaint, or to include alleged
            adverse employment actions up until his termination, such action, occurring more than three years
            after the most recent allegation, is time-barred. This conclusion aligns with legal precedent, as
            demonstrated in Thomas v. City of New York, 154 AD3d 417, 418 (1st Dept 2017), Reyes v. City
            of New York, 281 AD2d 235 (1st Dept 2001), and Malz v. Wohl, 185 AD2d 839, 840 (2d Dept
            1992), where courts denied amendments to complaints due to expiration of the statute of
            limitations and lack of reasonable excuse for delay.

                    Considering Plaintiffs termination date, the statute of limitations for any remaining claims
            related to his employment with the NYPD expired no later than July 31, 2023. Consequently, any
            attempted amendments to Plaintiffs complaint at this juncture are time-barred.

                    Notably, even if this court had not found that Plaintiffs NYCHRL claim was barred by
            collateral estoppel, Plaintiff still fails to offer evidence of discriminatory motive. In Smith, Judge
            Caproni reasoned that even under the low "treated less well" threshold of the NYCHRL, Plaintiff
            still could not make out a prima facie NYCHRL disability discrimination claim because he
            "offered no evidence of disability-based discrimination with respect to any of Defendants' actions,
            other than the evaluations" (Smith, F. Supp. 3d at 345, supra). Furthermore, as articulated in the
            federal action, Defendants had non-discriminatory reasons for Plaintiffs transfer, poor
            evaluations, and numerous command disciplines due to "Plaintiffs severe disciplinary problems,
            including his unauthorized tour changes, attendance issues, and disruptive behavior" (Smith, 385
            F. Supp. 3d at 341, supra). Indeed, Judge Caproni found Defendants' "actions appropriate ...
            [and] explanation ... consistent with the contemporaneous documentation relating to those
            actions." (id.).

                     Therefore, to the extremely limited extent that Plaintiffs 2015 and 2016 performance
            evaluations could have been conducted with discriminatory intent based on Defendant Cosgrove' s
            knowledge of Plaintiffs disability at the time, those claims remain. However, all other actions
            supporting Plaintiffs NYCHRL claim are dismissed because there is no inference of
            discrimination, and to the contrary, Defendants have articulated non-discriminatory reasons for the
            actions.

                    Plaintiff has failed to rebut Defendants' prima facie showing. Moreover, Plaintiffs
            argument that Defendants' motion for summary judgment should be denied because he is entitled
            to additional discovery after the note of issue was filed on August 4, 2023, is without merit. 1
            Plaintiff, by placing this matter on the trial calendar, has certified that all discovery is complete

            1
              Notably, at oral argument on the record before the court on April 30, 2024, Plaintiff's counsel withdrew Plaintiff's
            request for additional discovery.
                160575/2019 SMITH, CYRESSvs. CITY OF NEW YORK                                                     Page 3 of 4
                Motion No. 001

                                                                   3 of 4
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 !FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/30/2024 04: 38 PM!                                                  INDEX NO. 160575/2019
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 42                                                                            RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/30/2024

            (see Note oflssue, NYSCEF Doc No 15, at p 2). "[A] party may not obtain further disclosure after
            the filing of a note of issue and certificate of readiness absent a factual showing of' special, unusual
            or extraordinary circumstances"'; Grant v. Wainer, 179 AD2d 364, 364-65 [1st Dept 1992]; see
            also IO Experience Design LLC v. C & A Mktg. Inc., 220 AD3d 444 [1st Dept 2023]). Here,
            Plaintiff has failed to make a requisite showing that post-note of issue discovery would be
            appropriate. Accordingly, it is hereby

                    ORDERED that Defendants' motion for partial summary judgment be granted to the extent
            that Plaintiffs complaint is dismissed save for the NYCHRL claim based on Plaintiffs 2015 and
            2016 performance evaluations; and it is further

                   ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court is directed to enter judgment in Defendants' favor
            accordingly and to the extent indicated; and it is further

                    ORDERED that the parties are directed to appear for an in-person settlement conference
            in Part 5 of the courthouse located at 80 Centre Street, Room 320, on June 4, 2024 at 12:00 PM.

                    This constitutes the decision and order of the court.

                    4/30/2024
                      DATE
             CHECK ONE:                   CASE DISPOSED                     NON-FINAL DISPOSITION

                                          GRANTED         □ DENIED          GRANTED IN PART          □ OTHER
             APPLICATION:                 SETTLE ORDER                      SUBMIT ORDER

             CHECK IF APPROPRIATE:        INCLUDES TRANSFER/REASSIGN        FIDUCIARY APPOINTMENT    □ REFERENCE

             160575/2019 SMITH, CYRESS vs. CITY OF NEW YORK                                           Page4 of 4
             Motion No. 001

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