Applicant for Doorperson Position Claimed Bias in Hiring

Facts: An African-American woman sued 13 cooperative buildings on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, claiming that landlord refused to hire her as a doorperson because of racial and gender discrimination. Both landlord and job applicant asked the court to rule in their favor without a trial. Court: Neither side wins. Pretrial questioning hadn't been completed and more facts were needed before any decision could be made. The court ordered landlord to produce personnel records of all doormen for the period in question. Other issues, including whether there were doorperson positions available at the time involved in the woman's complaint and the buildings' managing agent's claim that it wasn't involved in the hiring process, also couldn't be resolved without more fact finding.

Hill v. Douglas Elliman-Gibbons & Ives: NYLJ, p. 29, col. 6 (2/25/99) (Sup. Ct. NY; Goodman, J)