Attorneys Fees Available Under NYS Law In Sex Discrimination Case Against The State

Kimmel v. State of New York, ____N.Y.3d _____(May 9, 2017), is an important case to be aware of.
A divided Court of Appeals held that the Equal Access to Justice Act contained in CPLR Article 86 permits the award of attorneys fees and costs under the NYS Human Rights Law for sex discrimination by a state agency.

Significantly, this case also held that under this statute, attorneys fees were not available in connection with administrative agency proceedings that preceded court review. Note, that in 2015, the law was amended to allow for an award of attorneys fees in sex discrimination cases under state law. This case arose before that amendment.

The case also reaffirmed in footnote 5, that discrimination cases are not tort cases and therefore, a Notice of Claim does not have to be filed

The plaintiff in this case, a state trooper, recovered over $700,000 in damages, which included $87,000 for pain and suffering. The plaintiff was also earlier awarded $76,000 in attorneys fees because of the the State's overly aggressive tactics and the court struck the State's answer because of their failure of comply with discovery and earlier court orders.