This column reports on several significant representative decisions handed down recently in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall dismissed the plaintiff’s New York Labor Law claims against the Great Neck Park District. Judge Joanna Seybert denied the plaintiff’s pretrial motion to preclude the defendant from making arguments assertedly inconsistent with those it had successfully made in five prior litigations. And Judge Allyne R. Ross granted the defendant’s motion for compassionate release.

Park District as Government Entity, Precluding NYLL Claims

In Brown v. Great Neck Park District, 22 CV 4778 (EDNY, Feb. 14, 2023), the plaintiff alleged violations of both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL). The defendant moved to dismiss the plaintiff’s NYLL claims, and Judge DeArcy Hall granted the motion because the defendant is a political subdivision and governmental entity, exempt from the NYLL.