Nancy Wright (Partner-New York, NY) and Amy Largacha Cedeno (Associate-New York, NY) defended a prominent private research corporation and three individually named employees in a lawsuit filed by a former employee who alleged discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation under state and city discrimination laws. In 2024, Nancy and Amy successfully secured dismissal of the federal claims filed in the Southern District Court of New York, which opted not to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state and city claims. As a result, the plaintiff re-filed a complaint alleging the state and city claims in state court, Queens County. Nancy and Amy filed a motion for pre-answer dismissal on the grounds that all the claims were legally insufficient. They argued that the plaintiff failed to plead any actions by the defendants based on discriminatory animus regarding the plaintiff’s protected status. Further, they argued that the plaintiff had failed to establish the necessary elements for a retaliation claim as she had failed to plead any participation in a protected activity – a threshold requirement. The court agreed and dismissed the claims against all defendants in their entirety.