Judith Kaye, a champion of lesbian & gay rights, dies at 77

Retired Chief Judge Judith Kaye of the New York Court of Appeals died on January 7, 2016, at age 77.  Most accounts of her passing mentioned her dissenting opinion in the case of Hernandez v. Robles, 7 N.Y.3d 338 (2006), the case in which the state’s highest court voted against the claim that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, as one of her most notable opinions, but this was merely the capstone of … <Read More>


Magistrate Denies HIV-Positive Gay Discrimination Plaintiff’s Request to Sue Anonymously

U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Wilkinson, Jr., has denied a request by a gay HIV-positive man to have his identity shielded from public exposure in the discrimination lawsuit he has filed against his former employer in the federal district court in New Orleans, Louisiana.

According to Wilkinson’s September 5 ruling on a motion filed by the plaintiff simultaneously with his discrimination complaint, the plaintiff is claiming violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act … <Read More>


Federal Court Refuses to Dismiss HIV-Related Housing Discrimination Claim Against LeFrak Realty Organization

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote has refused to dismiss a discrimination case brought by a person living with HIV, identified in court papers as L.C., and the Fair Housing Justice Center against a major New York City realtor, Lefrak Organization and its subsidiary, Estates NY Real Estate Services, Inc.  Judge Cote’s December 13 ruling found that that plaintiffs had successfully alleged facts supporting a claim that LeFrak’s rental practices at its LeFrak City apartments in … <Read More>