A New York state appeals court on Tuesday revived breach-of-contract claims from a former Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik attorney, who filed a $1 million gender discrimination lawsuit against the dissolving firm and co-founder Paul Napoli in 2015.

A four-judge panel of the Appellate Division, First Department ruled that Denise Rubin, a former general and appellate counsel at Napoli Bern, could proceed with allegations that her former employer had failed to live up to its verbal promises to pay her 5% of the firm's net attorney fees in cases in which she was "materially involved."

A lower court judge extinguished the breach-of-contract claims on a summary judgment motion last October, finding that Rubin had not shown that the firm actually paid her the bonuses.

The appeals court, however, found that Rubin's complaint had raised an issue of "triable issue of fact" as to whether "oral modifications" to her employment agreement could be enforced. The court specifically cited five separate instances where Rubin claimed the firm had partially performed its supposed obligations in ruling that summary judgment was not warranted.

"As the law firm defendants sought summary judgment, this court is obligated to view the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff and to accept plaintiff's evidence 'as true,'" the four-page ruling said.

In an added blow, the judges also found that Napoli and his former firm were barred from collecting liquidated damages against Rubin for violating a confidentiality provision of her contract by publicly filing private documents on the state's e-filing system. While Rubin's actions qualified as "knowing, intentional or willful," the court said the defendants had not established any damages they suffered as a result of the breach.

Jason Solotaroff, who represents Rubin, said Tuesday that he was pleased with the court's ruling.

"We're appreciative that the First Department realized Ms. Rubin is entitled to a trial on her claim for bonuses on Napoli Bern fees in cases she worked on," said Solotaroff, a partner with Giskan Solotaroff & Anderson.

He declined to comment on the liquidated-damages aspect of the ruling.

An attorney for Napoli did not immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment on the decision.

The ruling followed another ruling from the First Department in 2017, which blocked Napoli from defamation and defamation per se counterclaims against Rubin.

Rubin first began working at a Napoli Bern-run law firm as appellate counsel in 2003 and became a general counsel in 2008.

Her complaint says she was paid "far less than male attorneys with less experience and responsibility" for years. She also claims that because of her gender, she had to watch repeatedly as "male attorneys with less experience and having far less responsibility within the firms were routinely hired as partners."

According to Rubin, Napoli told her in 2014 that she had been terminated, although "there was no cause … and male attorneys with legitimate performance issues had not been terminated by defendants and remain employed by the Napoli Firm."

The sex discrimination claims in Rubin's lawsuit remain intact and were not the subject of Tuesday's ruling.

Read More:

Panel Turns Away Counterclaim by Napoli in Sex Bias Suit

Ex-Napoli Bern Receiver's Firm Says It Still Hasn't Been Paid, 4 Years on

Jury: NY Firm On Hook for $1.5M in Asbestos Litigation Fees